The real issue seems to be that he tried to create a "family restaurant" operation without the "family" (in this case him and his wife) wanting to work in the b

The real issue seems to be that he tried to create a "family restaurant" operation without the "family" (in this case him and his wife) wanting to work in the business: My wife Lily and I could work there, full-time, save on the payroll, and gerrymander the rest of the budget to allow for lower sales. Guess what, dear dreamers? The psychological gap between working in a cafe because it's fun and romantic and doing the exact same thing because you have to is enormous In other words, he had the luxury of choice. And he chose not to.