Breaking the Chain A declaration of independents against chain restaurants

As chain restaurants extend their reach into urban locales,independent restaurant owners say the best way to protect theirturf is to join forces against the chains.

"The independent restaurant share of the dining-out pie isgetting smaller and smaller," says Don Luria, president of theCouncil ofIndependent Restaurants of America (CIRA), which began in 1999and now has 15 chapters. He points out that the rise in newrestaurants, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs at anywherefrom 8,000 to 10,000 new restaurants per year, mostly comes fromchains and franchises.

"The first thing to do is realize other independentrestaurant owners are not enemies-they're your bestfriends," says Luria, who also owns Cafe TerraCotta in Tucson, a restaurant with $3.5 million in annualsales. The 35 member restaurants of the Tucson Originals, the localCIRA chapter, buy co-op billboard ads together-something theycouldn't afford on their own.

Likewise, the Washington, DC, chapter of CIRA is running ayearlong Web site promotion with WashingtonPost.com, posting a link to thechapter's Web site-which in turn links to its individualmember restaurants. It's an advertising feat that wouldbankrupt one restaurant paying on its own.

In addition to group ads, CIRA chapters work to educate futurecustomers. Several times a year, Luria sits down for dinner with atable full of middle-school students, fielding questions abouttopics like calamari salad. This Tucson Originals program, calledKids Dine Out, came about because the first restaurant experiencefor most children is of the burgers-and-fries variety, so manyyoungsters "never get past the chain restaurant," Luriaexplains.

Another goal: Spread the message that independent restaurateursare people with a passion for food who are working together tobetter their communities. Ouita Michel, 39, owner of the Holly Hill Inn, afine-dining restaurant outside Lexington, Kentucky, with $1 millionin annual sales, teams with other independent chef/owners to hostcharity events throughout the year. "We sellauthenticity," says Michel, whose menu ranges from dim sum tocassoulet. She says the charity-event teamwork lends her restauranta nostalgic feel, reflecting the style of the 150-year-old inn.While Michel is not yet a member of CIRA, she is working to form alocal chapter.

"Five years ago, if you asked me whether I'd put a cardwith the names of 47 other restaurants in my restaurant, I'dhave said no," says Luria. "They don't call usindependents for nothing. But we've got to learn to worktogether and create a brand around independentrestaurants."