Escoba Bistro is Closing Down

[Lubicon]

Yup. The place I work is no different. Hammered on sales for a couple of years now. Sales volume is way down, competition is more fierce than ever. Cut costs everywhere we can (including personnel unfortunately) and go to our suppliers telling them the same thing - drop your prices or we will have to go elsewhere which does't always work. It's nasty out there today for sure, and there will certainly be more casualties. I think we may only be starting to see the full effects of this slowdown.

[PsYcNeT]

Apparently this guy's go-to move to try and drum up attention is media-whoring. He did it a bunch last year too.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Apparently this guy's go-to move to try and drum up attention is media-whoring. He did it a bunch last year too.

Good for him, or should we just pretend things are wonderful and raising taxes does nothing?

[TheAlpineOracle]

This restaurants problem is mostly related to the collapse of oil prices and to some extent the increase in property tax (assuming that was the final nail in the coffin). They lived off their lunch, and it's been at 50% capacity for close to half a year now,

But to suggest that the bike lanes they put in front of there and the bump in minimum wage didn't add to the problems, is nuts.

Unfortunate, in my opinion this was one of the best restaurants in Calgary.

[Ozy_Flame]

Frankly I think the quality of food served will be the differential between those who struggle and those who thrive. Calgary's food scene isn't based solely on quantity anymore; with the advent of food culture and the burgeoning foodie scene in the city, places like Escoba have to keep up. I'm sure economics come into play for some extent, but struggling to meet costs suggests to me that there aren't enough people visiting the restaurant regularly to pad the books in the black. There are probably a good handful that are making it work though, and reputation and word-of-mouth is critical to successful restaurants in this city.

Perhaps Escoba could survive if they moved to a more accessible location; I haven't seen many restaurants survive that long on that avenue itself. Hasn't that Gastropub changed names a bunch of times? Same with the Korean restaurant? Hell, even Chicago Chophouse had to go. Perhaps there is something with that specific area that stymies business.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Good for him, or should we just pretend things are wonderful and raising taxes does nothing?

I dunno, he could try actually making moves to increase his revenue by being a shrewd business owner rather than having a media tantrum. But I guess we the Public should coddle the small business owners that have a right to exist solely because ?reasons?

[pylon]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

It's not tounge and cheek. You can't raise taxes and lower people's disposable income and expect the same results. The ndp is a socialist party. They don't support free market economics. Ndp supporters will tell you how everything is fine.

The trickle down effect is making it's way down.

^^^

That's exactly what I was getting at.

Are the NDP solely to blame. Nope. But they chose to kick Albertans when they were down. These increases and programs could have waited until the recovery started, and this stuff seemed like a drop in the bucket.

A lot of business owners I am dealing with, are just barely keeping things afloat, and are operating a serious losses to keep people employed.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Good for him, or should we just pretend things are wonderful and raising taxes does nothing?

Interesting enough, I have a client whose in the software business down in the US whose business is booming. With the increase in the minimum wages, companies are looking to phase out workers and are looking at software developers to automate processes, especially in warehouses and the services industry.

Increased minimum wages will force businesses to shut down or look for other means. People who say otherwise simply don't understand economics.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I dunno, he could try actually making moves to increase his revenue by being a shrewd business owner rather than having a media tantrum. But I guess we the Public should coddle the small business owners that have a right to exist solely because ?reasons?

You're right. He didn't do anything to save his business. Just complained to the media.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I dunno, he could try actually making moves to increase his revenue by being a shrewd business owner rather than having a media tantrum. But I guess we the Public should coddle the small business owners that have a right to exist solely because ?reasons?

Good lord you say some silly things sometimes. It's not that he has a "right to exist", it's that ideally, you'd like to give small business the best possible opportunity to succeed, and there's at least an argument here that policies instituted by various levels of government have actually made it more difficult.

That might be wrong in this case - maybe the place just went downhill and he lost all his business to better restaurants - but it's certainly not far fetched to suggest that the things he's attributing losses to are actual negative forces for his business.

If those negative forces are in fact too much to handle for a business that already runs on a limited margin and is particularly under strain due to current economic conditions, telling him "be a shrewd business owner and your problems will be solved" is pretty ridiculous. Might as well say "work smarter, not harder", for all that's worth.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I dunno, he could try actually making moves to increase his revenue by being a shrewd business owner rather than having a media tantrum. But I guess we the Public should coddle the small business owners that have a right to exist solely because ?reasons?

Unfortunately for the shrewd business owner that sometimes means closing shop though.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I dunno, he could try actually making moves to increase his revenue by being a shrewd business owner rather than having a media tantrum. But I guess we the Public should coddle the small business owners that have a right to exist solely because ?reasons?

um, jobs!?

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Weitz

You're right. He didn't do anything to save his business. Just complained to the media.

Seriously? You have no idea what someone has or hasn't done to save their business.

We take clients to this restaurant on the regular and are pretty familiar with the situation. This guy has done everything to save his business. Reduced prices, a whole list of specials, cutting the dining room in half at night, all while keeping his senior servers employed. It was a very sad downwards spiral, because it had nothing to do with the food, the service, or his restaurant (all top notch) and this outcome was inevitable.

You might want to keep your moronic opinions to yourself. A local businessman has lost his business and quite a few people lost their jobs along with it.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Its a cost increase, and its going to keep jumping up. Its part and parcel with what's causing a business like this to fail.

In the case of middle and upper end places like this, their servers are receiving a lot more in tips anyways.

My brother runs a bar and restaurant in the North, and his waiting staff all make above average incomes even with a low base wage.

I get it but it couldn't help but feel personal.

[Kybosh]

Food quality at Escoba was still very high when I was last there a couple months back. It wasn't a cheap option but even then, the place was packed at lunch time. I've been a handful of times this last year. I have no idea what their business is like at dinner however.

I'll say that the restaurant business has always been nearly impossible to be highly successful, regardless of taxes and other factors.

[PsYcNeT]

The restaurant industry is hard. Businesses close all the time. The rhetoric this guy is spewing makes his agenda obvious, and he's deflecting blame for his failure elsewhere. Sounds like someone needs to a take a lesson in personal responsibility.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

Seriously? You have no idea what someone has or hasn't done to save their business.

We take clients to this restaurant on the regular and are pretty familiar with the situation. This guy has done everything to save his business. Reduced prices, a whole list of specials, cutting the dining room in half at night, all while keeping his senior servers employed. It was a very sad downwards spiral, because it had nothing to do with the food, the service, or his restaurant (all top notch) and this outcome was inevitable.

You might want to keep your moronic opinions to yourself. A local businessman has lost his business and quite a few people lost their jobs along with it.

I read his post as green text...

[Finger Cookin]

Where was Escoba located before? Is it the place I'm thinking of that was in Penny Lane before it got torn down?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Yeah... pretty sure that was sarcasm.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

Where was Escoba located before? Is it the place I'm thinking of that was in Penny Lane before it got torn down?

Yeah, it was in Penny Lane. Then moved to the 8th Ave. location.