On the Restaurant Front

I just read an article that is predicting 30% of Hungary's restaurants are in danger of closing. The reason is of course the economic crisis. Read the news! Hotel occupancy was down 50% in 2008 over 2007 AND in 2007 it was down 12% over 2006. Anyone thinking of opening a restaurant should have thought it over a dozen times and then pull a Nancy Reagan "Just Say No!" Over our 7+ years, we have been horrified and then entertained by the stores and restaurants that spend months remodeling, open their doors for three months and then closed down. The next renter rips out all of the lovely work left behind, starts over from scratch, only to end up like a phoenix without a reincarnation complex. With any luck, the 30% of closures will be the places where the staff could care less if you are there to eat or play shuffleboard. They act like you are disturbing their private time. But it seems luck is not what this is all about. Time will tell.

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Buyer Beware

An alumni member from University of San Francisco sent this out to our group, but without a source. Take it for what it is worth, but if nothing else, it is worthy of consideration. The "I" below is her note to the group. I wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you tend to give gift cards around the holidays, you need to be careful that the cards will be honored after the holidays. Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning). Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be cautious about. Circuit City (filed Chapter 11) Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide closing Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January Cache will close all stores Talbot's closing down specialty stores J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbot's) Pacific Sun wear (also owned by Talbot's) GAP closing 85 stores Footlocker closing 140 stores mo re to close after January Wickes Furniture closing down Levitz closing down remaining stores Bombay closing remaining stores Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January Whitehall closing all stores Piercing Pagoda closing all stores Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January. Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick ) Macy's to close 9 stores after January Linens and Things closing all stores Movie Galley closing all stores Pep Boys closing 33 stores Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores JC Penney closing a number of stores after January Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores. Wilson Leather closing down all stores Sharper Image closing down all stores K B Toys closing 356 stores Loews to close down some stores Dillard's to close some stores

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