COVID-19 Retail Openings and Closures

aquabliss

Well-known member
Let's use this thread to monitor the Closures (and hopefully some Openings later) over the COVID-19 Pandemic.

I'll start with Raising Cane's in Foothill Ranch opening last week.  I know it's not in Irvine but I drive by this place daily (right next to FR Chick Fil A) and I could see the fear in the franchisee's eyes (I'm guessing he was the one pacing and on the phone out front daily) in the week before opening as this thing was bearing down on him.  I thought for sure they would delay the opening but they decided to move forward with a Drive Thru Opening instead. 

This franchisee (and I understand same for other small business owners) probably has a $1.5M+ debt looming over his head but decided to open anyhow.  Hopefully some of you can get out there and buy some fried chicken on your cheat days:https://www.raisingcanes.com/location/now-open-foothill-ranch

I fear the closures will far outweigh the openings, but here's to hoping for the best and that we turn the corner on this thing soon for the sake of America's small business owners.



 
I don't get the allure of Raising Cane's. I've been to the Laguna Hills (or is it Lake Forest?) one and it's okay.

I don't like how they only have ketchup or Cane sauce... they need to adjust for the market with that as most people do ranch or BBQ sauce for chicken tenders (not scientifically proven though). One thing they got going for them is the Texas Toast but that gets soggy with takeout.

I just found out that Jimboy's Tacos in Irvine closed. According to who I talked to, this was planned before coronascare and the owner will re-open with a different concept.

PeiWei and PickUp Stix are temp closed... as is Corner Bakery. So far the 3 Pho places I know of are still doing takeout.

Got an email that Olive Garden is doing a $12.99 buy one take one ToGo special which is a pretty good deal.
 
qwerty said:
Burntzilla and burntcrumbs closed

Permanently?  I could do without Burntzilla but Burnt Crumbs had some good food and I had been meaning to try their brunch which looked amazing.

Website is still up:
http://www.burntcrumbs.com/
 
I saw a post on next door. Said they were losing a lot of money.  It was a bit ambiguous as to whether it was permanent or temporary.
 
Their Instagram says they?re closing ?hopefully temporarily?. David Chang mentioned somewhere that a large portion of restaurants that close during this won?t reopen again. It?s just not financially possible.
 
bones said:
Their Instagram says they?re closing ?hopefully temporarily?. David Chang mentioned somewhere that a large portion of restaurants that close during this won?t reopen again. It?s just not financially possible.

Agree. Hopefully temporary becomes permanent real fast for restaurants.
 
Soylent Green Is People said:
Part of the reason why chains are still open is the ENORMOUS cash costs of obtaining a franchise. Here's a quick look at what it takes, but Business Insider (subscription only) has a much better in-depth read about this. Summary if you don't want to read it - the little guy loses in the end.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/most-popular-food-franchises-and-how-much-they-cost-1350254

Ya but how long before my local Subway franchisee burns through his $1M cash reserve (since he's selling 20% of the sandwiches he did 4 weeks ago), and has to close down? 
 
Should have turned this into a COVID-19 Discount Thread as well.

Saw that Jersey Mikes is offering 50% off any sandwich when you order through the App (through March 29th).

Never seen a sale this good from them, ever.  Will be ordering 2 Giants tonight for dinner for the fam.  Yummm.
 
So we tried to get take out from a number of places. Many aren?t answering their phones so we drove all the way over to Diamond Jamboree.

Paper Lantern - closed
Tokyo Table - closed

Ended up going to Taiko... 30 minute wait for food.

That?s better than Olive Garden?s 45 minute wait.
 
I hope all the K-Bbq have some sorta backup, savings, rainy days funds set aside. Cause, while some of the restaurants can scale down and scrape by with take out. K-Bbq and hot pot are only sit down and eat-in joints. Those and alike will suffers heavily.
 
Compressed-Village said:
I hope all the K-Bbq have some sorta backup, savings, rainy days funds set aside. Cause, while some of the restaurants can scale down and scrape by with take out. K-Bbq and hot pot are only sit down and eat-in joints. Those and alike will suffers heavily.

Shik Do Rak has to go $20 for 2 cooked meats, 2 rice and 2 sides.
 
aquabliss said:
Compressed-Village said:
I hope all the K-Bbq have some sorta backup, savings, rainy days funds set aside. Cause, while some of the restaurants can scale down and scrape by with take out. K-Bbq and hot pot are only sit down and eat-in joints. Those and alike will suffers heavily.

Shik Do Rak has to go $20 for 2 cooked meats, 2 rice and 2 sides.

Oh wow, they might be ok, then. Cuz when I do eat there sit in, I always felt like I eat too much and they loose money on me. But since everyone in my group eat way less, it sorta balance out.

Yes. Help them when we can eat out to keep them stay around in the long run. It?s good karma.
 
BJ?s has good deals. You buy something for 9.95 or higher and you can get up to 3 of their $6 meals. Their app is pretty good and it lets you pay through it. So no signing or exchanging cash.
 
Let?s come up with solutions.

What businesses can stay open or re-open if they put stringent social distancing measures in?

At the Spectrum Costco, they put plexiglass up at the cashier stations which was good. But, even though they scanned my items and Costco card in line to prevent contact, and I could tap to pay on the terminal, however, I still had to hand my membership card to the cashier, so one point of vulnerability.

Some places have gone no cash payments. That helps but not if you still need to hand them your credit card.

Copper is supposed to be antiviral, maybe those CopperFit gloves are safe for handling products, exchanging items, etc. :)
 
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