Popular Ketchum eatery Perry’s closing to make way for housing
By Eric Valentine
It’s after 5 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and Keith Perry is in the fourth decade of prepping his and his wife’s namesake restaurant to serve the patrons he knows and loves the hearty and thoughtful comfort foods they know and love. With less than two hours before the eatery opens for the day and less than two months before it closes for good, it’s not so early that the extroverted restaurateur can’t see some irony—and blessings—in all of this.
The irony? In an industry that would benefit immensely from more housing in a resort community, it’s a community housing development that would have displaced the restaurant had Keith and his wife Paula Perry not chosen the retirement option on life’s menu instead. In January of this year, Sun Valley resident Broderick Smith and Ketchum resident Carson Palmer, who purchased Perry’s commercial lot and two nearby vacant lots last year, announced plans to build a mixed-use commercial and residential development there. And that means the Perry’s First Avenue/Fourth Street building would be demolished.
According to Keith Perry, he and his wife were given the option to relocate the restaurant elsewhere and receive some level of compensation that would go toward the costs of that relocation. Or, take the compensation and use it for their, now, retirement.
“We had a five-year plan a few years ago to keep the restaurant going until we hit our 70s, and the ideal thinking was we’d sell the place to some young chef or couple who’d keep it going strong,” Keith Perry said.
And then COVID hit …
Has anyone out there ever tried selling a restaurant during a lockdown-level pandemic? You could call it a buyer’s market, but that’s because there are no buyers.
“Not one call! Not even a ‘we might be interested,’” Perry said.
It should be noted that Perry’s is an example of one of the eateries that weathered the pandemic storm well. Keith Perry said there were months that they were pulling in 40% above normal profits. So that raises a deeper and broader economics question, one whose answer is all about labor and where that labor can afford to live.
“There’s no way we could have made it through (the pandemic) without my employees,” Perry said.
Specifically, he’s talking about the “back of the house” workers.
“Juan has been here since 1997 and Cesar since like 1990, and Henry and Elmer probably since 1999,” Perry lists off their names. “I don’t have any (retirement or semi-retirement) plans right now. My priority is making sure my workers get lined up with really good jobs.”
And there’s the other side of the ironic service-industry coin—Perry said his phone is ringing off the hook with other restaurant managers calling to recruit his staff.
“Twenty, maybe 25, calls so far,” Perry said. “And I have to commend the other restaurants out there. They all have labor shortages and could have tried to lure my workers. That’s another reason we decided to set a clear date when the restaurant is closing for good.”
Perry, in a move that shows his degree of both business savvy and moral ethics, also is offering his employees a generous severance package should they remain with him until June 1, when the mom and pop closes shop for good.
Editor’s Note: An excerpt from a post by an employee about actor Bruce Willis. Some content was edited for space and clarity.
“I can’t say enough about how my time at Perry’s changed my life. They took a chance with me and hired me four months sober … And here’s my favorite memory: very fitting with the most recent news on our hero. There was a time when (Bruce) Willis came for lunch often and we all got to be very chatty with him and the family. My heart continued to skip a beat with each visit. I later found out he was friendly with me as he thought I was Mrs. Perry!
Well, one day we were incredibly busy and the lunches were getting backed up big time … Bruce comes back to me and says … “What’s the hang-up today?” I explained we were a little backed up and could use a hand! … He dove right in! I watched as he announced the names and delivered the food and the look on the patrons’ faces said it all. So much fun! … And unforgettable.”
Side Note:
FRET NOT, FOODIES … Geordy Murphy of Cypress Hospitality Group knows success in the hospitality industry. He talks about how things are looking up for restaurants sooner than later in this True 7 Life podcast.