The main street of my town is wall-to-wall restaurants, mostly independents. The turnover can be pretty big over the years -- a few locations have had at least four or five places in the same building since I came out here -- but some have been here for decades. I still eat at the same family-owned Mongolian barbecue my college kids sat in high chairs at.

The business is indeed tough, but if you have a good niche you can work with, you can develop a loyal clientele. Many of the restaurants are ethnic or specialty here, but even the burger joints seem to have a "hook." The one downtown (where the Weinerschnitzel used to be) serves good burgers and fries, but also has a huge stock of specialty beers.