I was offered $30K and 6% of beer sales at a brewpub. Minimum wage basically, and management was very limiting in what could be brewed. They left no room for the slightest bit of creativity.
Leaving no room for "creativity" is probably smart business on their part
since a lot of these places actually
do employ homebrewers (mainly because they can get them cheap). In a high overhead situation, there's a fine line between being 'creative' and catering to the clientele.
Though there are definitely some exceptions, many times homebrewers in such a situation view the gig as a sandbox to play in rather than a business (I've seen it firsthand). As a result they wind up making barrels of beers that ignore the public taste. The vast majority of pub/restaurant operations are going to be much more concerned with the bottom line and the most profitable use of the brewing setup (and in this economy, I could hardly blame them).
Besides, there is no shame in offering a better, house-brewed version of the type of beer that the vast majority of people drink... and any brewer worth his salt should be able to do that. A brewpub/restaurant that does that is, ironically, very probably more poised for success than one mainly bent on educating philistine palates.