The owner of the local Risky Business restaurants says the chain restaurants that have been popping up along Oracle Road have made it necessary for him to close his Oro Valley location.
From the press release:
“The closing is a direct result of a substantial decrease in sales at this location due to the opening of a wave of chain restaurants up and down Oracle Road over the past several years. As a member of Tucson Originals, comprised of locally owned and operated restaurants, it is sad to see the disappearance of over 75 great restaurants in Tucson in just the past 18 months.”
The whole press release is after the jump.
Tucson, Ariz——Robert Raynor, the owner of Risky Business restaurants, announced today that after eleven years in business he has closed the Oro Valley location. “The decision to close this restaurant was a difficult one as I understand the impact this has on our employees and our many loyal Oro Valley customers. I deeply appreciate the hard work, passion, and enthusiasm of our employees at this location. We are working hard to find opportunities for these employees at our other three Risky Business restaurants. This closing allows us to focus our energy and efforts on the performance of our remaining three locations. We strongly believe in the potential of our ongoing business because of our high customer loyalty and neighborhood appeal. We will continue to pursue our ongoing remodeling and updating plan for our other locations which centers on ensuring that every guest experiences great food, great service and great value.”
“The closing is a direct result of a substantial decrease in sales at this location due to the opening of a wave of chain restaurants up and down Oracle Road over the past several years. As a member of Tucson Originals, comprised of locally owned and operated restaurants, it is sad to see the disappearance of over 75 great restaurants in Tucson in just the past 18 months.”
Any gift certificates or other coupon offers will, of course, be honored by any of the other locations.
For more information on Risky Business, visit the website at www.riskybusinesstucson.com .
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2011.
I find Mr. Raynor’s press release to be quite comical. I was previously employed by Risky’s OV for many years and I know for a fact that the employees were not offered employment at other locations. There were people who worked for the company for over 8 years who had to find out they were unemployed by seeing a sign on the door when they showed up for work Tuesday. Obviously, the owners of Risky Business did not find the employees that “passionate or hard working” if they didn’t even give them fair warning or atleast a personal phone call to let them know the situatuon. Clearly, this locally owned restaraunt who depends on loyal customers was not even loyal to its own employees.
Furthermore, Risky Business did not close because they could not keep up with the competition in the area. They closed the location because the owners simply chose to not invest in the restaraunt. They were losing business because the owners and management had allowed the place to turn into a dump with worn down bathrooms, mismatching wall colors and a cockroach infested kitchen. Risky Business could still be a fantastic place to eat and drink if the owners had put in a little bit of tender loving care.
It really is unfortunate that a place like Risky Business had to close down, but let’s call it as it is- “you got to spend money to make money” and they were unwilling to do so. I just wish they could have been honest instead of blaming it on “too much competiton.”
I own an unrelated business in Oro Valley. Many evenings I would stop by Risky Business after closing to grab a bite to eat. I have noticed over the past few months that the place was going downhill. The bathrooms were filthy, the service was spotty, the food wasn’t as good as it used to be, and on one occasion there was lipstick on my beverage glass. This has nothing to do with competition.
You cannot blame the competition. If you do, then you never should have opened in the first place. You have to work harder to ensure that your customers return even with the competition.
Bottom, line I am not surprised.
I used to be an employee at the Risky Business in Oro Valley for many years and completely agree with the original comment. I was not an employee at the time it closed but invested many years staying with the company until it became unbearable to work there.
What Mr. Raynor said made me laugh. The owners never came into that location because it was an inconvenience to them. I can remember when half of the hood systems broke in the kitchen during a busy weekend causing smoke to fill up the restaurant. The employees were coughing and sweating. It was miserable. The customers were leaving because it was that bad. We were told we had to keep it open even after many customers threatened to call the fire marshall. Never once did the owner stop in to see just how bad it was.
Mr. Raynor and Mr. Alubowicz never seemed to care about the issues at their Oro Valley location. The management team was the worst team I had ever worked with. Cockroaches in the kitchen. Managers drinking while working. Floors that made the restaurant smell. Half painted walls. And the list goes on..
They always had something more pressing to do than check on that location. So my question is, why open it if you were never going to care for it? It really is sad because Risky Business could have stayed afloat if there was time and money spent. What’s even worse is that employees had to find out the way they did. 8 years spent at a place and the owners couldn’t even give a courtesy call?? Shame on you.
Mr. Raynor, anybody who believes your statement is a fool.
Personally I never cared for their food whatsoever, regardless of location.