In my Noshing Around column this week (July 19), I mention some restaurants that have recently closed such as Evangelo’s, Metro Grill at Park Place, Famous Sam’s on 29th Street, and Apple Farm & Bakery.
Because my column is limited for space, I wanted to comment further—but more importantly, I wanted your comments.
I was pounding the keyboard looking for some statistics about restaurant closings, but all I could find were growth numbers on the Arizona Restaurant & Hospitality Association. I believe the general rule of thumb is that 50 percent of restaurants fail within the first year; that’s an incredible investment and risk.
Sometimes I can walk in a restaurant, look at the menu, have a less-than-inspired meal along with mediocre service, and know that it won’t be around for another year. I walk out wondering: What were they thinking?
Evangelo’s has been around for a long time as a westside bastion. Maybe it had something to do with the freeway closing and lack of access; maybe it was just old and tired.
Don’t get me started on anything Metro Restaurant-related. In 2003, Metro Grill at Park Place got a good review but fast-forward four years, and it’s run out of steam. Have tastes changed that much? Has quality taken a dive?
As for Famous Sam’s on 29th Street, according to an article in the Star, the owner said the smoking ban has hurt business, but other Famous Sam’s seem to be thriving, so who knows?
The Apple Farm and Bakery at Grant Road and First Avenue was an odd duck. From the outside, it looked like a check cashing place—garish, big and yellow with red trim. Although it looked like a chain, it was not. It was owned by a guy who had recently moved to Tucson from Riverside, Calif. There, he owned another restaurant by another name. Why he named it the Apple Farm and Bakery is unknown, as Tucson is not known for its apples. I went in there once a few years ago at noon and was the only person inside. I am amazed that it lasted as long as it did.
I forgot to mention that Alejandro’s closed. It was where DaVinci’s used to be. It served Italian and Mexican food. I had not been there; I don’t know why: It didn’t last a year. Now the family-owned Las Cazuelitas will be going into that spot. They already have locations on south Sixth Avenue and Grant Road just west of the freeway.
So, let’s talk about why restaurants close. Will you miss any of these restaurants? What’s important to you when you dine out?
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2007.
Point of clarification: My understanding that Famous Sam’s on 29th was disconnected from the Famous Sam’s chain. So even if others are thriving, this one isn’t reaping from it.
Also – Apple Farm is closed? Dang! Just yesterday I passed by that place and considered going in. Good to know not to bother. Wasn’t it a JB’s restaurant a long while back?
(I think the El Charro on Speedway or Grant was a JB’s too – the chain left the entire Tucson market a decade or so back).
Two things:
1. A good business — be it a restaurant or anything else — can only benefit from a great business plan with a cash flow projection, contingencies, etc. Many restaurants don’t do this, and therefore, these owners literally don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.
2. Publicize, publicize, publicize. Unless an restaurant owner 1) knows a zillion people and 2) has a product that’s beyond stunning, word of mouth won’t cut it. Good, smart advertising and efforts to obtain free publicity are key. And it’s stunning how many owners of new restaurants fail to do this. IMHO, any newish restaurant that doesn’t have an ad in things like our Yum! dining guide (out next week, by the way) isn’t very bright.
Lord knows I’ve discussed this issue any number of times with my foodie friends.
As far as Evangelo’s – when it was star in the Scordato family, the place sang! Pricey, but the food was tops, service 4 star. And it was one of one or two like it in town. That wasn’t the way it was with Evangelo’s. It was old and tired and the food was dated. Plus as Mr. Boegle points out publicity wasn’t that great. And the location; while it worked for Scordatos years and years ago, there are just too much competition within the city nowadays.
As far a a general rule goes, anyone who opens a restaurant needs to take a serious reality check. This is a business first and unless you know how to run a business, do not open a restaurant.
Second, have a clear focus of what you are. Don’t call yourself Latin fusion and then serve mashed potatoes. And don’t try to have something for everyone. Too bad if there isn’t three vegan items on the menu. And never, never, never open a restaurant with a relative.
Finally, it’s all about service. The customer may not always be right, but they do pay the bills. Make them happy and they’ll come back again and again.
Anthony Bourdain does a great job on this subject. I think it’s in his book “No Reservations”. Check it out.
Just me again. Re: focus – I think the place on Ft Lowell was Antonios, anyway it served Mexican and Italian food. A prime example of not having focus.
Make that “Kitchen Confidential” by Bourdain.
The Apple Farm site is jinxed — there have been a number of failed places there over the last decade in a half. Just level the place and put in a drive-thru Starbucks. Over and done with.
Speaking of JB’s, I actually miss that place. Used to have breakfast with my granpda at the one that was on Tucson and Broadway every Sunday, back when it was OK to smoke a pipe in a restaurant, back when it was a Bob’s Big Boy, even BEFORE it was a JB’s.
And since I always love gettin’ nostalgic, here are some other Tucson restaurants I miss:
–Native Cafe (was where some charter school is now, on Campbell and Ft. Lowell.) Damn good vegan food. I had pasta made out of butternut squash there once.
–Kiss My Knish (was in Geronimo Plaza, next door to Sinbad’s). Sweet potato knishes, and awesome french fries. They were kind of sweet, if I remember it right…
–The Good Earth. I never actually ate there, but it seemed very enigmatic to me as a child. I would have liked to have eaten there.
–Ultimate Smoothies. Although Xoom is actually far far better, Ultimate Smoothies was still pretty cool, and remember when they had a place in the short-lived El Con Food Court? Remember the short-lived El Con Food Court? Am I the only one?
–Austin’s. Ok, I know it isn’t closed, but it MOVED. It just isn’t the same if I can’t walk there from my mom’s house.
–The Lebanese restaurant that was on University back in 1997ish— I can’t remember the name. They made killer fried cauliflower, and they played Arabic music videos all day. Delish.
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Wow Annie, you are a nostalgic one. How about let’s celebrate the restaurants that are still suriviving! What are the hidden gems that people should rush out and frequent to assure their continued existence?
Anyway, here’s my gripe with restaurants: bad meat. I ***HATE*** when you order anything with beef or chicken (or any other meat) and you get a cut that has gristle, ligament, fat or anything else that has no business traveling down your esophagus to occupy your colon.
If a restaurant serves me chicken with parts that can’t be chewed let alone swallowed, or beef that I have to spit out into my napkin, I will never go there again. There is absolutely no excuse for such carelessness with something so crucial. If a cook can’t cut meat correctly then the management is not on the ball making sure people are trained, and let’s face it, if they can’t train people to use a knife on a simple cutlet, you KNOW they aren’t training people to wash their hands and pour bleach into the drains where cockroaches emerge.
So to hell with any restaurant that serves badly cut meat!
Evangelos: Bad food, bad service, from the minute it opened. I’m surprised it held on this long. Famous Sam’s: Mismanagement, not the smoking ban, killed that location. As for the rest, to expand on what Jimmy already posted, a rule of thumb in any business, especially restaurants and broadcasting, is that you need enough capital up front (or investors in line) to survive THREE years even if you have sucky cash flow. Even if you know what you’re doing and have a good product or service, it takes that long to work out your bugs and establish a regular clientele.
Oh god, Apple Farm was the worst restaurant ever. I’m not surprised it closed. All of their food was always dried out, as if it’d been reheated before serving, and their iced tea was definitely made with unfiltered water. That sounds kinda snobby, but come on, who really drinks Tucson water without filtering it first?
I do!
I miss Da Vinci’s (but then again, any indie Italian place we like is doomed in the long run, including O Sole Mio (where the eastside Macayo’s is), Mama Louisa’s on Campbell (where Old Chicago is now) and the one on Grant in the building that now houses the Arizona lottery). I think it’s an Olive Garden plot. Hopefully Las Cazuelitas can make good use of the space, although another moderately-priced Italian restaurant there would’ve been nice.
Apple Farm was odd; for being an indie, it certainly had a franchise-feel to it.
I apparently missed Rose Garden closing (on Campbell and Ft. Lowell); we used to like it a lot, but it was on the skids for a couple of years. Maybe it was too dependent on the buffet, maybe I just got scared by the duck head the last time we ordered Crispy Duck there (just like A Christmas Story).
And Austin’s moving? Major suckage. We were regulars, and we haven’t been to the new one yet. Personally, I think it’s fabulous that the old storefront is still for lease…hmmm, I’m sure the landlord is making beaucoup bucks in rent that way.
Karyn, why the animosity toward Metro Restaurants?
I’ve actually eaten at several of these recent closings.
1. Apple Farm–the food was not great but it was average. I really liked the homey, kitchsy apple-themed atmosphere and the staff and owners were very friendly. I was also surprised they lasted as long as they did–the owners had told me how much their rent was once and it was a lot. Never crowded when I went. They seemed to have very high turnover in their waitstaff. I agree that that particular spot seems to have bad mojo or feng shui–restaurants keep closing there.
2. Metro Grill–had not been there in a while but I thought it was decent. The Rattlesnake Eggs were great–although too spicy for me.
3. Evangelos–only been there once a few years back but I enjoyed it a lot. My wife had an amazing curried squid dish. The location was certainly not ideal for a restaurant like this–might have done better if they were closer to the upscale Starr Pass neighborhoods.
Babka,
When I moved here almost 7 years ago, Metro Restaurants were pretty decent but they have since gone downhill. I really think Metro Restaurants have dumbed down and some employees have written to me over the years of my Noshing column telling me about how the quality, training, and management have diminished. Of course, that story could be one sided but over time some Metro restaurants have failed and others are mediocre.
About 6 years ago, I met a friend at Metropolitan Grill on Oracle Road. It was a Sunday night and the restaurant was more than half empty. The hostess sat us at a table that we didn’t like (I don’t remember why now.) We got up, went back to the hostess and asked her if we could sit elsewhere. She was not happy. She then took us to another seat which we said we didn’t like. It was near the open kitchen (I think) and there was food on the floor. We said we didn’t like that either. She walked away. There were tables along the wall that all looked so inviting.
When she walked away, we just got up and moved to one of those tables. There were so few people in the restaurant, why not make 2 customers happy?
I’ve had other incidents but won’t go into that — those were food related. Tucson has so many great dining choices now that I rather eat at one where the odds are more in my favor.