It’s funny how equipment you need costs so much money, yet equipment you don’t need has virtually no value. Case in point, my rotisserie machine. This thing is a behemoth. It can cook enough chickens at one time to feed a third world country. I love rotisserie chicken but one thing I have found out about utilities in the desert is that less equipment running at one time means smaller utility bills. Now you’re probably asking yourself “why in the heck should a utility bill come in the way of a good rotisserie chicken?”, or maybe not but I’m going to tell you anyway. This is a desert; the summer temperature reaches 115 degrees. I have over 50 tons of air conditioning to keep you and all of that wine in the shop at the proper temperature. That rotisserie machine uses 225,000 BTU (see the internet for translation). That is enough BTU’s to heat three houses in a cold winter. The utility bills in this restaurant will run around $12,000 (that was not a typo) per month during the summer months. So I’m going to cook my chickens in the ovens that are already on and putting out heat just like we do it at our other locations. They will be just as tasty and maybe I’ll save a few hundred dollars on my gas and electric bill. By the way, cost for this lovely rotisserie machine new is $49,000. It takes up a lot of room in the main dining room where it is being stored while we remodel. It only weighs 1500 lb, anybody out there need a behemoth rotisserie machine?
Then there is the tale of the trash compactor. When I first saw this piece of equipment, I wondered just why a restaurant, no matter how busy, would need a trash compactor. I found out why a few months later. It seems that the city of Palm Desert does not believe in the idea of economic competition. We have one trash company in this city and they pick up all the trash, both residential as well as commercial. Now think back to that economics class you once took many moons ago and remember the part about supply, demand and monopolies? I somewhat understand the need for a monopoly on the residential side but for businesses? This translates into a license to steal and the Palm Desert trash company is a thief, charging 2-3 times more to pick up my trash that my competitive friends back in San Diego. So now I know why I have a trash compactor. Problem is it doesn’t work. The only company that has shown any inclination to come out and take a look at why this little guy doesn’t work wants a minimum of 4 hours paid in advance before they will come out to look at it. I wonder if they are related to the guys that haul the trash? To top it off, the health inspector has given me a fix or haul it away notice on my compactor. I bet this unit weighs 3-4 tons so hauling it away could be a little pricey; then again fixing it will be a little pricey. Arg……
