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BCS Coming & Going: Retail, Restaurants, Businesses, etc (2025)

65,200 Views | 355 Replies | Last: 10 hrs ago by Rex Racer
techno-ag
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FlyRod said:

happyinBCS said:

yes, no forks or sauce


I believe they eventually did offer sauce? Always thought location was the issue with them, and the steadily rising cost of meat has made for tough times for BBQ places.
Twin Peaks seems to be doing very well in that location. The parking lot is always full when I drive by.
Trump will fix it.
techno-ag
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Charpie said:

EliteElectric said:

As a contractor who does a lot of work on restaurants and bars, and whose family was/is in the restaurant biz in SoCal, I can tell you, more fail than make it. It takes a steady hand and a good concept to make it, especially in a college town, even more so when times get tough.

We also have the added factor of former students wanting to have something here, so much so that they take risks they wouldn't necessarily take and try to manage things from a distance.

I don't know what our rates locally are compared to national averages but I would guess more fail here than the rest of the country as a whole.


The fianc and I were just talking about this. Summers here have to be hard for the restaurant business. Sure there a lot of us adults but there are also a lot of great places to eat.
Yeah Varsity Grill did not last long past football season unfortunately.
Trump will fix it.
Hornbeck
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Summers here are hard for any business.

I think that's the main thing that you have to plan for. Long periods of little / no money coming in takes a level of cash reserves that I think a lot of would be entrepreneurs don't take into account.
BiochemAg97
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trouble said:

Pretty comparable. Not as good though.

Apparently they gave no notice to employees. That's a crappy way to do business.


Generally, you close restaurants because they are losing money and you don't have anymore to lose.

What your asking is for the owners to make the decision that they don't want to lose more money on the concept, and then continuing to lose money for a few more weeks just so you can give notice to the employees.

It isn't ideal for anyone.
trouble
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Having them find out via Facebook is a **** move though
BiochemAg97
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trouble said:

Having them find out via Facebook is a **** move though


True.
maroon barchetta
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Wow.
Dustoff00
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Typical restaurant guidance is to not plan on any profit for the first 2-3 years... Also, once you make it to that point, it is usually a sign of a sustainable venture.
Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces
EliteElectric
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Saw this today and thought I'd share, from the US BoL


Quote:

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only around 25% of businesses make it to 15 years or more.

Key points about business survival rates:
First 5 years: Around 50% of businesses fail within the first five years.
First 10 years: Approximately 65% of businesses fail within the first ten years.
15 years and beyond: Only 25% of businesses survive to reach the 15-year mark.

We've been open 15 years now, just started year 16 so we are very lucky. Thank you BCS community!
www.elitellp.net/

australopithecus robustus
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It's very common for towns of this size to have big restaurant turnover. When communities hit around 250k population they pop up on many chains' radars. There will continue to be a flushing/turnover for a while. To boot, the issue is exacerbated here by two things. Firstly, the seasonality as everyone knows. Secondly, bigger city rents with small city sales. It's clear any independent who opens needs to do thorough due diligence, design the business model for the demographics here, and realize that the sales per capita are weak. There's no expense accounts, yuppies or incessant tourism.

The kiss of death is for someone to visit on a gameday and think that's the standard. They need to come back in December or July and see the correction. It's clearly do-able to be in business here, but its more complex than most think.
ElephantRider
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Varsity is one of those places that I would always drive by and say "I need to try that", and never did. Just never really drew me in.
Look Out Below
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Twin Peaks offers something Kreuz's didn't and I'm not talking about the food.

The blue collars love that place and they sell more alcohol than anywhere in town.
techno-ag
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Look Out Below said:

Twin Peaks offers something Kreuz's didn't and I'm not talking about the food.

The blue collars love that place and they sell more alcohol than anywhere in town.
Understood. But the location is just fine.
Trump will fix it.
aneisch
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It appears that installation of the Tesla Supercharger station adjacent to Coopers BBQ has started
84AGEC
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We went to varsity grill for lunch about a month ago. Wife had the BLT and I got the chicken quesadilla.
The BLT was pretty much void of bacon and the quesadilla was mostly pica salsa.

It was a typical place that spent so much money on a great building but had average food and service
Hornbeck
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trouble said:

Having them find out via Facebook is a **** move though


But, if you quit them, they want two weeks notice.
TyHolden
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Hornbeck said:

trouble said:

Having them find out via Facebook is a **** move though

But, if you quit them, they want two weeks notice.
I doubt college kids give 2 weeks notice....they just don't show up
woodiewood
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ElephantRider said:

Varsity is one of those places that I would always drive by and say "I need to try that", and never did. Just never really drew me in.
We went there twice and the service was extremely slow with the restaurant about 1/3 full.

The food was decent, but overpriced for what you got. Too much competition with easier access.

There was no "WOW" that would drive you to suggest going back to eat.



happyinBCS
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completion date 6/14/2024
as I said previously, I think someone is already propping them up obviously this is not happening
PS3D
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MsDoubleD81 said:

Kreuz only lasted a couple years, right?
At least the original Cooper's was awesome, Kreuz in Lockhart was nothing to write home about.
trouble
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PS3D said:

MsDoubleD81 said:

Kreuz only lasted a couple years, right?
At least the original Cooper's was awesome, Kreuz in Lockhart was nothing to write home about.


Eewwww hard disagree.

Good thing we all have different tastes and options.
NotJPMorgan
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This might be true in the restaurant industry (I wouldn't know), but this couldn't be further from the truth in my experience employing college kids. But then again, most of mine stay until graduation so we get several months' notice.
aneisch
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You can see the hardware being uncovered and put into place from the highway. It will be interesting to see what happens if the business folds. As far as I know the business itself doesn't own any of the hardware they only provide the space
AggiePhil
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Construction has started on the Medical Examiner's Office. Coming soon!!!
EBrazosAg
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We all hope to put our appointment there off as long as possible. But at $1500 per square foot, it must be pretty swank.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
BiochemAg97
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EBrazosAg said:

We all hope to put our appointment there off as long as possible. But at $1500 per square foot, it must be pretty swank.


I wonder how much of that is autopsy and storage equipment.
AggiePhil
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EBrazosAg said:

But at $1500 per square foot, it must be pretty swank.
Properly built ME offices can be atrociously expensive. They're basically a cross between a surgical center, imaging center, diagnostic laboratory, and office building. Add in requirements for a secure evidence collection/storage facility and infectious disease considerations and you wind up with a significant price tag.
EliteElectric
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AggiePhil said:

EBrazosAg said:

But at $1500 per square foot, it must be pretty swank.
Properly built ME offices can be atrociously expensive. They're basically a cross between a surgical center, imaging center, diagnostic laboratory, and office building. Add the requirements for a secure evidence collection/storage facility and infectious disease considerations and you wind up with a significant price tag.
Correct. I built the TAMU Bio Waste facility in the early 2000's (02 maybe?) and the price tag was grotesque, it had necropsy labs, tissue and fluid handling and a bio digester and incinerator.
www.elitellp.net/

Tailgate88
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EliteElectric said:

AggiePhil said:

EBrazosAg said:

But at $1500 per square foot, it must be pretty swank.
Properly built ME offices can be atrociously expensive. They're basically a cross between a surgical center, imaging center, diagnostic laboratory, and office building. Add the requirements for a secure evidence collection/storage facility and infectious disease considerations and you wind up with a significant price tag.
Correct. I built the TAMU Bio Waste facility in the early 2000's (02 maybe?) and the price tag was grotesque, it had necropsy labs, tissue and fluid handling and a bio digester and incinerator.
Thisguy1
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TyHolden said:

Hornbeck said:

trouble said:

Having them find out via Facebook is a **** move though

But, if you quit them, they want two weeks notice.
I doubt college kids give 2 weeks notice....they just don't show up


I manage a good mix of college age, young adults and a few older. A lot of family emergencies, immediate changes needed, not showing up, you name it with college kids. Every single young adult and older employee has given us a minimum of a week other than one, and we were to the point that we were glad that one left.
happyinBCS
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Anyone been to the new La Z boy store

I would think it would be tough to pay the overhead on a new furniture store with Ashley, Star, Furniture Row Havertys, plenty of furniture stores here
maroon barchetta
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Barnes and Noble had people removing their sign off the building earlier. I haven't been back by to see if they got a new sign or a rebranding or what.

Are they still B&N?
java94
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happyinBCS said:

Anyone been to the new La Z boy store

I would think it would be tough to pay the overhead on a new furniture store with Ashley, Star, Furniture Row Havertys, plenty of furniture stores here


I haven't been yet, but have been excited for it to open. Oddly, the same week it opened, I saw a Furniture Row ad saying they now carry La Z Boy…. Unless they only get lower tier products, that seems like poor planning.
PS3D
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maroon barchetta said:

Barnes and Noble had people removing their sign off the building earlier. I haven't been back by to see if they got a new sign or a rebranding or what.

Are they still B&N?
Yeah. They changed logos years ago (in fact, got another new logo since). Our store is particularly old, having been barely touched opening over *checks notes* ...27 years ago.
Aggieland Proud
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Went this weekend of the grand opening. Good crowd when we were there. Had employees from other stores in the area helping out so plenty of assistance. We liked the selection of furniture and the wife got her wishes. Hope it does well, but not the square footage of some of the other stores. Of course, don't believe it carries all furniture such as mattresses, etc, but does have lots of living room type furniture.
 
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