Another Great City of Cincinnati Business Decision (Not) (Mason, Perry: renters, home)

[chet_kinkaid]

You could give some immigrants from vietnam or ethiopia $700 and they would probably have a successful restaurant..they would work hard..be at the restaurant 7 days a week from open to close...its hard for any restaurant to succeed..almost 80% failure rate across the board..why give 700 k of taxpayer money to any restaurant??Thats mishandling of funds and should be investigated

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

But there are a couple of things you are missing. The City induced her to go there with an almost $700.000 grant up front. Remember a grant is not a loan, you don't have to pay it back. They then added to it a $300,000 City loan. Now if somebody came to you with a financial deal like that, you telling me you wouldn't Jump On It? I know some stupid people but I don't know anyone that stupid. She simply did not manage it properly, which you can trace back to the Hamilton property. Don't fault the City, they gave her a windfall, she just mismanaged it. Time for Cincinnati to get out of this whole deal.

Sure, I understand this. I guess we have a different perspective on it though. I fault the city for making a poor business decision that led to the city enticing her to locate in a spot that was likely doomed to fail from the start.

And yes, she is at fault for not doing here homework. No amount of free money will insure the survival of a business. It may get you started up and operating for a while but if the market you need does not exist in that location, then it is just a matter of time before the business fails, just like Mahogany's.

Not everyone would jump at the deal. Anyone with real business sense can envision what might happen a year or two down the road and plan for it. These days people are constantly bombarded with offers for "free" this and that through the media and often times there are strings attached. Read the fine print and determine if it is in your best interest to bite. May not be the case.

[Wilson513]

I think she put her pals Wendell Young and Dohoney up to getting her this money by criticizing the Banks for not having an African American business down there. Clearly it was not the City's plan.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

I think she put her pals Wendell Young and Dohoney up to getting her this money by criticizing the Banks for not having an African American business down there. Clearly it was not the City's plan.

Is this documented or just your gut feeling? Can't believe she would be that dumb to move her business to a place that lacked the appropriate customer base even if to prove a point.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

Is this documented or just your gut feeling? Can't believe she would be that dumb to move her business to a place that lacked the appropriate customer base even if to prove a point.

I am not sure you can establish what exactly would be the appropriate customer base. After all the National Freedom Center is practically next door. Would you not think patrons of the Freedom Center would be soul food enthusiasts? The Banks itself should be diverse enough to draw her type of fare. I feel it was just mismanged. The food was not all that good, the prices were high for the type of food, the service was erratic and sometimes non-existent, just poorly run.

Go back and read the online reviews of her restaurant in Hamilton. You will see the same inconsistency, ranging from best soul food in Cincinnati to the food was terrible. Same with the service. I realize the public varies in their judgment but there is a pattern there.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I am not sure you can establish what exactly would be the appropriate customer base. After all the National Freedom Center is practically next door. Would you not think patrons of the Freedom Center would be soul food enthusiasts? The Banks itself should be diverse enough to draw her type of fare. I feel it was just mismanged. The food was not all that good, the prices were high for the type of food, the service was erratic and sometimes non-existent, just poorly run.

Go back and read the online reviews of her restaurant in Hamilton. You will see the same inconsistency, ranging from best soul food in Cincinnati to the food was terrible. Same with the service. I realize the public varies in their judgment but there is a pattern there.

Actually there are demographic studies done in detail for retail and restaurants to use to help determine if the right kind of customer base resides nearby or may visit a specific area.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

Actually there are demographic studies done in detail for retail and restaurants to use to help determine if the right kind of customer base resides nearby or may visit a specific area.

And if I was an owner of a specific type of restaurant I would take their studies for a grain of salt. Their business is making studies, my business is running a restaurant. May do well for McDonalds and the rest but I would not bet my future on them.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

And if I was an owner of a specific type of restaurant I would take their studies for a grain of salt. Their business is making studies, my business is running a restaurant. May do well for McDonalds and the rest but I would not bet my future on them.

You are kidding, right? It is possible for a entrepreneur to purchase demographic studies for a given area, city etc. from different sources. A restauranteur does not necessarily need to use the same studies done for a company like McRonald's especially since that place caters to the burger crowd.

[kjbrill]

Hey Sarah ... What do you think?

When is this fiasco going to be put to rest? Anytime this year or next?

[ohioaninsc]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I am not sure you can establish what exactly would be the appropriate customer base. After all the National Freedom Center is practically next door. Would you not think patrons of the Freedom Center would be soul food enthusiasts? The Banks itself should be diverse enough to draw her type of fare. I feel it was just mismanged. The food was not all that good, the prices were high for the type of food, the service was erratic and sometimes non-existent, just poorly run.

Go back and read the online reviews of her restaurant in Hamilton. You will see the same inconsistency, ranging from best soul food in Cincinnati to the food was terrible. Same with the service. I realize the public varies in their judgment but there is a pattern there.

That was the word from my African American friends too...the food was bad, service awful, terrible drinks, and way overpriced....I was willing to go try it out, but they persueded me not to because of how bad they said it was.