Have a friend who is a business broker. Has like 7 restaurants now that are free to anyone just taking over the lease. So: like $200k In leasehold improvements are free to you if you just assume his 3-4 years or whatever left at $3k/mo.
All of these places are 10+ years running. All are 50-60 year old men throwing in the towel. It’s really frustrating to hear. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I'm not sure if I qualify as "younger" anymore, but I've probably been in a true sports bar fewer than 5 times in my life (unless you count Buffalo Wild Wings). I've done it a couple times to catch a game when I'm on the road, but otherwise, I'd much rather watch at home where the beer is cheap and I can control the TV and audio.
You're older than me. We don't count as "younger". You missed the memo. Check your inbox. :-)
Hopefully I don't meander like the last post, but I think in general, you've been to a "hangout" type place a fair bit, no? Maybe not, but the larger point is we as evolutionary beings need socialization. I mean, sure zoom and whatever, but I know periodically I need to see PEOPLE. And I'm about the last dude that does, but even my crochety old ass needs to see people (that I like) some. And in point of fact, I've broke some rules to do it.
This is neither here nor there, but I talked to the husband of a high school English teacher who was making her students journal or whatever during the shutdown. Takeaway was that some of those journals got pretty damned dark. I mean there's always going to be the kids that struggle socially in school, but this was different. I'd like to think most adults are more well-adjusted than high school kids, but we still need to be able to socialize.
And without hangout type outfits, that just becomes harder, and we as a society won't do it, because we never do the hard thing. And it's not for the better. [Reply]
Sports bars were already having issues, the rise of massive tvs and home theater setups mixed with the change in drinking habits of younger generations and honestly just people's desire to chill at home away from drunk idiots has all had an effect. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Have a friend who is a business broker. Has like 7 restaurants now that are free to anyone just taking over the lease. So: like $200k In leasehold improvements are free to you if you just assume his 3-4 years or whatever left at $3k/mo.
All of these places are 10+ years running. All are 50-60 year old men throwing in the towel. It’s really frustrating to hear.
Ouch.
Failing at my business is something that I've gamed out in my head every which way I can think of. I can't even imagine. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
You're older than me. We don't count as "younger". You missed the memo. Check your inbox. :-)
Hopefully I don't meander like the last post, but I think in general, you've been to a "hangout" type place a fair bit, no? Maybe not, but the larger point is we as evolutionary beings need socialization. I mean, sure zoom and whatever, but I know periodically I need to see PEOPLE. And I'm about the last dude that does, but even my crochety old ass needs to see people (that I like) some. And in point of fact, I've broke some rules to do it.
This is neither here nor there, but I talked to the husband of a high school English teacher who was making her students journal or whatever during the shutdown. Takeaway was that some of those journals got pretty damned dark. I mean there's always going to be the kids that struggle socially in school, but this was different. I'd like to think most adults are more well-adjusted than high school kids, but we still need to be able to socialize.
And without hangout type outfits, that just becomes harder, and we as a society won't do it, because we never do the hard thing. And it's not for the better.
If I'm hanging out with people, I'm usually at my place or theirs. I've never understood the appeal of bars in general. If you're referring to the ESU days, for example, I think I went to Bruff's once, and my roommate took me to some shady one out to the west of town a bit once. I think that is the extent of my bar visitation in college. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
It's not just the iconic, newsworthy ones, but a whole bunch of unknown neighborhood joints - and not just bars, but restaurants, delis, all manner of one off shops. If there were any real shutdowns.
I have no idea of any on-the-ground experiences, other than I know one guy that used to run bars in Manhattan (KS) that still has friends out there and it's bad is all he'll ever tell me. I can't imagine what any of the outfits in places that had harsher shutdowns look like. I don't have any first hand knowledge other than what it takes to run my business, but between rent, and labor alone, I can't imagine they're margins are that great pre-COVID. I don't see any way they're not ****ed. I mean, I guess they could call a rent moratorium or some similar shit, but that would equally **** the landlord and I'd guess wreck the real estate market real nice. Then who knows what happens if the building sells?
IMO, ripping the small business backbone out of communities is a worst case scenario kind of thing.
Interestingly, what about office buildings? I haven't done a ton of research or anything, but I know a bunch of accounting firms are pushing to continue WFH, Microsoft put some permanency in their policy. I'm guessing any shrewd business is going to try to reduce their rent costs and blame COVID. Think about if you owned a bunch of big ass office buildings and can't fill them up in NYC or Chicago or something and they're 10% full. And you're leveraged. Woof.
The shocking thing about all that is there is a real chance that iconic downtown buildings in major cities might be bankrupt or some such nonsense.
I'd be interested in some in depth research on that front.
I didn't intend to meander into a rant here - and hopefully I kept the DC out of it - but the effects of this deal are going to be far reaching to say the least. My position has always been to not wreck commerce. That's the foundation of our economy. But they did it so now we get to see what happens.
*Pours one out for my dead homies.
I wonder if some of those swank office buildings that will be mostly or partially vacant as large companies implement more WFH polices could be turned into housing? Sort of like the urban renewal with the old buildings being turned into lofts and such in the city. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
Sports bars were already having issues, the rise of massive tvs and home theater setups mixed with the change in drinking habits of younger generations and honestly just people's desire to chill at home away from drunk idiots has all had an effect.
Yea covid has nothing to do with these places closing. :-) [Reply]
Regarding the bigger-picture stuff in the OP, I guess I'm less bothered by it because I see COVID as an accelerant of these kinds of trends rather than as a true game changer. Sports bars were already dying. Office buildings were already starting to thin out as people worked remotely. Restaurants were already moving to delivery.
The entities that truly have staying power (e.g., sports) will come back soon. It's those that were on shaky ground in the first place that are in trouble. And while that's sad, it's not necessarily anything new. Did anyone shed a tear when Blockbuster went under? People have ranted about Walmart putting mom and pop shops out of business for decades, but have we stopped shopping there? Business models come and go. And while I do feel bad for the people who are impacted, the world will reconfigure to the "new normal," and life will go on. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Regarding the bigger-picture stuff in the OP, I guess I'm less bothered by it because I see COVID as an accelerant of these kinds of trends rather than as a true game changer. Sports bars were already dying. Office buildings were already starting to thin out as people worked remotely. Restaurants were already moving to delivery.
The entities that truly have staying power (e.g., sports) will come back soon. It's those that were on shaky ground in the first place that are in trouble. And while that's sad, it's not necessarily anything new. Did anyone shed a tear when Blockbuster went under? People have ranted about Walmart putting mom and pop shops out of business for decades, but have we stopped shopping there? Business models come and go. And while I do feel bad for the people who are impacted, the world will reconfigure to the "new normal," and life will go on.
