[Villages Kahuna]

There was lots of discussion in an earlier post about incidents of awful service at Dominic's. Then there was one brief post wherein someone said he had heard they had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation).

Is the restaurant still open, or have they turned the lights off and gone?

[Fourpar]

It was open yesterday. Don't know about today as we had to return to Destin today....We've heard that it isn't long for this world however!

[Donna]

Why are so many restaurants going out of business? It is certainly not for lack of customers, is it the exorbitant amount of rent they pay??

[jadebox]

If they serve good food at a reasonable price with good service they will survive and thrive.

[carlent]

yes it is the rent they pay. For example.....the space in Spanish Springs that was FIREHOUSE SUBS was available...only 1100 sq ft and they wanted $6500 a month triple net lease.
Now, you od the math....what kind of sales volume would you have to do to afford that kind of rent. IT is a wonder to me that some have stayed alive so long.

Carlent

[chelsea24]

Another Big City Diner is going into the spot where Firehouse Subs was, so I heard. :dontknow:

[Donna]

Originally Posted by carlent

...only 1100 sq ft and they wanted $6500 a month triple net lease.

That is just wrong?? How are these businesses supposed to pay these prices, and make a profit???

Greed is the word!!!

[Russ_Boston]

I don't know if the price is correct but DUH - if you (as the owner of the space) could get that amount then you take it. If no one takes the space then you lower the price. Don't blame the seller, blame the buyer. These vendors need to do their math and determine if they can make a profit. If the space goes unoccupied then the owner will lower the monthly lease.

YES, IT IS THAT SIMPLE!

[Donna]

If I owned a strip mall, or stores on the square, I would certainly want to make money, as well as see businesses succeed...

I would not want my stores empty, that is defeating my purpose...

I agree, the square is prime location and yes the buyer should do the math..I can understand the stores on the square commanding more money due to prime location, but do you think these high rents are feasible??

[Russ_Boston]

Easy answer to that one Donna - If someone pays them yes they are reasonable. If not then no they need to come down. Nothing more than market economics 101.

Remember that both sides do the math. The seller determines the amount of vacancy that they can stand and prices accordingly. The buyer determines how much they need to charge for the chicken parm entree or the price for a pair of shoes or whatever and decides to rent or not accordingly.

Don't worry, if the store stays empty for some time the price will come down enough.

[carlent]

Russ

Here's the reality of it. The owner's of the spaces in the squares (and other locations) do not budge their price. Look at the number of vacant spots and look at how long they have been empty. do you see the prices coming down per sq ft. No you don't. they hve the resources to sit on those properties and wait for some poor sucker to come along and think they can make it work at that price. That's the rality of it. I inquired to the leasing company that handles all that buisness about the space that was once Firehouse Subs. These are real numbers. they were cold and hard and really had little interest in whether or not we were interested in that space. Actually we were interested if the price was fair. Of course we made no move on it as we are a "Mom and Pop" small business that could not afford those numbers. that is why it is now a 100% or close to that, , franchise store or ,restaurant that comes to TV. that is why you do not see "Mom and Pop" locally owned or people like us with a nice store that is popular where we live, coming to TV. That is why it is about impossible for a small business owner to come to TV unless they have really deep pockets. The price per sq ft is out of sight!


Carlent

[Russ_Boston]

And the problem is?

You can not expect 'the family' or any other RE owner to take less than they think they can get. They owe NOTHING to mom and pop. They are under NO obligation to anyone to let them have a place for less than they can get for it. If they are truly being just greedy then the market will bring them down eventually.

I get a little tired of TVers who think the Morse family et. al. owes them anything. It costs more to have a restaurant in Manhattan then it does in Brooklyn. And it costs more per square foot in TV than in does in Fruitland Park. Those are just the facts.

I know that I sound arrogant and I have no stake in this yet but this discussion is just plain silly. I say let the stores be vacant and sooner or later someone will move in. If they don't do their homework and go broke with their venture then so be it.

Respectfully - Russ

[Shirleevee]

My husband (Sailor) and our friend ate at Dominic's today.

We love their Margarita pizza. After the horrible and very ($24.50) expensive pizza at Bravo, we found Dominic's and they know how to make pizza. Service is slow, but then again, we are from NY and everything south is slow to us.
At my age that is a good thing.

Shirleevee

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

And the problem is?

You can not expect 'the family' or any other RE owner to take less than they think they can get. They owe NOTHING to mom and pop. They are under NO obligation to anyone to let them have a place for less than they can get for it. If they are truly being just greedy then the market will bring them down eventually.

I get a little tired of TVers who think the Morse family et. al. owes them anything. It costs more to have a restaurant in Manhattan then it does in Brooklyn. And it costs more per square foot in TV than in does in Fruitland Park. Those are just the facts.

I know that I sound arrogant and I have no stake in this yet but this discussion is just plain silly. I say let the stores be vacant and sooner or later someone will move in. If they don't do their homework and go broke with their venture then so be it.

Respectfully - Russ

What you just said is reasonable and true. It is the same everywhere. As a rep I was ALWAYS telling people who wanted to buy my line and start a business, to NOT sign a lease until they had done the math. So many people think they can have a good plan and make a fortune, selling some obscure thing or service. I am astonished at the lack of planning on the part of these people.

The reasons chains make it more often is that they KNOW what they are doing and have investigated the demographics and business climate before entering the area.

[carlent]

Yes Russ you do sound very arrogant and angry at the world. I am sorry you feel this way. Those who live in TV are not asking to be treated different. They are asking to be treated farily. Don'w you think it would be an advantage for all residents of TV to have some family owned ie, momn and pop business in TV? Don't you think it would add to the quality of life in TV? Chains are fine, they serve a purpose and they can afford to pay huge sq ft numbers. It has nothing to do with Mom and Pop not knowing how to forcast their numbers. It has everything to do with Mom and Pop being priced out of the market. I don't know about you, but I do would rather live in TV and know that I have the ability to spend my money with small business, not 100% with large chairns who come to TV thinking we all have such deep pockets that we are all willing to support them at prices they have to charge because of the cost of doing business here. this is not a silly discussion at all. It is the essence, the lifeblood of our existence of living in TV. Our ability to live in a diverse community, where all have the shot at success. I am getting tired of just having to look at the Outback Steakhouses, the Red Lobster's, the Domino's of the world and on and on and on.


Carlent