A recent sales study indicated that consumption of seafood dishes in Bay City restaurants has increased by 30 percent over the past five years. Yet there are no currently operating city restaurants that specialize in seafood. Moreover, the majority of families in Bay City are two-income families, and a nationwide study has shown that such families eat significantly fewer home-cooked meals than they did a decade ago but at the same time express more concern about eating healthily. Therefore, a new Bay City restaurant specializing in seafood will be quite popular and profitable.

The arguer has drawn the conclusion that establishing a new Bay City restaurant that specializes in seafood would be both profitable as well as popular. The argument relies on two facts as evidence in support of the claim made. The first is that the consumption of seafood dishes in Bay City restaurants have increased over the past five years, but there are no restaurants in Bay City that specialize in seafood. The second fact states that the majority of the families in Bay City are two-income families and the results of a nationwide survey have indicated that two-income families are increasingly concerned about healthy eating habits and they are eating fewer home-cooked meals. However, the facts presented by the arguer are insufficient to prove that a new Bay City restaurant specializing in seafood would be popular and profitable.

The fact that there are no seafood restaurants in Bay City, despite the increase in the consumption of seafood, does not necessarily mean that a restaurant specializing in seafood would be popular and profitable. Firstly, the increase in consumption by thirty percent is insignificant in view of the fact that this has happened over a period of five years. Moreover, if seafood was indeed so popular among the residents of Bay City, then restaurants specializing in seafood would have come up by now. Moreover, the restaurants that serve seafood dishes would have diversified into separate restaurants for serving seafood dishes only, if there was a huge demand for the same. The very fact that these restaurants are continuing to serve seafood dishes in addition to other dishes prove that these restaurants are not making much profit from the consumption of seafood.

Additionally, it is likely that the increase in consumption is not only for seafood, but also for the other dishes being served by popular restaurants. People may be going to these restaurants because they like their preparation or the ambience. It is highly unlikely that they will stop going to their favorite restaurants to dine at a new restaurant that serves only seafood. Therefore, the new restaurant will have to compete with the other restaurants that are already popular in Bay City and which offer other dishes in addition to seafood dishes. The new restaurant may not be able to make profit unless it is able to build up a sizeable clientage, which seems unlikely in view of the above mentioned aspects related to dining in Bay City restaurants.

The arguer fails to provide substantial evidence to prove the relevance of the nationwide survey in the context of the two-income families residing in Bay City. There is no mention of the percentage of Bay City families who were a part of this survey. It is likely that the survey included families residing in big cities and metros and the type of lifestyle that they follow permits them to eat out regularly. It is quite possible that the families in Bay City are not too keen on eating out as opposed to their counterparts in bigger cities. Moreover, if the families are health conscious, then they would not like to eat in a new restaurant as they would doubt the quality of food being served and they would rather eat at the restaurants where they have been dining in the past. Therefore, the arguer fails to provide a link between the nationwide survey and the dining habits of the two-income families of Bay City in order to substantiate his recommendation.

The argument could have been strengthened if both the surveys had provided information related to the willingness of the Bay City residents to eat seafood. Moreover, the profits earned by a restaurant depend on the initial investments along with the expenses incurred in the maintenance of the restaurant. The arguer does not provide information related to such data. Therefore, the argument fails to convince the reader that a new Bay City restaurant specializing in seafood will be profitable and popular.