Can't Choose a Side on Dave & Buster's
With about a thousand responses in, as well as more than 50 personal insights, I conclude that
Dave & Buster's
(DAB)
is probably down too much, but that the restaurant business is a tough, tough business and I don't want to be in it.
Lots of people told me that this is a fun place, and it does have a lot of fans. But margins are razor-thin and a couple of you have had bad experiences at Dave & Buster's locations away from the ones in St. Louis (no bad experiences -- home turf) and Philadelphia.
Texans like 'em but complain that the fries are old. That really stings. My wife, a longtime
McDonald's
(MCD) - Get Report
employee with the crossmarks of the fry basket still on her arm from a bad on-the-job accident, would tell you that cold fries are unforgivable.
I am not buying it for a trade, as I would have if our poll weren't so split. Here is how I used the poll: If there had been a solid majority saying they loved it, I would buy it, feeling confident that it would have to bounce. But a split is too hard to make a buck on. You are on your own.
Random musings
: OK, here's your chance.
Berko
thinks that the market is good for a trade. Me, I am thinking that it is OK, not great, not bad. So we are doing nothing except buying a little
IBM
(IBM) - Get Report
, which has now recovered from the
Maria Bartiromo
downgrade earlier in the week (that's the one where
Soundview
had a bullish call but she made it into a bearish call and it killed the stock), and picking up a little Net.
James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-founder of TheStreet.com. At time of publication, his fund was long IBM. His fund often buys and sells securities that are the subject of his columns, both before and after the columns are published, and the positions that his fund takes may change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to comment on his column at
jjcletters@thestreet.com.
