Restaurant closings

[jbkrems]

I had heard that Sauced laid off ALL of their staff, and since they are also owned by Paseo Grill which closed, I assumed Sauced had closed as well. Sorry.

[SEMIweather]

It's all good, I doubt there's much of an effective difference anyways, which sucks.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

@Pete Bravo Cucina Italiana closed most of their locations - permanently. Only a handful left for carry out and delivery. The other concept they own is Brio Tuscan Grille, looks to be a little better off. But for Bravo, that’s a ton of restaurants. I’ll miss the one here.

[PaddyShack]

So, about Hal Smith closing... What am I to do with a gift card? When they re-open should I be able to use it?

[SEMIweather]

So, about Hal Smith closing... What am I to do with a gift card? When they re-open should I be able to use it?

Yes, as long as they are not permanently closed, you should be good to go whenever they do re-open. Lots of people are buying gift cards from independently-owned restaurants that have been forced to close as a way of floating them some cash until this situation is over.

[BoulderSooner]

Yes, as long as they are not permanently closed, you should be good to go whenever they do re-open. Lots of people are buying gift cards from independently-owned restaurants that have been forced to close as a way of floating them some cash until this situation is over.

and most of those should just be considered gifts .. because if this goes much longer most of those independent restaurants won't reopen

[no1cub17]

Man, I was doing ok so far with all these closings, but the loss of Big Truck Tacos is a bit much. I'm officially over this pandemic!

[chuck5815]

Man, I was doing ok so far with all these closings, but the loss of Big Truck Tacos is a bit much. I'm officially over this pandemic!

Damn, are they out of business for good?

[SEMIweather]

Per their Facebook page, they still plan on reopening once the crisis is over.

[Rover]

it's about offsetting your taxable income. if second business is making little to no revenue, or even a loss, then your expenses, as well as deductions for the costs of assets, can be used to offset your other taxable income. typically this is done to try and drop someone into a lower tax bracket, and thus results in paying less in taxes on that taxable income. a lot of times the money that is used to run and start the business may have been taxed at normal income rate, rather than capital gain rate depending upon it's source, and thus the loss of that money could actually end with a positive net amount when all taxes are figured due to lowering the incoming tax bracket back down over the course of a few years when this money is removed from markets or investments.

one of the best ways of looking at it is that the long term capital gains tax is paid on a rate based upon your tax bracket, and so if someone is able to lower their tax bracket, they might be able to free up much more in investments at a reduced capital gains rate, and thus come out very much in the positive.

Remember, active and passive losses are handled differently. There are limitations. And owning a losing enterprise of any kind can't be made whole by taxes. It buys you time with cash flow, but a loss is a loss. Nothing good comes from losses. Many of the tax schemes just delay taxes. For instance, extra depreciation benefits lower the cost basis and taxes are eventually paid.... hopefully at a lower capital gains rate, but there are substantial taxes. And if you turn the property over too quickly there are recovery penalties. Just be careful promoting any losing enterprise as a good thing.

[Rover]

Man, I was doing ok so far with all these closings, but the loss of Big Truck Tacos is a bit much. I'm officially over this pandemic!

It seems like these times would be a good opportunity for food trucks. If they sanitize properly, they can go and provide needed food relief all over the city. Having a truck come near to my house while I am sheltering would be a really good thing and with limited exposure. Easy to distance and there is no reason to touch surfaces. Win/win.

[PhiAlpha]

I've heard from a pretty reliable source that Ted's may be toast after this. Hopefully they can get some type of bailout or Hal Smith will take a bigger stake.

[SoonersFan12]

I've heard from a pretty reliable source that Ted's may be toast after this. Hopefully they can get some type of bailout or Hal Smith will take a bigger stake.

Do you mean the Mexican restaurant going out of business for good?

[SEMIweather]

I've heard from a pretty reliable source that Ted's may be toast after this. Hopefully they can get some type of bailout or Hal Smith will take a bigger stake.

This would be pretty wild, and I wouldn't be surprised to see HSRG take a bigger stake. Actually have a feeling that HSRG will make out fairly well in the aftermath of all this, they may have the capital to buy up the rights to some independent places that otherwise wouldn't have made it.

[TheTravellers]

I've heard from a pretty reliable source that Ted's may be toast after this. Hopefully they can get some type of bailout or Hal Smith will take a bigger stake.

They've sucked for a long time, but never enough for me to wish them to go out of business, bummer... On the upside, maybe folks will go to all the other Tex-Mex places around and find they're better than Ted's.

[onthestrip]

I've heard from a pretty reliable source that Ted's may be toast after this. Hopefully they can get some type of bailout or Hal Smith will take a bigger stake.

Have no idea how this could be possible with the volume of business I've been told that they do. If they go under, we will see 75% of restaurants go under.

Surprised about Big Truck as they have a drive thru and thats very helpful right now. Everyone has different situations though.

[SEMIweather]

Have no idea how this could be possible with the volume of business I've been told that they do. If they go under, we will see 75% of restaurants go under.

Surprised about Big Truck as they have a drive thru and thats very helpful right now. Everyone has different situations though.

Unfortunately, I've read an article in the NY Times that says 75% of restaurants are at risk due to this shutdown. It's not a good situation, most of these places run with razor-thin profit margins in the first place.

[Pete]

Unfortunately, I've read an article in the NY Times that says 75% of restaurants are at risk due to this shutdown. It's not a good situation, most of these places run with razor-thin profit margins in the first place.

I've been saying this for a while.

Even when various restrictions are lifted, it's not like people are going to start packing into bars and restaurants again. It will take years to recover from this and most places were not making much money before.

[Mballard85]

I had a manager for a Hal Smith restaurant come at me pretty hard on Facebook, I asked why they were closing down rather than doing to go and delivery. He accused me of knowing nothing about the business and told me that they decided to give the food they had to their employees. I asked if they were paying their employee's and it was not answered back.

[SEMIweather]

I've been saying this for a while.

Even when various restrictions are lifted, it's not like people are going to start packing into bars and restaurants again. It will take years to recover from this and most places were not making much money before.

Yeah. Even as someone who feels that the current shutdowns are the best course of action, I still recognize that this is a disaster for restaurants and small businesses in general. I think it's basically the best course of action out of a slew of terrible options. And I also agree with your other point, about behaviors being changed by this. I am certainly not planning on rushing back into crowded restaurants, concerts, or sporting events right away once the restrictions are lifted, and I normally spend a lot of my free time doing that. Will most likely try for less-attended events and places. I also expect there to be some initial capacity restrictions when things do reopen, would not be surprised to see bars, restaurants, concert halls, arenas, etc. limited to 50% capacity for a time.

It's all just a bad situation, and I don't really see any good solutions.

[mugofbeer]

I had a manager for a Hal Smith restaurant come at me pretty hard on Facebook, I asked why they were closing down rather than doing to go and delivery. He accused me of knowing nothing about the business and told me that they decided to give the food they had to their employees. I asked if they were paying their employee's and it was not answered back.

I'd consider giving the guy some slack. He's lost his job for the foreseeable future - if they had decided to go to take out, he may still have a job. He might not agree with the decision, either. He's probably scared.

[Mballard85]

I'd consider giving the guy some slack. He's lost his job for the foreseeable future - if they had decided to go to take out, he may still have a job. He might not agree with the decision, either. He's probably scared.

It was all in Facebook Messager so its not like it was being monitored or anything, he just seemed like he was all in on the decision. My only reason for even responding was to ask why they decided to just shut down when this all seemed like it was just getting started. It was a very weird reaction.

[Pete]

Even the places doing carry out are doing very meager business and most are starting to realize it's not worth the expenses and trouble just to lose money.

I don't blame the Hal Smith group one bit; if anything, they were smarter about this than most.

[chuck5815]

The good news is that (from what I've heard) most of the CRE Investors and their Bankers have been pretty accommodating so far, not just for the restaurateurs but for tenants of all stripes. Though I would imagine the attitudes might change a bit if things are still shut down in a couple of months.

[sooner88]

The good news is that (from what I've heard) most of the CRE Investors and their Bankers have been pretty accommodating so far, not just for the restaurateurs but for tenants of all stripes. Though I would imagine the attitudes might change a bit if things are still shut down in a couple of months.

We’ve been working with all customers to provide temporary relief, whether it is loan deferment for 4-6 months, converting P&I payments to interest only periods for up to 12 months, etc. If your bank isn’t working with their customers during this time, I’d be very surprised. On the flip side, we’re strengthening our relationship with current customers.