Thin profit margins, complex staffing, controlling costs — the restaurant business is nowhere near as easy as it looks to the diner just trying to enjoy a simple hamburger or a decent steak.

It’s a lesson Wagon Box owner Paul McNiel has been learning the hard way, and it’s led him to explore options for the historic vacation lodge he owns in Story, Wyoming.

“From the beginning, I’ve never been a restaurant guy,” McNiel told Cowboy State Daily. “I thought it’d be an interesting project. It’s a beautiful property, but to run a restaurant, I think you kind of have to be there all the time.”

McNiel said the restaurants he likes the most when traveling have a dedicated owner who is right there, tending to day-to-day business.

“And I’ve got too much going on in other places,” he said. “So th

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