I lived in Murrieta for 20 years and the only time I can compare this to is the early 90’s. Everyone I personally know in any industry related to housing or construction is in a world of hurt. I’m in the restaurant business and so far we are doing OK. We have seen a single digit sales decrease after 11 straight years of increases. Interesting parallel, our sales in the restaurants peaked in mid 2006 and have been slowly declining since.
If your ever in Murrieta take a trip down Madison Ave it speaks volumes about whats going on – Circuit City , Saks Furniture, Leisure Living Superstore all gone. My sense is that there are a lot of businesses just holding on and the latest round of fuel surcharges and the upcoming minimum wage increase is going to be the straw that breaks the camels back.
