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A bottle shop here in town closed abruptly this week. They were previously in a dated strip mall in the center of town, but moved to a nicer spot at the edge of town with a farm to table restaurant. The restaurant closed last week, and the bottle shop closed a few days later. They weren't owned by the same people.
I have seen more than one business roll out an expensive build, with frontage and signage and something close to full preparation, never to open their doors. Two or three restaurants and a specialty retailer of unknown focus come to mind.
Restaurants and bars are the businesses people put every last dime into without five cents of emergency or operating money, and lose it the first time a provider wants cash for a load of booze or meat. Watching them gasp for breath for a few weeks, then close, is heartbreaking. But people won't give up that idea of "owning their own business" when they really know nothing about it - or are a great fry cook but have never managed the books.
I knew a decades-old family-owned barbecue place move from its established downtown location out in the exurbs. They blew a lot of money on building the new place, only to watch it die on the vine inside of six months. I mean, this place had been an institution. Dumbest move ever.
Being in the restaurant service business, I have seen way too many places close within the first year. If some make it through the first 2/3 yrs on a shoestring or in the red it gets sold before they go under. First sign of trouble is management changes every 6 months, huge red flag. Most places have a hard time coming up with cash and need to use their credit cards or pass on service till next month. Last few years have been better then 5/8 yrs ago.
I knew a decades-old family-owned barbecue place move from its established downtown location out in the exurbs. They blew a lot of money on building the new place, only to watch it die on the vine inside of six months. I mean, this place had been an institution. Dumbest move ever.
I've told the story of the long-established sandwich place in my small town, one of the few places to get decent non-chain, non-grocery food, beloved by everyone... and six months after the assistant took it over, she'd run everyone and everything into the ground. Even having been all but a partner for three or four years wasn't enough education on customer service and product quality.
The first was opened by the McCalls.. They are the family that started Ryan's.. The chain that started as a steakhouse, turned into a buffet place, was bought by the screwups who were running Old Country Buffet into the ground and they've run it into the ground. It's all but out of business now, save 20 or so locations scattered through the US.
But, they opened a restaurant.. Built from the ground up.. I can't even remember the name. Had something to do with the Charleston area.. I only remember it being open about 6 months, but other people have told me I was mistaken and it was actually open longer than that.
The other was a Golden Chick franchise. They tore down an old Taco Bell and built a new Golden Chick in the wrong area. It was about 2 miles from another they had opened, it was across the street from a college, but.. Just not a good location. It closed in under a year. 8 to 10 months, I'd say.
Golden Chick has done horribly here. And they have really good food (And astounding yeast rolls).. There have been at least 4 go under in this area (Upstate SC).. Greenwood, 2 in Greenville and one in Spartanburg.
I've been involved a bit with a chain out of Atlanta called Boneheads Grill.. They opened around 15 of them, there's 1 left down in Pensacola, FL.. Some of them only lasted a few months. One was in a mall down Atlanta way.
The world, particularly the strange faux-upscale world of crafted malls and "village centers," can only handle so many slightly-nice grills and chophouses and diners and funky food places. "But we all keep trying, like fools!" as David LoPan put it.
"How quickly have you seen a business fold?"
2 months.
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