[judylou]

Fire House Subs is no longer at the square in Spanish Springs. We went there Saturday night and there was a sign on the door that said this location has closed. So we went over to the one on 441 by Bealls and they said they couldn't make it at the square and someone had purchased it and will turn it into a hog dog place. I personally love Fire House subs and am sorry to see them go. I guess the rent is really high and you would have to sell lots and lots of subs to survive.

[villages07]

Ah, that explains it....today's paper said that Big City Grill (Chicago Italian beeef sandwiches and pizza) was opening a 2nd location in SS next to Katie Belles. Guess they are taking over firehouse subs location.

[Donna]

I would be very interested in knowing how much the rent was for Firehouse Subs..It was a large corner spot too, if I remember correctly...

Originally Posted by villages07

Ah, that explains it....today's paper said that Big City Grill (Chicago Italian beeef sandwiches and pizza) was opening a 2nd location in SS next to Katie Belles. Guess they are taking over firehouse subs location.

That's too bad, I liked Firehouse Subs a lot more than Big City Grill even though the pizza at Big City Grill is fairly good. We have only been to BCG twice. For some reason I liked the Big City Grill menus but have not quite figured that out yet. :joke: I did hear a rumor that Big City Grill gave a substantial donation to a local battered women's shelter when Big City Grill first opened but cannot confirm this rumor. :dontknow:

[zcaveman]

This will be the third restaurant in that same location since Zirbe's left. First Mexican, then hoagies, now hot dogs.

Should we start a pool to see how long this one lasts?

[Donna]

I do not understand this, the location is excellent...Why are these businesses all going out in a few months??

[bimmertl]

According to the article in the Daily Sun, "The leasing deal for the restaurant site next to Katie Belle's Resident Club provides strong evidence that Town Square is a prime market". The article written by "reporter" David Crowder fails to mention the fact BCG is moving to the location vacated by Fire House Subs, which apparently didn't realize the "prime market" mentioned. Any person not familiar with SS and reading the article in the Daily Sun would think BCG was merely an added restaurant in the Town Square rather than replacing one that failed.

It appears Mr. Crowder should be titled "Villages Spokesperson" rather than "reporter".

[golfnut]

zman, what was Zirbies?

Originally Posted by zcaveman

This will be the third restaurant in that same location since Zirbe's left. First Mexican, then hoagies, now hot dogs.

Should we start a pool to see how long this one lasts?

I usually had not seen many people eating at the Spanish Springs Town Square Firehouse Sun while I have been out and about at that Square. Perhaps, it is all the choices for eateries near that location which brought about the downfall of these other restaurants??

[SteveFromNY]

As I recall, the Mexican place was Q'Doba. The food was really fresh, and in my opinion pretty good. But, not unlike a sub place, this was largely a lunch spot. Personally, I think the fact that it was mostly just lunch is the kiss of death for a restaurant, unless they are in a place like Manhattan where they can serve hundreds of lunches a day. Just not enough money if you are mostly targetting a sngle meal.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by golfnut

zman, what was Zirbies?

Zirbie's was a semi-antique store that ripped the citizens off in price and quality. With a no return clause.

They moved to a big store across from the First Citizens bank on Main street. And eventually died. I guess because I have not heard from them since.

Good riddance.

[Hancle704]

None of them made it at that location so far. Interesting that Toojay's on the other corner seems to be doing okay. It should also be noted that at the opposite corner of the Square, across from The Rialto there have also been three different restaurants. Emmett's Steakhouse, Copper Kettle of something like, that and now Tex Mex Restaurant at that location.

I am of opinion that people arrive here read the demographics about affluent retirees who eat out often and believe that TV offers them unlimited potential for success. They overlook fact that this success only comes if they come up with the right combination of good food, reasonable prices and decent service. Look at how well McCall's, Pauley's Pizzeria, Panera's, Ruby Tuesdays and Toojay's have done since opening. It seems that when they lose sight of what is needed to succeeed and they try cutting back on expenses, the quality and food suffer because they need to make the rent, then they fail.

[chuckster]

Sorry Z, but each to their own. Zirbes (across from Citizens) had a fabulous collection of hard to find art work, tapestries, furniture and you name it in the antique, collectibles category. We could spend hours browsing for gifts (inexpensive) and furnishings. The owner, a village resident retired.

[travelstiles]

We tried Firehouse three times in 2 months. Each time the service was slow and they couldn't seem to get even simple orders right. It's not a matter of their being busy, as there were very few customers each time. We overhead a phone call come in for an order, and the person answering the phone said they were too busy to take the order, but didn't offer to call the caller back :dontknow:
The food wasn't bad at all, but like a lot of other food establishments I suppose it's difficult to get good help - don't know.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by chuckster

Sorry Z, but each to their own. Zirbes (across from Citizens) had a fabulous collection of hard to find art work, tapestries, furniture and you name it in the antique, collectibles category. We could spend hours browsing for gifts (inexpensive) and furnishings. The owner, a village resident retired.

Did youbuy or just browse?