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Okay, this gas station next to work has been shut down at least a month now. No matter what time of day you go by there, it's closed for business. I guess that would qualify as a failed business, right?
The thing I'm not understanding is--why hasn't the owner at least tried to return his inventory of food and other assorted items to his vendors? I walked up to the glass the other day and peeked inside--plenty of food and other items on the shelves, and a less conscientious person would be tempted to break in just to get whatever they could, "smash and grab". It's not like you see the police keeping an eye on the place...and I don't even think he's got electric running--I figure it's shut off.
Unless the owner is in JAIL--and who knows, maybe he is--wouldn't you think he'd want to return that stuff while he could to minimize his losses?
Okay, this gas station next to work has been shut down at least a month now. No matter what time of day you go by there, it's closed for business. I guess that would qualify as a failed business, right?
The thing I'm not understanding is--why hasn't the owner at least tried to return his inventory of food and other assorted items to his vendors? I walked up to the glass the other day and peeked inside--plenty of food and other items on the shelves, and a less conscientious person would be tempted to break in just to get whatever they could, "smash and grab". It's not like you see the police keeping an eye on the place...and I don't even think he's got electric running--I figure it's shut off.
Unless the owner is in JAIL--and who knows, maybe he is--wouldn't you think he'd want to return that stuff while he could to minimize his losses?
The food and other perishables aren't worth anything-the vendors probably can't take it back and try to sell it since its too old now. Even if they could resell it, for how much it would cost in pick-up and re-stocking it probably cheaper for them to take the loss or just turn the bill into collections and not worry about it.
As for some unsavory character doing a smash/grab....that is only worth the risk if some of the items are able to be fenced. I guess candy-bars and soda don't have much street-value these days! I'm sure sooner or later the place will be broken into/vandalized by kids/bums and that food will be eaten...
The food and other perishables aren't worth anything-the vendors probably can't take it back and try to sell it since its too old now. Even if they could resell it, for how much it would cost in pick-up and re-stocking it probably cheaper for them to take the loss or just turn the bill into collections and not worry about it.
As for some unsavory character doing a smash/grab....that is only worth the risk if some of the items are able to be fenced. I guess candy-bars and soda don't have much street-value these days! I'm sure sooner or later the place will be broken into/vandalized by kids/bums and that food will be eaten...
Well, yeah, the food and beer are something the homeless might be interested in, I was thinking about the cigarettes still in the store. Everything's still there. If I couldn't return the stuff, I'd sell the stuff at a deep discount, at least. But knowing how much cigarettes cost these days--well, I don't know, because I quit before the big price increase, but I've heard prices have doubled? That's some money.
Bankruptcy court will sort it out. Often the owner is just leasing a property and gets locked out. The landlord has no right to dictate who gets what back.
Having been in the Inventory trade as Employee/Owner I am aware of the possible problems the OP is wondering about the gas station and do know what is involved.
The main situation would be a LEGAL one. I could list all the possibilities. Many stations are contract (independent owned) franchise for a better word. They do have business with suppliers and as far as rent goes...there would be a long lease involved. Money does flow in and the gas has to be paid for within time limits...no 90 days here.
As to food items...cannot be returned and resold to other retail stores. This is where you sometimes see some food or non food items sold at flea mkts and the likes.
There are many possibilities for an answer...none of which is of our concern or business.
Even if they sold the items at "fire sale" prices to get rid of it and try to recoup some of their money, it wouldn't be a surprise. The perishable foods have, by now, almost certainly gone bad and starting to stink up the place. I could even see them renting a large dumpster and just throwing it all away.
Even the cigarettes and beer--no doubt the most expensive items in the place.
It isn't my business, I know, it's just something I found strange. Certainly the owner can do as he or she wishes.
I know of a gas station that closed its pumps due to the underground fuel tanks needing to be replaced. It is right next to a creek and there was some kind of legal problem, fines or something. I still see people hanging around there at odd hours but I'm not sure what they are up to. Next to it is a closed ( for years) convenience store that is crumbling into ruin. For a moderately upscale suburban area you have to wonder why they don't just sell out and let somebody else develop the land.
I know of a gas station that closed its pumps due to the underground fuel tanks needing to be replaced. It is right next to a creek and there was some kind of legal problem, fines or something. I still see people hanging around there at odd hours but I'm not sure what they are up to. Next to it is a closed ( for years) convenience store that is crumbling into ruin. For a moderately upscale suburban area you have to wonder why they don't just sell out and let somebody else develop the land.
The clue here is the tanks needing replaced.....If the fuel tanks were leaking, not only is there the expense of replacement of the tanks, but environmental clean up as well, before new tanks could be put in, or ANY other type of redevelopment could take place. This generally requires the removal of ALL contaminated soil. It has to be shipped to one of only a few sites in the country for proper treatment and disposal. Then the removed soil of course has to be replaced. The cost for all of this is astronomical of course. Usually far more than the market value of the real estate.
When this happens, the scenario you describe here is the typical result. The owner disapears. NOBODY would buy the now worthless property, because the EPA makes it the current owner's liability to pay for the clean up. Even the local municipalities will refuse to foreclose the property for unpaid taxes to avoid the expense that would then attach to them.
The property basically sits in limbo, and slowly decays into the ground. A similar situation may have happened with the property the OP questions. Or perhaps it was just no longer profitable to pay the franchise fees, on top of the carry and other overhead involved, and the owner simply "walked away". It seems to happen a lot these days.
Okay, this gas station next to work has been shut down at least a month now. No matter what time of day you go by there, it's closed for business. I guess that would qualify as a failed business, right?
The thing I'm not understanding is--why hasn't the owner at least tried to return his inventory of food and other assorted items to his vendors? I walked up to the glass the other day and peeked inside--plenty of food and other items on the shelves, and a less conscientious person would be tempted to break in just to get whatever they could, "smash and grab". It's not like you see the police keeping an eye on the place...and I don't even think he's got electric running--I figure it's shut off.
Unless the owner is in JAIL--and who knows, maybe he is--wouldn't you think he'd want to return that stuff while he could to minimize his losses?
When I owned a restaurant we purchased and owned the food as it was delivered. The only way I could return anything was if it was spoiled when delivered or if they delivered the wrong item but my suppliers would never let me return food if I was going out of business.
Also if the owner of the business didn't own the store and was leasing he would have to remove all items when his lease was up. Most store front owners will not let you back in to retrieve things after the locks are changed and your lease is up.
The building owner could care less about items left behind and only care about finding someone new to lease the building to.
bust
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