Last week, the Food section published an article detailing, in hard numbers, how daunting the financial climate is for restaurateurs in New York. But Keith McNally, who has opened more restaurants than most, and kept most of them open, believes that money is only part of the equation.

In many ways I’m sick of restaurants. Even so, on Tuesday I opened Augustine, my 14th in 36 years.

The first was the Odeon in 1980, which I opened as a bit of a lark, something to fill in the time while I decided on my future. I’m 65 and still deciding on my future. The only thing I’m sure of is, I don’t want to sound like 65.

Which is why I avoid saying what I believe: that restaurants were easier to build and a whole lot more fun in 1980 than they are today.

In 1980, health and safety laws weren’t as stringent as they are now, and neither was the law protecting employees from sexual harassment. The first time I heard of a customer having an allergy was in the mid-’80s (the staff started laughing), and food poisoning became a restaurant issue for me only in the ’90s. (Of course, it was an issue before then, but the complaints never reached me — possibly because those poisoned by eating at my restaurants died before they were able to reach the health department.)