Layout:
Home > Restaurant Closures

Restaurant Closures

September 22nd, 2008 at 03:05 am

Isn't it a tad bit frightening to watch the numerous companies that are filing for bankruptcy? I know as a server, it's pretty scary.

In our town, we lost Don Pablos, Roadhouse Grill, and Johnny Carinos, last year. Yeah, during the "boom". Oops.

Then, of course you've heard about Bennigan's and Steak n Ale. Yep, they're gone. Next door to where I work is a Ruby Tuesday, well, they've filed for bankruptcy as well. Then there is Shell's, which I believe is only in Florida, but they've filed for Chapter 11. Sam's Seltzer's closed here a couple of weeks ago.

Wouldn't you be scared if you were a server, and were watching all these places closed. We had one opening (my friend passing away) at CB ... and we had 25 applicants in ONE day.

Usually, when it gets into the slow season, people talk about leaving and looking for new restaurants. No one did that this year. Why? Well, it's pretty obvious ... it's just not the time to go. And if you did, what are your chances that you were hired to a place listed above ... and now you're unemployed. I had a few friends who worked in some of the above places ... and they just showed up to work and there was nothing. No last paycheck, no sorry ... just a closed door and bills to pay at home.

I'll be the first to admit, my income is DOWN ...I don't even want to look at the complete totals. It's been about cutting corners ... finding a way save ... taking Juliette out of daycare to try to save some money (luckily I have AMAZING parents) ... but who's to say we aren't next.

7 Responses to “Restaurant Closures”

  1. baselle Says:
    1222061584

    It is scary. When other places contract, it means that they don't eat out and they don't, you can't serve them. It sounds though like you are planning, and controlling what you can control in a situation that you can't control. In a weird way, the more closings, the less competition your restaurant has. Here's to keeping your regulars through the slow season and making it through! Good luck.

  2. Brenda Says:
    1222064271

    "the more closings, the less competition your restaurant has"
    Good insight Baselle. Nice to look at the positive side of things when times are tough.

  3. disneysteve Says:
    1222089744

    Around here, they can't open new restaurants fast enough. From the moment they open their doors, the parking lots are packed and their are lines to get in. In the past 2 years, we've probably gotten nearly a dozen new restaurants on one stretch of road alone. There are 2 attached restaurants that burned down a couple of years ago. One was rebuilt and opened not long ago and the other is just about finished and will reopen shortly.

    We have seen some closures but mainly the chains that went under, like Bennigans, but that wasn't related to the local economy. Business is booming otherwise.

  4. reginaastralis Says:
    1222090230

    How different it is per region. I don't know the exact totals, but we've been seeing a downturn. We're projected for smaller sales, and we've been the "best" in the district, because while we're loosing sales, we're loosing the least of them.

    Don't get me wrong, we're still going on waits at times, and some places like Chilis always have a line ... but it is NOT like it was two years ago. I can see a huge change, and I'm pretty sure it's all affected by our tourism being down, construction being blech ... I could go on and on.

    "the more closings, the less competition your restaurant has"
    Good insight Baselle. Nice to look at the positive side of things when times are tough. - My boss came in smiling a couple of weeks ago "I have good news, Ruby Tuesdays is filing for bankruptcy." While it's "good news" for us, since less competition means people are more willing to come to us ... I can't help but think about my friend who work for this company ... and it's not good news for them.

  5. gamecock43 Says:
    1222095345

    Yeah...Baseball boy and I went to our favorite thai food place and the woman was like, "where have you been?" we just said its the economy. Thai food is a treat now instead of a staple. She said none of her regulars were coming in anymore. She did serve us huge portions...sneaky lady trying to get our business back!

  6. sharmanl Says:
    1222120629

    I know it's the economy. Many of the restaurants in our area have raised their prices and give smaller portions. Many are almost empty if you go in at lunch time. Even yesterday when we went to the Aquarium (which is usually packed), there were no lines, hardly any people, and almost all the restaurants on a Sunday were closed. It was weird!

  7. disneysteve Says:
    1222122179

    One thing I have noticed locally is that restaurants that never used to advertise now do so and have coupons in the paper. These aren't cheap chains but more upscale pricey places. So they must be seeing a downturn in business even though the overall market is pretty strong around here.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]