Nudist Restaurant Closes
This nudist restaurant in Paris closes due to lack of customers, so they say. Is it that nudists are not yet mainstream or could it be the food was no good?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6568949/Pariss-NAKED-restaurant-closes-15-months-lack-customers.html
Assuming the food was good, how many TN members would go to a nudist restaurant?
I agree completely with RabbitnBunny. There aren't enough nudists in one area to patronize a restaurant to keep it open and profitable. Even if there were enough, too many nudists don't like spending money and they probably wouldn't visit a nudist restaurant because someone might find out they ate there and ate there naked!
Nudists are their own worst enemy. Many are beyond frugal and sometimes frugal just to make a point. Operating a nudist resort, along with a caf', restaurant and bar, takes money. Gate fees, RV space rental, park model rentals, room rentals, maintenance costs, upgrades, events... so many things clubs try to do to keep nudists coming and many of them just complain about the cost. Then they complain when the place closes down or sells to someone that turns the place into a textile venue.
Before we get too far off topic on resorts and clubs. I know that some here don't care for them. I know that some have had bad experiences and won't return. That's is your right and prerogative. This response is not for you nudists. I'm speaking to the nudists that do visit clubs and resorts and do nothing but complain about cost but never want to patronize the venue beyond gate/day use fees.
I've witnessed it many, many times. One local resort with a restaurant and full bar would staff a chef/cook, kitchen help, bartender, wait staff and they would be 3 couples eating dinner while the rest of the guests either made their own meals, ate leftovers or went out to eat. That's fine but you'd think that they'd patronize the place for appetizers, drinks... something! Also, nudists bock at paying a buck or two more for a drink that they can make cheaper themselves. Then they complain when the bar closes or isn't staffed when they want it to be.
Another place we've visited has an outside vendor that you can order lunches from and they deliver to the resort. They'll put your lunch on your room bill. The resort doesn't charge anything extra, just the cost of the food from the restaurant/deli. More and more nudist go to their rooms and make their own lunches and then complain because the resort stopped providing that service or limited it to weekends only. You have to support these places or they will not survive.
A simple weekend away may be all we can afford but we budget in patronizing the place we visit to the fullest; order in lunches, dinners, eat at the restaurant, order drinks at the bar and pool side. We schedule massages and sometimes buy resort things like wraps, hats, towel clips, art work, not all at once but something to help the place continue to keep their heads above water. It's cheap insurance for us. We want to do all we can to ensure that place is there when we want to return.
I don't think there's a nudist restaurant outside the gates of a nudist resort that can sustain a profitable margin to remain open. As stated, set aside certain days, a weekend a month, some special times when you cater to nudists. Fill the restaurant for one or two nights and at least provide that opportunity. Every night won't work, anywhere, in our opinion.
You made some very good points Andy regarding supporting the clubs that provide for the culture.
How much do people really save by making lunch rather than buying lunch.
If we made it more profitable for the nudist establishments we desire, maybe there would be more of them.
The only way for it to become more mainstream is through capitalism.
No profit, no expansion!
Most new start restaurants only last a year or two so this is closure is not unusual.
A better idea if you wish to support the nudist community would be to have clothing-optional or totally nude evenings every month, possibly on differing days of the week.
That way, if the restaurant was good enough it would survive to possibly extend it's nudist availability.
In the UK there are several established restaurants having nude evenings thanks to the efforts of British nudists who have approached them with the idea. That might be a more effective way to proceed.
I agree that an all nude restaurant is not sustainable. Even a clothing optional or nude on certain nights may be an issue for those who may want to patronize an establishment but wont out of fear of being seen or believing that naked people are unclean and the restraint is probably dirty and nasty.
I went to O Naturale last fall with a TN member who happened to be in Paris too. It is a typical Paris bistro, small, smart decor and a good system for securing your stuff. We had a nice time but, frankly, the beef I had was pretty tough (they we're out of lamb, I was on a limited diet at the time). The first courses were interesting. There were maybe 14 other diners on a Tues evening. My friend recognized one of the other diners from the nudist area in Bois de Vincennes where we sunbathed earlier in the day. Service was slow, but I was enjoying the company. Glad I had the experience, might return if I were in Paris, just for the novelty factor.
I think the closure is probably mostly due to the limited number of nudists to patronize in any city. Picking a couple of nights a month is more realistic. But any association with nudity would dissuade a lot of clothed patrons on other nights who feel they would risk their reputation. Or fret about sitting on a chair that a nude person sat on two nights ago (O Naturale also handled that in a classy way with their chair covers).
I was planning on going to O Naturale when I was in Paris, but I was on quite a tight budget and the exchange rate is not in my favour. It is a pity the place has closed, because I would have gone had the circumstances been different. Eating out in Paris in general is prohibitively expensive for tourists in the first place, and since I generally eat alone I am not sure how accommodating they would have been of someone sitting in a corner reading a book.
The idea of naturist evenings on a couple of nights a week I think is a better idea than a permanently nude restaurant.
I'd have to think that most nudists aren't comfortable yet with being that open yet; Look at how many people on here don't have profiles or pictures, and how many people in their profiles define themselves as "home nudists" only. People aren't comfortable about being open. There's such a small population of open nudists that I have to assume they couldn't fill the tables every night, even in a country with more receptive views of nudity, and even the most dedicated and open nudists can't afford to eat out every night.
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