Have you noticed an appreciable decline in your business since, say, last year?
I thought your restaurant might be somewhat resistant to the business cycle since it's kind of upscale. At least I think it is...
Also, do you know if high-end restaurants are suffering, too? Last I heard in the US, high end retailers were doing quite well because, as we know, the rich are doing fine. I was just wondering if high-end restaurants were also doing well... I'm primarily curious about Japan though if you know how things are going in the US also, I'd be curious.
We are mid priced and feeling it. In the last year, all costs have gone up because of fuel prices etc. and one of our base groups of guests, foriegners living and working here has decreased by almost 1/2 as all the big banking companies got slammed by the subprime crap. Our guests are about 50% japanese 50% from all over the world.
And with lehman bros. ubs, morgan stanley etc. getting rid of 30% or more of their staff... well, we are seeing a shift.
It is not so much people not coming, it is people spending a little less and all our bottom line costs going up.
high end places are still doing ok, but they too are losing some of their margin as base food ingredients prices increase.
It's a bit of a shame, as I liked Bennigan's (the nearest one was 20 miles away, so I don't feel any real sorrow over it), but it's a troubling indication of just how bad this "downturn" is going to get.
This is far more significant and worrisome than the Starbuck's closures. Those made a big splash in the press, but Starbuck's was insanely overextended, particularly here in Seattle. While there have been less than 20 store closures in the entire state of Washington.
This, OTOH, is an entire chain going el-foldo. Not good.
Smaller mom and pops are also being hammered. There was a Thai restaurant I often got take out from, on 196'th hard by SR 99, in Lynnwood. At some point during the last two months, they just slipped away.
This is the collateral damage from an immense plundering expedition against what used to be the largest economy in the world.
Like all plundering expeditions, it did hundreds of times more damage than the value of the loot recovered by the thieves.
Here's a rule of thumb. When an article mentions Challenger, Gray & Christmas the chances are high its going to be BAD news. They're like the Angel of Death, not evil but not someone you're happy to see either. We're going to be seeing them mentioned alot more over the next few years.
Sorry to hear your restaurant is struggling, gator.
On one hand, I'm glad this is happening on bush's watch. I think his mismanagement of the economy has been catastrophic. Much of it can be placed squarely on bush's shoulders in particular and modern conservatism in general.
On the other hand, after watching them change the debate just a few days after Katrina hit, I suspect they'll spend the next X years trying to portray this as a failure of the Democrats and will be at least partially successful, in spite of the evidence.
either way, he's leaving a massive, explosive, flaming turd on our doorstep. Assuming he can't/won't be prosecuted for his various crimes after leaving office, I think the next President should at least return the favor by nominating him publicly & repeatedly to be the next US Ambassador to Iraq. I'd love to see him squirm as he attempts to cut-and-run from his own disaster.
I have/had a Bennigan's close by and ate there every couple weeks. Great hamburgers! Going to be missed. They have said the private franchises are not part of this filing. I don't know if my restaurant is private or corporate held, but they are not answering their phone. Damn!
This is the fourth or fifth local restaurant we have lost here in Pensacola during 2008. The Steak & Ale closed two weeks ago, the Lonestar Steakhouse -- which had the only good steaks in town -- went under a few months ago. My favorite fried chicken/country joint, Po' Folks, closed when their lease was not renewed, and one of the biggest buffet restaurants, Barnhill's, went under in the spring.
We are running out of restaurants here, and usually the ones closing are the ones close by we patronize the most. Must be a lesson there somewhere. I am sure there are many more in other areas of town which I haven't noticed being missing yet.
Sure was a crappy way for Bennigan's to fire their employees.
man, we had jsut gone to bennigins doen on sunday...promised my kids we would go back on bloon guy night (kids eat free night). ours closed...franchise that is still open a 30 min drive...oh well.
Ensley": we lived in pensacola backe in 2k...its sad to hear that soem of the places I remember have goen under.
Hmm. When we were all at Netroots Nation, the GNB gang, along with a few friends from the Campaign from America's Future and the Commonweal Institute, had a big Saturday night out at Threadgill's, just on the south side of the Congress Street Bridge.
I noticed going in that the Bennigan's across the street was shuttered, with a big FOR LEASE sign on the front. But I figured that was just due to the basic stupidity of putting a white-bread suburban chain restaurant directly across the street from the World Headquarters of Chicken Fried Steak. Certainly not a location choice I'd have hurried to make, no.
Guess not, though. Turns out that Bennigan's had much bigger problems than trying to compete with a single Threadgill's.
Gator's right, though. Apart from big downtown events that draw in thousands -- like NN, or the Celebration of Light here in Vancouver -- I haven't been in a full restaurant in ages. And within the range of sit-down restaurants, the more downscale and casual it is, the more empty it's likely to be.
Spare me the ideological purity test -- it's the VP ffs.
The ability of a VP pick to deliver a home state or a demographic is highly suspect.
The only meaningful measures are a lack of skeletons and whether the candidate can trust them with their life.
Sorry aboot the wrong thread.
Bennigan's? You mean there's a fiscal penalty to be paid for serving slop even in that market space?
Who knew.
Those sit down chains whose stock and trade is families with loud, food flinging 2-6 year olds are are all pretty lousy.
Nixonland is knowing the chain food and lodging will be consistently mediocre.
Nixonland's clean and well lit is a lie. Microwaving and deep frying frozen food isn't cooking. The stuff is loaded with preservatives & flavor enhancers. Most of those places can't even manage to adhere to the bathroom cleaning schedule.
Moonglum, I have only lived in P'cola for about a dozen years. It is the most boring city I have ever lived in, but then again, I'm a displaced Manhattanite who also lived for years in Miami. But after working overseas for a hectic decade, I was ready for a laid-back town.
I have found that the Golden Corral chain of buffet restaurants are doing extremely well, keeping their tables full and giving relatively good eats for a cheap price. However, even a restaurant which stays only half-full can be turning a good profit while another which is packed could be losing money. Patronage is not always the deciding factor, although in extreme cases it definitely is.
Can't say I am sorry to see a about a half-dozen Starbucks closing here, though. I never saw the benefit in opening so many in Pensacola being that it is not a yuppie town to begin with. Do you know you can add the cost of ONE Starbucks latte to your electric or gas bill to go into their fund to help poor people pay their utility bills? Just ONE crappy overpriced latte per month. Contact your local utility companies to see how to sign on. Surely we can all spare at least $5 a month to help others instead of buying a latte.
Butters on South Park is going to be so disappointed, Bennigan's was his favorite.
As I live in Seattle proper, there aren't too many of these chains around, they tend to have a tough time here even in good times. The suburban retail strips nearby are full of them though.
As for Starbucks I wouldn't be too worried about them going under. The store closings are mostly locations that should never have been opened in the first place. Their cash flow and debt are both reasonable. If things get really dire it is more likely some private equity fund will buy them out.
Bennigan's, at least in CA, started to suck hard about three years ago. There was one about five minutes from the old ERPS/MSS shop that we went to on a regular basis, and the change was really noticeable.
so far, with my ear pressed closely to the F&B markets (my truffle biz depends on them) around san diego i've been seeing this:
it's the chains that are dying. at one of my filthy rich republican uncle's commercial operations the chain sandwich store ate it, mainly because the chain structure was paying bonuses and buying advertising instead of putting the money into things like paying suppliers. with some creative help from a landlord who would rather take a chance on something to have space filled. the employees of said chain store have opened their own "Po' Boy" shop, with a surf theme (meaning lots of fish sandwiches) and are doing very well. caught up back rent, and have been making a splash in the local market.
smaller, more responsive to community tastes, types of places are appearing to do well.
for that matter, i wouldn't be surprised at all to see more of the focus of the business to even more types of guerilla ops. street vendors and such.
pushcarts with pho. street heaven.
nothing productive to add other than, mmmm, pho.
If the managers got calls in the middle of the night to shutter the stores what happened to the existing inventory? The frozen stuff and dry goods will hold but the fresh stuff is just sitting there rotting? What a waste.
Ensley: was onyl there for a year...ya it was a damm boring town...I was glad to get back to chicago.
Minstrle boy...while I love the street vendors, they realy can only be out for 6 months a year around me...oh well....local owned is still the way to go, unfortuniatly while I now live in teh town that has the highest rate of peopel eatign out percapital in teh country (the kitchens on existing houses show it...two burner electric stove in a 4 bedroom hous is common) the resturante choices are mediocer...almost all chains, or bad greesy spoons(i love good dive food, thses are bad dives) I have been wageing a one man write in campaigne to the good resturantes up north tryign to get tehm to open branches in my town...so far onyl one has bit, but their busniess is through the roof.
The sad part is that in a LOT of places, joints like Bennigan's are the ONLY place to eat out at a sit-down booth. Or something like it. Picture a mega-mall with a food court and then a Bennigan's and a Chili's.
Man, am I glad I live in Queens.
And Moonglum--fwiw, our street vendors hang tough all year long, even in blizzards.
In fact, one of the very last events that I did with Gilly was the second annual "Vendies" award for the top 4 street food vendors in NYC. The year I went with him, a Halal food cart (2 brothers) who had the most AMAZING lamb curry. They actually got their own whole spices in Flushing and ground their own spice rubs.
even though i am no longer stumbling out of clubs after the last set with a snootful, and a hunger, street vendors remain among my favorite ways to sample local food. whether it's tacos, or soups, or, some of the most delicious pho in the barrio logan. all from guys on the street.
real food, touched and prepared by real people. that responds to the community around it rather than imposing a menu nation or worldwide. that's the stuff i love.
one of my favorite restaurants is across the border in mexicali. it's right next to the bullring and serves nothing but goat. smoked goat, goat bbq, goat shanks, goat goat goat.
all of it exquisite. i love taking rookies there and watching their faces when i order a half goat face, spiced and grilled. that and a stack of tortillas (also supremely fresh, made right there to oder) i'm a happy happy guy.
okay, the half goat face gave me pause - I'm not adventurous with food at all, as tlg will contest
. I'm very likely to give things a pass if they look back at me beseechingly from the plate.
having said that, it sucks to be treated the way Bennigan's mismanaged this, and I hope the employees find their way into something better...entrepreneurial, maybe?
Welcome to Bush's world... where the low-end employees always get the short end of the stick while the wealthy don't have to worry about where their next dish of caviar is coming from.
That said, we just finished a driving trip and the food at the rest stops and near the freeways is appallingly bad... only ONCE did we find something worthwhile at a rest stop -- and that was at a Panera.
Even in good times 80 percent of new restaurants fold (mainly because they don't set aside enough money to hold out until they get a clientele, which usually takes at least a year), it's going to be much worse now.
We had a couple of Roadhouse Grills in Brevard (one in Titusville and one in Melbourne) that have finally been able to break away from the parent company that declared bankruptcy a few months ago, but it was a hard damn slog for the owners of those franchises, especially when they were trying to hold on to their employees while trying to get the parent company to get off it's dead ass and DO something.
It becomes depressing to see restaurants cycling through opening, trying to stay open long enough to get some business, watching them fold, sit vacant for six months to a year, building opens again with another restaurant with a different cuisine...wash, rinse, repeat.
And again, as it has been said above, this is the tip of the iceberg. I keep wondering how the movie theaters remain open with the surge in home theater equipment and Netflix...
dejah thoris-
It's not all bad right off the highway you just have to get good at spotting the decent places. It does tend to run to diners and greasy spoons, but some of those greasy spoons are quite good.
If you are really at a loss for a good place to eat while on a road trip, ask a long-haul trucker if they know of anything decent up ahead.
Sadly though I'll agree the options are pretty bleak if you happen to be on a toll-way and have to rely on what is at the service areas.
You reminded me, Deacon G. The Roadhouse Grill in Pensacola also closed, just a year or two after it opened.
The scary thing is that most of the restaurants closing here have been in business for at least a decade or two. These were not new start-up restaurants. Back about 12 years ago when I moved here, my son and his Army buddy managed the Steak & Ale at the I-10 interchange, and it had been there for years and years catering both to ramp traffic and locals; the food was good and of moderate price. It got shuttered overnight by the parent company, same one as Bennigans.
We have one of our two big malls with only about a half-dozen stores inside still open, not counting the two big anchor stores: Sears and JC Penneys. There are at least 40 empties. The mall itself is still missing parts of its drop ceiling and has not repaired other major damage from Hurricane Ivan back in 2004 yet.
Deacon G, actually I am in all kinds of groups that run these numbers.
Closure for new restaurants is 50% not 80%
the littest hussein gator | Homepage | 07.30.08 - 4:36 pm | #
Obviously I'm operating off of old information...my bad.
The sad part is that in a LOT of places, joints like Bennigan's are the ONLY place to eat out at a sit-down booth. Or something like it. Picture a mega-mall with a food court and then a Bennigan's and a Chili's. Jen
This place is called "Atlanta."
Jen, Redoubt: The mega-malls and not so mega-malls are going to be among the dominoes getting shaky, if not falling. As you said, a lot of these places are the only mall choices aside from the Sbarro's and horrid faux-chinee stuff in the food court. If Bennigans and the like fail, from what I was reading today, it will be damn hard for the mall owners to find new tenants for those units, which tend to be large and pricey. Double-hard if you need to refit the space from restaurant usage to something else.
So the ripples spread.
TLG, that domino has been falling for about 5 years now. It immediately followed the collapse of the housing boom, loss of construction and trucking and supply house jobs, and every OTHER service related to home building and sales.
And as you suggest, it sure as hell WILL get much, much worse . . . but that's here in CA, and the USA.
Have NO idea what it's like out of the USA.
But as I said, this has been ongoing for 5 years here in CA, in the Sacto 7 county region, and in the Bay Area, and all of Nor Cal.
We stopped eating out a decade ago, to save money, and we are BOTH long term employees in the biz . . got out in about '92, after rehabbing in our mid to late 30's with college degrees and moved into office work.
If we eat out, it's twice a year at the most.
dejah thoris: penara was realy good back when it was teh st luis sourdough company...whent natioanl changed teh name and droped teh quality..sad realy
what truly depressed me is my last road trip...I live on old 66(ok 1 mile away), we drove it south for a day lookign to see what we could see....tehre is nothing left, tried to take the kids to a good greasy spoon and coudn't find one...it was rather sad...at least my chunk of 66 is dead and gone (well there is a drivein theater that we stoped at on the trip home..beyond that nothing)
And to add to this pain, thanks to the US subprime f#%& up, in Europe they have to pay an extra one percent to their interest rate. Let the plague spread....
Commenting by HaloScan
