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On a quiet stretch of Wellington Street, tucked between the Entertainment District and the Rogers Centre, duffle-coated pedestrians scuttle past eight empty dinner chairs.

The public art piece Fair Grounds by Michel Goulet is meant to be "an invitation to take a seat with others," but lately its cold, empty frames have become an all-too-accurate symbol of Toronto's bars, restaurants - and wallets.

Not only are patron numbers down, but people are eating more cheaply, drinking less and cutting back on tips. For workers in the service industry, that's all adding up to, well, not much at all.

The only place on this city block that's bucking the trend is Second City, where free improv-comedy nights seem to be luring patrons away from pricier entertainment. Elsewhere, though, the picture is grim.

Karen Oliveros is a bartender at Wayne Gretzky's restaurant, around the corner from the vacant chairs and next door to Second City. She is trying to work seven days a week just to make ends meet.

Good nights used to fetch up to $300 in tips, but those are "few and far between these days." So competition is heating up for prime shifts at the downtown sports bar and restaurant.

"In this industry, people live off their tips," Ms. Oliveros said. "The mix of people [at Gretzky's] is fantastic ... but at the same time we're all scrambling for hours now. It's definitely making for an edgier environment among the staff."

Usually the winter sports season is a winner, but patronage started to drop with autumn temperatures and has continued to fall, Ms. Oliveros said.

People who used to watch a big game at the bar now watch at home. Those who do come in are tipping 10 to 12 per cent of the bill, as opposed to the usual 15 per cent.

Around the corner on the livelier King Street West, bartender and restaurant manager Brent Stanley has seen a similar drop in both patronage and tips at Hey Lucy.

Keeping an attentive eye on four patrons seated near the pizza oven, Mr. Stanley says customers are steering away from alcohol or ordering the cheapest wine, and they're leaving less behind for the staff.

"You get accustomed to living a certain lifestyle," Mr. Stanley says of the hospitality industry. "If you want to survive, you're going to learn how to budget and financially adjust."

He goes to check on his customers, and returns with a wry grin. "Virgins," he says of the Caesars he's been asked to make. "Proves my point."

Inside the foyer of Second City, bartender/hostess/writer/actor Ashley Comeau is pragmatic about the situation: Tips are steady at Second City, but down at her second job as a waitress in Yorkville. Over all, her earnings from tips are down about 25 per cent.

"I'm definitely learning to live within my means, instead of being frivolous as I might have been this time last year," Ms. Comeau said.

Still, as the tips wane, this comedy writer still manages to see a positive side to the gloom: Should the economy tank entirely, it might just take her student loans with it.

"The majority of us are writers or actors, so it's [a case of] welcome to our world," she said with a laugh. "It's nice to have more company in this bracket of panic or uncertainty."

Then, her face straightening, she added: "My grandparents have been through something like this, my parents went through something like this. Now it's my turn."

The personal economy is a series that looks at people in the Toronto region coping with the economic downturn. To share your story, write Tenille Bonoguore at tbonoguore@globeandmail.com