Resturant

[lena6]

I understand the resturant has closed.  Air conditioner broke, no money to fix it.  Another one bites the dust, thanks to Mr. Handy.

[Cat]

What restaurant? The Country Pantry?

[mirjo]

It's my understanding he's been the catalyst of turnovers since the first guy left, due to the rent being high and his not willing to work with the owners during the slow season, leaves them no choice but to close. Of course this is from the rumor mill, that & $1.50 will get you a  a bag of chips, but I think the fact that every new restaurant that has opened in that space since GH has owned the building, has closed in less than two years,speaks for itself. It's unfortunate. This town can obviously support such a business.

I don't understand why someione who is investing so much in this town, would allow what once was (and can be again) a thriving business, to continually fail???  Maybe Mr. Handy would like to speak to the rumors on his own behalf? I would hate to accuse someone of something in error. It's kind of the elephant in the room, but I know there has to be someone out there who knows him who can address this burning question and give him the opportunity to answer:

Mr. Handy, why do all the people leasing the Country Pantry space leave after only  a year in businness? It's been said by previous restaurant owners that the rent is too high and you've been unwilling to compromise in the slow season to help them remain open. Is this allegation  true? If so, what is your reasoning for not working with the business owner to stay in business, when this business is clearly supported by the residents of the town? And if not, why would a business owner say such a thing?

[trussell]

You can't simply blame the building owner for a restaurant failing.  It's not likely that he just raised the rent out of the blue and it caused the restaurant to go under.  If a business doesn't have enough income to cover their expenses then they go out of business- it's as simple as that.    Is the rent high?  Yeah probably... but that's a fixed cost and ownership should have been considered that when developing their business plan.  Yes it's sad that restaurants can't seem to make it there but perhaps they need to do a little more homework and develop a better plan- including making sure they have the proper funding to weather the slow times- before starting their business.  I've always heard that the restaurant business is very difficult to succeed in and 90% of restaurants close within their first year and clearly this is in the same boat.

[mkr]

I completely agree with Trevor.  There is more to the story than the AC. Restaurants are tough to start up for sure.

[khort]

Seems the air conditioning repair would be the landlords responsibility?  Very unfortunate, I had been hearing good things.

[logical]

Also curious as to how much the new pizza place affected the sales at the Country Pantry.  Although this may not have been the main reason for closing it could certainly have added to their financial problems.

[mirjo]

@trussell: I see what you're getting at, but disagree with some of it in this case. I think seasoned owners are well aware of the pitfalls and if they have made such statements about not being able to continue because of the rent being too high & the building owner not willing to work with them, well I think that bears listening to...the recent track record of that place in particular is interesting to note compared to the other businesses in the vicinity. The strip mall has leased space for many years and the businesses there have been pretty steady. In fact Creative Edge was there before I moved here and I've lived in Fairfax for 25 years (the owner just decided she was done), the video store was simply a victim of the times, and the pharmacy has only expanded over time. Eastman's has been doing well since it opened. Jim & Lena have rented the space behind the hardware store for a number of years to a day care center and hair salon. Since all these other businesses do just fine here and the leased space isn't turning over new tenants yearly at a minimum, it tells me something isn't quite right at 951 Main Street. If everyone who came in there was wet behind the ears, I'd feel differently, but they haven't been.

The residents of this town love food! We support two bakeries, three stores with delis/pizza, now a pizza shop. We supported the pantry for many years and even as it has gasped & died it's slow death we've continued. I'm sorry, but I have to question the rationale (motive?) behind allowing one business after another to fail, then tearing down that building--if this rumor is indeed true, after it was completely refurbished just a few years ago?

Yes it's sad that restaurants can't seem to make it there

This statement is untrue. It was a thriving restaurant for over 20 years. It has only faltered in the last several years (4-5?) since the building has been owned by someone other than the business owners. Fairfax has never had a pizza place before. Now that the novelty has worn off, we'll see if it survives. The owners aren't newbies.

Unfortunately, I have to be suspicious of the underlying motives of NOT wanting a restaurant to succeed--it seems one of the half doz or so business owners would have been a success.

[Margie]

Mirjo, there was a pizza place in Fairfax.  It was in the strip mall when the mall first opened.  They did a thriving business for a number of years. I don't think it closed due to bad business, rather that the owners moved out of town.

I have to say, the last couple of times I was at the new Pantry, I was happily surprised at the number of customers - and that I had to wait to be seated.  It had been a very long time since that had happened there.  With all the different things they did to bring people in, including karaoke, quiz night, and live music, I am really sad they have closed.  There has to more to the issues of the building.  And now with all the rumors of the building being torn down....

[mirjo]

I don't even remember a pizza place up there margie--regardless, it still proves the point that this town is apparently full of foodies and there is no logic to what has been happening at the Pantry for several years. I can't help but feel that something reeks with the whole situation and it's not just about poor being a bad restauranteur!

If anyone stops to really think about what's been going on there for several years--there is a pattern to it and it's just odd no one can succeed, considering the fact that residents support the place and these owners are really trying!

I am just disturbed by the rumor of this building being torn down and perhaps that's all that it is, but was this the plan all along? Why have a single profitable business at that location, when there could be more housing earning more?

I did initially post a legitimate straightforward question to Mr. Handy, since we're discussing this theoretically behind his back. I'm a firm believer in all sides of a story being told. Why discuss rumor when we could (perhaps, should) have fact? I'm certain there are some out there who know Mr. Handy and the invitation to answer my question from a few days ago, still stands.

[kpplus2]

Who knows what the multitude of factors are when a business closes. I do lean towards monitory expectations when one opens a business, and In my opinion more business equals more taxes collected and that makes me happy, in hopes less increase on home owners; but I digress.

On another note, I returned to Fairfax house of pizza tonight and did not order pizza however the salad, wings, and cheese sticks were awesome!! I spoke with the owner who also owns Swanton house of pizza and anyone who knows me knows I work for the town of Swanton part time and have frequented the Swanton house of pizza. The  few times I've been their the service has been great. So that being said I believe any business that provides the 3 main ingredients will always survive. 1. Good service, 2. Great food, 3. Reasonable prices. Those 3 things will always keep them afloat .

Happy summer
Keith

[mirjo]

You're right, we should accentuate the positive and forget about things that are done. It's a waste of time and energy.

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think a new business in a leased building space will add anything to the tax base. The owners of the building, I assume pay whatever taxes they're assessed each year, regardless of whether they have each space filled, so it's in their best interest to attract/keep businesses there for a long time.

FHOP is committed to  a quality product. They have started off very well and it will hopefully continue for them with repeat business over the years to come.

[Colin Santee]

I believe that this failure was inevitable, high rent or not.  Having worked in the food service industry I always pride myself on being the perfect customer, but I just couldn't believe the service there.  I'm not sure if it was only my experience, but I was continually disappointed with the lack of attentiveness towards the few customers there each time I went. Don't get me wrong, the people were VERY friendly and I wish them the best, but it seemed as if they weren't there to "work."



The real question, what happens next?  Should the space continue to be a restaurant, or should it see some new life?

(Fairfax has four pizza places and no public gym or studio center, just saying...)

[GamingWeasel]

A gym in Fairfax would be really nice. Good idea.

[rod anode]

that would have been a nice place for the town building