Look For The Blessings In Disguise

I went to eat at a restaurant the other day that was close to where my restaurant, Woko Loco, was located. The spot had been taken over by another concept, and I wanted to see how it looked from the inside. So I went there, expecting it to be open so I could walk around and see what they kept and what they modified from my original design.

To my surprise, the restaurant had permanently closed. I think they opened in late 2021, so they must not have broken even in nearly two years of operation. Kind of a similar trajectory to what happened with my restaurant.

But the big difference was that I opened in 2019, and shortly after the 1st-anniversary celebration, the world was engulfed in a pandemic.

And this might sound weird, but I am grateful that COVID-19 hit when it did and caused my restaurant to collapse faster.

(I want to be clear that when I express gratitude for the timing of COVID-19 affecting my restaurant, it is not in any way a dismissal or disregard for the immense suffering it has caused globally. The pandemic has been a devastating experience for many, and I deeply sympathize with the pain and loss that so many people have endured. My perspective is solely from a business standpoint. I simply find myself reflecting on the impact it had on my restaurant and the challenges we faced.)

See, the lease I signed for that space was for 10 years. And after only 2 years of that agreement, I had to shut down. The landlord, which is a huge corporation, was able to be compassionate with us only because we were in the middle of a global pandemic. If it hadn’t been for that, we would have been liable for the remaining 8 years of the lease agreement.

So, although it hurt at the time, the pandemic was the best thing that could have happened to the business because it allowed me to get off the hook. As I now realize with the restaurant that took over, that location wasn’t a great spot anyway. I am fortunate that things happened the way they did.

And isn’t it how a lot of things are? Events that we think are a tragedy and later realize that it was the best thing that happened to us? Instances where it seems like the world is against us and then we later look backward and connect the dots and realize that such things led us to greater things.

There’s always a silver lining. A blessing in disguise, as they say. Maybe the challenging things you are going through right now are meant to take you to a different, better path. Remember, everything is happening for you as it is supposed to happen, for your ultimate good. Even if that means pain at the moment. You’ll look back and thank that it happened the way it did.