Restaurant serves up survival

“Us little guys are in the trenches fighting the war,” said Bobby Brooks, owner of Brownie's Restaurant on 4th Avenue.

“It is a tough time for all of us but we will survive. That is the American way of life. We will survive but we need the right people in the right places that don't squander our money and keep the taxes down.”

Brooks has owned the little restaurant, located at 1145 S. 4th Ave., for nearly 40 years. It is a popular spot for farmers, businessmen, politicians and the common man who frequent it for breakfast and lunch selections.

Brooks, who enjoys greeting his guests in person, said summer business has always been slow, but it has been even more so during the recession.

“We have just kind of battened down the hatches to weather the storm. I've been at it for 37 years, but I've never had it this rough. It's been a tough summer.”

Like other businesses facing a bleak economic climate, Brooks has done his best to adapt to the environment.

“What I did is what I call trimming the fat. I had to do something, so I shortened the hours. I tried this last year, going from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. (on weekdays) and then on Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. for our fish fry, and it has been very successful. What it does is cut my utilities right down the middle. Three o'clock is the hottest part of the day, and breakfast and lunch is where the profit is. The high-cost items are on the dinner menu.”

The savings have been substantial, which has allowed Brooks to retain his entire work force at pre-recession levels.

“I haven't had to let anybody go. I've still got my 20 employees — of course, no overtime or anything.”

One bright spot for Brooks, which has given him an uptick in business this week, has been the onset of dove hunting season.

“It's excellent. I would say compared to last year it might be a little bit ahead. I know opening day Wednesday I couldn't have gotten more people in here. It was wonderful.”

Brooks is a Yuma native. His parents came to the desert from Oklahoma during the Great Depression, the brutal realities of which he believes we have not had to face today.

“I was born here in Yuma. My parents lived in a labor camp in Somerton and in a tent out in Wellton, so they had it tough. We don't have it tough now. We might not have two cars in the driveway or a motorcycle or a quad or a boat, but we are surviving. This is the best country in the world.”

Brooks believes things will get better again.

“I do. I really do. I am an optimist. You know – the sky is not falling. We'll be all right but we need people in the right places in Washington, D.C., that will get things done.”

Brooks has been in small business for decades and has seen economic slumps and recoveries come and go.

He said Yumans always stick together through thick or thin and is convinced that will see them through the current crisis.

“Yuma is a pretty special place. We are kind of isolated from the rest of the state. The people of Yuma, we take care of each other.”

Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.

Editor's note: A recent study gave Yuma County a stress index of 28.37 percent - the second worse in the nation among counties with more than 25,000 residents. The stress index was derived after experts studied unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates for each county. In this series, the Yuma Sun talks to local businesses and organizations to see how they've fared in this economy.