Considering many chains have recently closed doors or close some underperforming stores due to the times we are in, let's start a thread similar to the Sears/ Kmart thread.
Recently Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy and has been closing restaurants in certain markets to keep the others alive and well they haven't shut down.
Hooters closed 43 stores recently as the economy placed demands on them to stay in business.
I also heard Applebees is closing some stores as well.
Of course, this is been going on for ages. The economy sucks, then it gets better, then sucks again only to get better, and so on. So to me I would rather see some close than go out like Kmart where years later they can expand once the economy recovers. Although when one in your neighborhood closes it can be different despite you knowing it has to be. Especially when you are a regular customer it has some meaning as you lose a tradition sort of.
What other chains that have been doing well are next to close locations?
Red Lobster is the only one that qualifies for the death watch, given that its decline was caused by entering into a bad deal with a holding company.
Going to be a long while before any of these chains hit a Friendly's-type of existence...
Quote from: Rothman on July 05, 2024, 11:48:10 AMGoing to be a long while before any of these chains hit a Friendly's-type of existence...
I feel like Bertucci's is going that way, although I see nothing wrong with their service.
Locally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
Quote from: hotdogPi on July 05, 2024, 11:59:30 AMQuote from: Rothman on July 05, 2024, 11:48:10 AMGoing to be a long while before any of these chains hit a Friendly's-type of existence...
I feel like Bertucci's is going that way, although I see nothing wrong with their service.
My local Bertucci's is gone. Never went there in person, but they catered a work lunch of mine a couple of years ago.
Quote from: SectorZ on July 05, 2024, 04:46:04 PMLocally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
Ah, Papa Gino's, where the roof of your mouth will never be the same.
Quote from: epzik8 on July 05, 2024, 05:58:00 PMQuote from: hotdogPi on July 05, 2024, 11:59:30 AMQuote from: Rothman on July 05, 2024, 11:48:10 AMGoing to be a long while before any of these chains hit a Friendly's-type of existence...
I feel like Bertucci's is going that way, although I see nothing wrong with their service.
My local Bertucci's is gone. Never went there in person, but they catered a work lunch of mine a couple of years ago.
The one near us (Frontier Drive in Springfield) always looks crowded.
The thing is money bd numbers. Just because a place is crowded doesn't pay the bills and stuff the CEOs wallet.
Whataburger in Orlando had crowds at the John Young location, but the hierarchy still closed them for underproduction.
Quote from: roadman65 on July 16, 2024, 11:30:50 AMThe thing is money bd numbers. Just because a place is crowded doesn't pay the bills and stuff the CEOs wallet.
Whataburger in Orlando had crowds at the John Young location, but the hierarchy still closed them for underproduction.
Was it just a hangout for kids? That would explain low sales. Kids will order drinks and shakes, but probably not a double combo with cheese and other orders for a family.
Ruby Tuesday feels like it's shrinking fast. I feel like they were pretty common 10-15 years ago, and now the closest one to me is five hours away. It's a shame, because I like their salad bar. (Salad bars in general feel like an endangered species in the post-pandemic world, speaking of which.)
Quote from: TheCatalyst31 on July 17, 2024, 12:43:00 AMRuby Tuesday feels like it's shrinking fast. I feel like they were pretty common 10-15 years ago, and now the closest one to me is five hours away. It's a shame, because I like their salad bar. (Salad bars in general feel like an endangered species in the post-pandemic world, speaking of which.)
Yeah Ruby Tuesday has about half the locations they did 15 or so years ago. It's too bad because I liked them too.
Salad bars were dying off even before Covid. They are hard to maintain from a food safety perspective and I don't think there is as much demand as there used to be when most places will simply customize a side salad. "Hold the tomatoes."
Quote from: SEWIGuy on July 17, 2024, 05:10:00 AMSalad bars were dying off even before Covid. They are hard to maintain from a food safety perspective and I don't think there is as much demand as there used to be when most places will simply customize a side salad. "Hold the tomatoes."
Well Cracker Barrel got rid of their side salad during C19 which is just another reason for me not to want to eat there.
Quote from: SectorZ on July 05, 2024, 04:46:04 PMLocally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
They're a local institution, but the quality of their pizza and restaurants had been declining for some time. Plus, they're in a region with plenty of better pizza options.
Quote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 17, 2024, 07:06:25 AMQuote from: SectorZ on July 05, 2024, 04:46:04 PMLocally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
They're a local institution, but the quality of their pizza and restaurants had been declining for some time. Plus, they're in a region with plenty of better pizza options.
Their quality wasn't that great 40 years ago, either.
Quote from: TheCatalyst31 on July 17, 2024, 12:43:00 AMRuby Tuesday feels like it's shrinking fast. I feel like they were pretty common 10-15 years ago, and now the closest one to me is five hours away. It's a shame, because I like their salad bar. (Salad bars in general feel like an endangered species in the post-pandemic world, speaking of which.)
I was surprised to learn I still had one left in Massachusetts.
Maybe it's just me but seems like Luby's and Golden Corral have begun fading away since the start of this decade.
Quote from: jgb191 on July 17, 2024, 08:39:30 PMMaybe it's just me but seems like Luby's and Golden Corral have begun fading away since the start of this decade.
The pandemic really laid a smack down on buffet restaurants, especially in more restrictive states. A lot of places which had buffets that weren't the focus of the business model (e.g the rural KFC buffets) saw it as an excuse to eliminate them for good
Quote from: Rothman on July 17, 2024, 11:26:57 AMQuote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 17, 2024, 07:06:25 AMQuote from: SectorZ on July 05, 2024, 04:46:04 PMLocally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
They're a local institution, but the quality of their pizza and restaurants had been declining for some time. Plus, they're in a region with plenty of better pizza options.
Their quality wasn't that great 40 years ago, either.
True enough, but customers weren't quite as discerning as they are now.
Quote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 18, 2024, 05:22:05 AMQuote from: Rothman on July 17, 2024, 11:26:57 AMQuote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 17, 2024, 07:06:25 AMQuote from: SectorZ on July 05, 2024, 04:46:04 PMLocally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
They're a local institution, but the quality of their pizza and restaurants had been declining for some time. Plus, they're in a region with plenty of better pizza options.
Their quality wasn't that great 40 years ago, either.
True enough, but customers weren't quite as discerning as they are now.
Not sure how you figure that. My town in MA had a Papa Gino's for some years, but they eventually couldn't compete with other local pizzerias. They also were across the hallway from a dying mall's AMC theater, so they only got the "Ugh, well, it's here and convenient" movie-going crowd.
Parallel to that, my old community is also quite proud of the fact that Cold Stone couldn't cut it due to the great ice cream already available in three local shops.
Feel bad for places where DQ or a soft-serve shop is all they've got or ever known.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on July 17, 2024, 08:58:08 PMQuote from: jgb191 on July 17, 2024, 08:39:30 PMMaybe it's just me but seems like Luby's and Golden Corral have begun fading away since the start of this decade.
The pandemic really laid a smack down on buffet restaurants, especially in more restrictive states. A lot of places which had buffets that weren't the focus of the business model (e.g the rural KFC buffets) saw it as an excuse to eliminate them for good
DFW/north TX has a lot fewer Luby's and Golden Corral locations now than before. Several seniors in my Nextdoor group are upset that a nearby Luby's has closed in the last month. A Chick-Fil-A is going in its place.
Quote from: Rothman on July 18, 2024, 08:39:51 AMQuote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 18, 2024, 05:22:05 AMQuote from: Rothman on July 17, 2024, 11:26:57 AMQuote from: Ted$8roadFan on July 17, 2024, 07:06:25 AMQuote from: SectorZ on July 05, 2024, 04:46:04 PMLocally for me, Papa Gino's has to be on a death watch. They declared chapter 11 a while back and they're just hanging on by a thread.
They're a local institution, but the quality of their pizza and restaurants had been declining for some time. Plus, they're in a region with plenty of better pizza options.
Their quality wasn't that great 40 years ago, either.
True enough, but customers weren't quite as discerning as they are now.
Not sure how you figure that. My town in MA had a Papa Gino's for some years, but they eventually couldn't compete with other local pizzerias. They also were across the hallway from a dying mall's AMC theater, so they only got the "Ugh, well, it's here and convenient" movie-going crowd.
Parallel to that, my old community is also quite proud of the fact that Cold Stone couldn't cut it due to the great ice cream already available in three local shops.
Feel bad for places where DQ or a soft-serve shop is all they've got or ever known.
I can agree with the "here and convenient" part on the pizza. I never even ate it much the two years I worked there. I liked some of the grill food more, especially stuff that was more made fresh. I had a store manager most of the time I was there that had so many off-menu concoctions that he taught us about and we sometimes made for the regular customers, and his ideas were better than the menu stuff.
Back in 1994-1996, and I highly doubt it's changed for the better now, all the pasta was frozen, thawed out, and "cooked" in a microwave. I was shocked it didn't taste much worse than it actually did.
By the time I was there, I also worked in one of the only locations that made the dough on site, and that ended shortly after I left. That had to help the taste of the pizza a bit at least. It doesn't help that the pizza is so hand made that your experience can vary, wildly, with whoever makes it.
Quote from: SectorZ on July 18, 2024, 07:17:09 PMBack in 1994-1996, and I highly doubt it's changed for the better now, all the pasta was frozen, thawed out, and "cooked" in a microwave. I was shocked it didn't taste much worse than it actually did.
Microwave cooking should be illegal in and kind of restaurant. For "pre-cooking" I don't mind it.
Quote from: epzik8 on July 18, 2024, 07:46:04 PMQuote from: SectorZ on July 18, 2024, 07:17:09 PMBack in 1994-1996, and I highly doubt it's changed for the better now, all the pasta was frozen, thawed out, and "cooked" in a microwave. I was shocked it didn't taste much worse than it actually did.
Microwave cooking should be illegal in and kind of restaurant. For "pre-cooking" I don't mind it.
Most chains just warm up their food. Like Olive Garden. :D
Quote from: epzik8 on July 18, 2024, 07:46:04 PMQuote from: SectorZ on July 18, 2024, 07:17:09 PMBack in 1994-1996, and I highly doubt it's changed for the better now, all the pasta was frozen, thawed out, and "cooked" in a microwave. I was shocked it didn't taste much worse than it actually did.
Microwave cooking should be illegal in and kind of restaurant. For "pre-cooking" I don't mind it.
That would be incredibly silly; a microwave is a tool just like any other, it can lead to bad or good results depending who's using it and for what. Even the chefs on Food Network will use it if it's the best tool for the job. It's just that because it's easy to use, a lot of people use it for things it's not the best at, and that results in sucky results.
If a restaurant has bad food and you don't like it, don't give them money. If a restaurant has good food, give them money. If they use a microwave and the food is good, then why does it matter?
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 19, 2024, 01:46:13 AMQuote from: epzik8 on July 18, 2024, 07:46:04 PMQuote from: SectorZ on July 18, 2024, 07:17:09 PMBack in 1994-1996, and I highly doubt it's changed for the better now, all the pasta was frozen, thawed out, and "cooked" in a microwave. I was shocked it didn't taste much worse than it actually did.
Microwave cooking should be illegal in and kind of restaurant. For "pre-cooking" I don't mind it.
That would be incredibly silly; a microwave is a tool just like any other, it can lead to bad or good results depending who's using it and for what. Even the chefs on Food Network will use it if it's the best tool for the job. It's just that because it's easy to use, a lot of people use it for things it's not the best at, and that results in sucky results.
If a restaurant has bad food and you don't like it, don't give them money. If a restaurant has good food, give them money. If they use a microwave and the food is good, then why does it matter?
I'm just shocked that in two years of microwaving pasta that not a single person questioned why something that takes 10-12 minutes to cook came out sometimes in 2 minutes.
Applebees is definitely a restaurant chain I would not mourn. I worked in restaurants throughout my 20s and that was the worst restaurant job I ever had. And yes, most stuff is microwaved. I think the last time I was even inside an Applebees was 1998 (other than picking up a friend at one after she had been in an accident and needed a place to hang out while I drove a couple hours to fetch her).
https://www.youtube.com/@BrightSunFilms on Youtube documents quite a few of these chains and their downturns. Pretty interesting channel, as well as Company Man's channel.
I've lived in cities that have a pretty good local restaurant scene so I rarely think of chain restaurants as an option anymore. Particularly here in Tucson, where there's so many excellent family owned Mexican restaurants that it feels impossible to check them all out at one point or another
Quote from: Rothman on July 18, 2024, 08:51:04 PMQuote from: epzik8 on July 18, 2024, 07:46:04 PMQuote from: SectorZ on July 18, 2024, 07:17:09 PMBack in 1994-1996, and I highly doubt it's changed for the better now, all the pasta was frozen, thawed out, and "cooked" in a microwave. I was shocked it didn't taste much worse than it actually did.
Microwave cooking should be illegal in and kind of restaurant. For "pre-cooking" I don't mind it.
Most chains just warm up their food. Like Olive Garden. :D
Good point.
Fun side note: Stephen Anderson (nycroads webmaster) is a stock analyst in that area, and has likely mentioned some of these chains on CNBC. Here's a video from 2019: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/10/22/restaurant-analyst-gives-his-top-stock-picks.html
Golden Corral again is cutting back and closing more locations. It seems like Covid closed many already as Lakeland South in FL is an Aldi now.
I Drive in Orlando became Sickies Garage after Covid.
This chain seems slow but sure.