Thread prompted by the recent closure of a game cafe a few blocks from my new house - a cafe which honestly was a small factor in our choice of neighborhood (there are many many other positives)

My immediate reaction was both sadness and the thoughts of “what would I have done differently…” could a game cafe or some variation of one survive here? What would it need to look like?

I suspect it is a very complicated question (and I’m unlikely to start one myself) but it is tempting to try…

It doesn’t mean that the restaurant or business is one whose products I will love (or will be where I want to work) but worker retention (especially alongside actual career growth and opportunities) is a strong signal of a business that likely isn’t a toxic workplace and one that has not only found a viable model but has one that includes their workers in that test of viability

When I see a new to me restaurant I can often quickly tell when the workers have been there for years

Related any business (in nearly any industry from retail to global conglomerate) that has retained and promoted staff at all levels with workers who have been at the company perhaps since it was started. Here for example the Costco ceo who started working in the stores (and who isn’t a rarity but a common case amongst their executives)

But equally the local gardeners who have had the same workers for over a decade

It is a signal about working conditions and the business’ priorities

Equally what are green flags for a business (of any size) that has and is likely to retain a strong ethical core?

(b-Corp status isn’t always reliable here though at least a good start. A worker owned co-op might also be a strong positive signal. But what are others?

Not in my primary focus but a few examples from various industries:

- a restaurant or other small retail business that has outlasted their first lease is typically a signal that they have at a minimum a sustainable model

restaurants and physical retail businesses present yet another challenge - how to tell if the "website" linked to for that business on a given map app (especially #google ) is, in fact, the actual website that the owners of that business have set up for the business and not some 3rd party or complete scam site.

I see suspicious links all the time - sites that appear to be the restaurant but which actually are some sketchy 3rd party.

most people (myself included) wouldn't study such a tool all that often - but I'm really curious how many sites I go to from say random Google searches on a topic I haven't searched on much previously are going to sites that are likely generated in recent years (with AI slop) vs ones that are actually older and established and have continuously been authoritative about whatever obscure topic that is.

(or in the case of e-commerce if that site has a history of selling that category of good)