[El Diablo]

Blarg,

"Lots of owners hire managers, too.
...

And, the owner can be there every night, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be there every day, too. When he's not, who is going to make the decisions?"

Note that I have been saying owner/manager. I don't expect a restaurant to need the owner there to run well. I expect the restaurant to need either the owner or a manager/supervisor that he has hired. And part of what the person in that role at the restaurant does is keep customers happy and deal w/ mistakes by staff.

"If so, he is probably not that good a businessman or very ambitious. I would think being the owner of one small business you could never leave would be among the least likely of an owner's goals."

I know tons of bar/restaurant owners who are completely content to own and run their own single little establishment. It is often the culmination of their career goals.