November 2022...closed restaurants, bars and shops (Boston, Fall River: closing, organic, price)

[bostonguy1960]

Hmmm...just passed by 7-Eleven on Boylston Street across from the Lenox hotel.

Closed! What?! Inside windows papered over.

They never returned to 24/7 hours after Covid started, so hard to pay rent, I guess. Or was the lease ending?

Can't ever recall not having Store 24, Tedeschi's or 7-Eleven there.

What next?

[bostonguy1960]

Originally Posted by massnative71

What a dump, but I'd also be lying to say I didn't have a lot of good memories visiting there late at night or during the day. It's a part of the city that will be forever lost.

Yes, they upgraded their sign and facade, I believe, and maybe the interior maybe ten years ago.

Much of that stretch improved aesthetically I believe, at least from 20 years ago. I like there's a patio available nowadays at a few of the places there now, esp. JP Licks on a warm night.

But if I recall, only slices, not full pies, were available in the latter hours. I usually prefer to get a fresh pie if the wait is less than 15 minutes, but wasn't able to after midnight or so.

[mdovell]

You also have to keep in mind that franchises can have their own rules and not all of them are pretty. A long time ago I thought about getting into it and then I started hearing the numbers. A McDonalds can easily cost a million to make. Quiznos had their agreements leaked. No say on training, coupons, commercials etc. I know there are some that like to belittle fast food but there are owners that put their life savings into these things and then end up getting clobbered.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Hmmm...just passed by 7-Eleven on Boylston Street across from the Lenox hotel.

Closed! What?! Inside windows papered over.

They never returned to 24/7 hours after Covid started, so hard to pay rent, I guess. Or was the lease ending?

Can't ever recall not having Store 24, Tedeschi's or 7-Eleven there.

What next?

Surprising. It was always very busy. But I suppose cigs, coffee and candy no longer pay the rent in that hood. Maybe they are getting ripped off too much.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

Surprising. It was always very busy. But I suppose cigs, coffee and candy no longer pay the rent in that hood. Maybe they are getting ripped off too much.

A 7-11 near me which had been a franchise since I was a teenager closed down a couple of months ago. Per the franchisee's contract he had to sell everything back to 7-11. 7-11 already has a corporate store on the next block, so it didn't make sense for them to keep his store, so they sold it. Right now it's being dismantled and rebuilt into something...?!?

The rumor I heard re his "retirement" that most franchisees are being forced out as 7-11 tightens its business model. Four other stores in my general suddenly closed without warning around the same time. Coincidence? Hmm.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Suburban restaurants are taking a huge hit, whether it's Lindsey's down in Wareham, the Abington Depot, or a number of corporate chains closing locations. Someone in this thread mentioned changing tastes, and I think there's a lot to that. As the older meatloaf-as-comfort-food generation grows older and passes, it comes as a shock to these decade-old places that the younger generations aren't interested in such food. Couple that with people leaving the industry in droves and the skyrocketing cost of food and there you go. I'm in the industry myself and cannot wait to retire, tbh.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo

A 7-11 near me which had been a franchise since I was a teenager closed down a couple of months ago. Per the franchisee's contract he had to sell everything back to 7-11. 7-11 already has a corporate store on the next block, so it didn't make sense for them to keep his store, so they sold it. Right now it's being dismantled and rebuilt into something...?!?

The rumor I heard re his "retirement" that most franchisees are being forced out as 7-11 tightens its business model. Four other stores in my general suddenly closed without warning around the same time. Coincidence? Hmm.

The store in question here is a Tedeschi's, I believe. OP mentioned it was across from the Lenox. There is a 7-11 nearby but it's on Dartmouth near the green line entrance.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo

Someone in this thread mentioned changing tastes, and I think there's a lot to that. As the older meatloaf-as-comfort-food generation grows older and passes, it comes as a shock to these decade-old places that the younger generations aren't interested in such food.

I think there are plenty of people of all ages who still want those types of places and food. It's more that the economics simply don't work in a business that was already margin challenged. Every long standing mom and pop that closes is never coming back. It's sad.

[msRB311]

Im kind of surprised suburban restaurants are taking a hit. I'm on the south shore and restaurants here seem busy but maybe that's only on the weekends. I guess I'm the city people are eating at restaurants all week. I'm the burbs most people seem to eat at home all week then go out to eat on the weekends.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo

Suburban restaurants are taking a huge hit, whether it's Lindsey's down in Wareham, the Abington Depot, or a number of corporate chains closing locations. Someone in this thread mentioned changing tastes, and I think there's a lot to that. As the older meatloaf-as-comfort-food generation grows older and passes, it comes as a shock to these decade-old places that the younger generations aren't interested in such food. Couple that with people leaving the industry in droves and the skyrocketing cost of food and there you go. I'm in the industry myself and cannot wait to retire, tbh.

I think changing tastes are almost certainly a big part of it, but I would wager that current costs and staffing issues are the straws that are breaking the camel's back. Tastes have been changing for a long time (and restaurants that haven't adapted have been closing for a long time as a result). I'll be the first to admit that I was really bummed to hear about Lindsey's, but I haven't been there in probably 10 years or more. Not because it's far - there are still plenty of places on the South Coast I go out of my way for when I'm in the area - but because I'm never really craving the food or atmosphere (at least not more than other places in the area). They can weather degree of potential customers favoring other restaurants, but when costs start rising and it's hard to staff the place enough to do a high volume of sales, it gets much harder. This plays out everywhere. Like you said, places that were struggling with changing tastes are finding it hard (impossible) to also weather the skyrocketing food costs or issues with hiring/retention.

I also think we had a few years of deferred closures that are starting to come to a head. While plenty of places still closed during COVID, others that were probably running in the red or on razor thin margins were able to get by with federal and state support, temporary changes to business models (takeout only, cocktails to go, limited menus), etc. Many of those who managed to get by with the modified business models and subsidies are finding that they're not able to function without them. I'd expect that we'll continue to see closures for some time.