The Southern has some more on El Greco's closing, including a comment from the previous owner, Tasis Karayiannis, that his understanding is that the closing is only temporary and he expects El Greco's re-opened within a few days, with the same menu. The new owner, Chandrakant Patel, who also owns BlueFish Liquor and Cigars and at least one hotel in town, did not comment on a re-opening date.
Showing posts with label Blue Fish Liquor and Cigars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blue Fish Liquor and Cigars. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
El Greco Closed
Bad news yet again. From El Greco's Facebook status:
Thank you from the Karayiannis family for all of your patronage over the past 35+ years. El Greco is changing ownership and will unfortunately be closed as of tonight. Stop in for your last gyro fix - we are open until 9pm.
Line of 20+ plus people was stretching out the door past Old Towne Liquors about 6 p.m. and the restaurant ran out of food about 8 p.m. Ownership of both it and Old Towne have changed hands after 35+ years. Purchased by the owner of Bluefish Liquor and Cigars. No indication as to what will happen with the pair of businesses. Hazarding a guess, I would bet the wall gets knocked out and Old Towne expanded, possibly onto the vacant American Tap lot next door.
Several years ago, I was told by someone in a position to know that El Greco broke even at best and needed to see a significant increase in sales to justify remaining open. Apparently, much like the Mississippi Flyway, customers waited until the announcement of the closing before patronizing them in numbers sufficient to keep the business open. Important to remember if there is a restaurant (or other business) you really like and want to stay around, spend money there now and encourage others to do so as well, otherwise it may follow in the tracks of El Greco, the Flyway, El Baijo and others. A restaurant announces its closing after sales have declined consistently over a long period of time. Generally, they can work their way through a bad month or two, but it is very hard for a small business to come back from several years of declining sales.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
More on Council Items
Have received a couple of emails and communications regarding yesterday's post. Apparently the Arbor District did not actually support the request by Home Rentals for the special use permit for W. Monroe but viewed it as pretty much a given that it would go through. The organization decided to make the best of what they viewed as a bad situation by making certain that the apartments would meet certain standards when built. I am told that, in the audio of the council meeting, Arbor District representatives make it clear they do not support the special use permit.
Also regarding the Blue Fish transfer, the applicant, Manny Patel, had checked on his transfer application that he had paid his taxes on time, when in face he had not. Of concern to the council is the fact that he appears to be having difficulty securing a Best Western franchise for the former Ramada Limited motel he owns on Giant City Road, as the Best Western signs have been installed for several weeks but remain covered with blue tarps.
Also regarding the Blue Fish transfer, the applicant, Manny Patel, had checked on his transfer application that he had paid his taxes on time, when in face he had not. Of concern to the council is the fact that he appears to be having difficulty securing a Best Western franchise for the former Ramada Limited motel he owns on Giant City Road, as the Best Western signs have been installed for several weeks but remain covered with blue tarps.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
City Council Items
A couple of items at the last city council meeting haven't gotten much attention. The transfer of the liquor license for Bluefish Liquor and Cigars from Zach Short aka Short Enterprises to Manish Patel AKA Sunrise Hospitality. Councilwoman Adams expressed concerns regarding the number of late fees, totaling over $1000, Patel has paid for late payment of the hotel & motel taxes collected by the Ramada Inn, as well as some late taxes owed by Moe's Southwestern Grill, which Patel also owns. Mayor Fritzler expressed some concerns regarding the comparatively rapid change in owership, given that several changes in zoning were passed through council specifically allowing Blue Fish to open last year. Council decided to deny the transfer on a 4-2 vote with Adams, Fritzler, Fronabarger and Monty voting to deny.
The other item on the agenda that got most of the attention at council was Home Rentals request for a Special Use permit allowing them to build an apartment building on West Monroe, next to the C'dale Public Library. Most of the people speaking at the meeting spoke in opposition to granting the permit. Unfortunately, the audio is not posted on the website, but the request was denied. It was interesting to see that both the Planning commission and the Arbor District Neighborhood Association approved the request before it went to council, where it ran into enough opposition to torpedo it.
The other item on the agenda that got most of the attention at council was Home Rentals request for a Special Use permit allowing them to build an apartment building on West Monroe, next to the C'dale Public Library. Most of the people speaking at the meeting spoke in opposition to granting the permit. Unfortunately, the audio is not posted on the website, but the request was denied. It was interesting to see that both the Planning commission and the Arbor District Neighborhood Association approved the request before it went to council, where it ran into enough opposition to torpedo it.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Liquor Ordinance
Tonight's city council meeting has the revision to the city's liquor ordinance on the agenda. As proposed, it would allow grocery stores to get a class C2 license, allowing them to sell beer and wine only and not if they have a gas station within 200 feet. Councilmen Chris Wissmann's comments about the proposed ordinance can be found here and Don Monty's are here. Councilwoman Jane Adams had this to say about the ordinance:
We have a lengthy agenda at our meeting Tuesday, but the most important item is an amendment to the City’s liquor ordinance. I think that we have tried your patience with our deliberations, but I hope this is the end or at least the beginning of the end.
We will be considering an amendment that allows the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores. At their July 7 meeting, after addressing comments and questions from the audience, the Liquor Advisory Board voted to recommend the more restrictive and limited sales of beer, wine, and spirits of the two proposals put before them (see my last blog, July 6).
I’ve talked with a lot of people about the issue and have found that most people I’ve spoken with first say they want beer and wine in grocery stores. But as we talk many of them say they would like to be able to buy spirits as well as beer and wine in grocery stores, and they’d like to be able to buy alcoholic beverages in gas station convenience stores, as well.
The amendments before us also require liquor sales in grocery stores to end at 11:00 p.m., rather than 1:59, which is closing time for all other establishments that sell liquor. And it has a lower fee for grocery store licenses than for regular package liquor licenses.
I'm not a big fan of the "grocery store" ordinance as the restriction regarding closeness to gas stations is nonsensical since we have at least three drive up liquor windows in town, creating another class of licenses adds unneeded bureaucracy, and not including gas stations just means we will have to reopen the whole thing in another year or so. I would also like to see the ordinance take effect 6 months to a year after passage to allow currently existing stores time to adjust their product mix. We currently have 8 liquor stores in town. Based on the number of liquor only stores in surrounding communities that allow liquor sold in grocery and convenience stores ( only 1 in Murphysboro, 3 in Marion), I'd bet we see 4 of the current stores close up within 5 years after the ordinance is passed.
Can't be there tonight, but based on their past actions, I expect Mayor Frizler and councilmen Monty and Fronbarger to vote in favor of some form of a revised ordinance and Wissmann to strongly oppose it. Councilwoman McDaniels has shown little opposition to granting new liquor licenses in the past, so I'd expect her to vote in favor. Lance Jack and Jane Adams, I'm not certain about. Both on on record as supporting local businesses as the heart of the community, but given Jack's struggles to get his own liquor license, I don't think he could oppose some other business applying for one. Adams doesn't have a track record yet, save for voting in favor of liquor licenses for the Icebox and Elite Lounge, though her comments above lead me to think she leans towards a "yes" vote as well. Ergo, if the vote tonight goes the way I think it will, and the proposal doesn't get tabled for more work, the council votes 6 to 1 in favor with Chris Wissmann the lone opponent.
We have a lengthy agenda at our meeting Tuesday, but the most important item is an amendment to the City’s liquor ordinance. I think that we have tried your patience with our deliberations, but I hope this is the end or at least the beginning of the end.
We will be considering an amendment that allows the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores. At their July 7 meeting, after addressing comments and questions from the audience, the Liquor Advisory Board voted to recommend the more restrictive and limited sales of beer, wine, and spirits of the two proposals put before them (see my last blog, July 6).
I’ve talked with a lot of people about the issue and have found that most people I’ve spoken with first say they want beer and wine in grocery stores. But as we talk many of them say they would like to be able to buy spirits as well as beer and wine in grocery stores, and they’d like to be able to buy alcoholic beverages in gas station convenience stores, as well.
The amendments before us also require liquor sales in grocery stores to end at 11:00 p.m., rather than 1:59, which is closing time for all other establishments that sell liquor. And it has a lower fee for grocery store licenses than for regular package liquor licenses.
I'm not a big fan of the "grocery store" ordinance as the restriction regarding closeness to gas stations is nonsensical since we have at least three drive up liquor windows in town, creating another class of licenses adds unneeded bureaucracy, and not including gas stations just means we will have to reopen the whole thing in another year or so. I would also like to see the ordinance take effect 6 months to a year after passage to allow currently existing stores time to adjust their product mix. We currently have 8 liquor stores in town. Based on the number of liquor only stores in surrounding communities that allow liquor sold in grocery and convenience stores ( only 1 in Murphysboro, 3 in Marion), I'd bet we see 4 of the current stores close up within 5 years after the ordinance is passed.
Can't be there tonight, but based on their past actions, I expect Mayor Frizler and councilmen Monty and Fronbarger to vote in favor of some form of a revised ordinance and Wissmann to strongly oppose it. Councilwoman McDaniels has shown little opposition to granting new liquor licenses in the past, so I'd expect her to vote in favor. Lance Jack and Jane Adams, I'm not certain about. Both on on record as supporting local businesses as the heart of the community, but given Jack's struggles to get his own liquor license, I don't think he could oppose some other business applying for one. Adams doesn't have a track record yet, save for voting in favor of liquor licenses for the Icebox and Elite Lounge, though her comments above lead me to think she leans towards a "yes" vote as well. Ergo, if the vote tonight goes the way I think it will, and the proposal doesn't get tabled for more work, the council votes 6 to 1 in favor with Chris Wissmann the lone opponent.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Some Thoughts on Liquor Ordinances
A few more thoughts on the proposed ordinances presented at last night's Liquor Advisory Board meeting.
The current ordinance needs changing. One figure I heard bandied about last night was 6000 signatures on petitions asking for the change. That's about 25% of Carbondale's population and, while I doubt that all those who signed live in the 'dale, they do shop here rather than Marion or Murphysboro.
Simply expanding the ordinance to the entire city, as both the comprehensive and grocery store ordinances propose, needs to be looked at carefully. As Don Monty pointed out in his email, different areas of Carbondale are zoned "wet" and "dry". If you remember when Short Liquors wanted to open Blue Fish Liquor and Cigars off Reed Station Road last year, the council had to change that area from "dry" to "wet" before a liquor establishment could open there. How will an ordinance allowing citywide sales of liquor interact with the liquor zoning regulations currently in place?
The ordinance needs to phase in over time, three to six months after passage, rather than immediately. This will give the current license holders time to adjust to the changed environment. Any of the new license holders will focus on beer and wine sales as those are the fastest moving items and account for most liquor sales in Carbondale. One of the current liquor license holders commented last night that over 50% of their sales come from beer. If the "grocery store" ordinance is adopted, those new license holders would only sell beer and wine putting even more pressure on the currently existing license holders.
Having a distance restriction between the sale of liquor and the sale of gas doesn't make much sense. If the objective is to prevent people from buying liquor and then driving, why do both Westroads Liquor and ABC Liquor have drive up windows? You can't get alcohol and gas much closer than than, unless you have a drive through liquor store, such as I've seen in Ohio.
The LAB specifically said that,as the interpreted it, the grocery store ordinance would only allow grocery stores (which they seemed to have a problem defining) to sell liquor, not convenience stores. If you are going to change the ordinance, change it so that it applies to everyone. A partial change leaves the city iin the same state it is now, only with grocery stores added to the mix of those who can have licenses. Work out the details now, rather than coming back in a year to hash it out again.
LAB chair Robinson appeared really worried that expanding the licenses to more businesses would encourage everyone and her brother to apply for a license, raising the specter of florists and bike shops with liquor licenses along side balloons and bike racks. Won't happen. Just look at Murphysboro and Marion. If liquor is a fit for the business, expect to see an application. If it's not part of the business' core competency, the business won't apply.
The current ordinance needs changing. One figure I heard bandied about last night was 6000 signatures on petitions asking for the change. That's about 25% of Carbondale's population and, while I doubt that all those who signed live in the 'dale, they do shop here rather than Marion or Murphysboro.
Simply expanding the ordinance to the entire city, as both the comprehensive and grocery store ordinances propose, needs to be looked at carefully. As Don Monty pointed out in his email, different areas of Carbondale are zoned "wet" and "dry". If you remember when Short Liquors wanted to open Blue Fish Liquor and Cigars off Reed Station Road last year, the council had to change that area from "dry" to "wet" before a liquor establishment could open there. How will an ordinance allowing citywide sales of liquor interact with the liquor zoning regulations currently in place?
The ordinance needs to phase in over time, three to six months after passage, rather than immediately. This will give the current license holders time to adjust to the changed environment. Any of the new license holders will focus on beer and wine sales as those are the fastest moving items and account for most liquor sales in Carbondale. One of the current liquor license holders commented last night that over 50% of their sales come from beer. If the "grocery store" ordinance is adopted, those new license holders would only sell beer and wine putting even more pressure on the currently existing license holders.
Having a distance restriction between the sale of liquor and the sale of gas doesn't make much sense. If the objective is to prevent people from buying liquor and then driving, why do both Westroads Liquor and ABC Liquor have drive up windows? You can't get alcohol and gas much closer than than, unless you have a drive through liquor store, such as I've seen in Ohio.
The LAB specifically said that,as the interpreted it, the grocery store ordinance would only allow grocery stores (which they seemed to have a problem defining) to sell liquor, not convenience stores. If you are going to change the ordinance, change it so that it applies to everyone. A partial change leaves the city iin the same state it is now, only with grocery stores added to the mix of those who can have licenses. Work out the details now, rather than coming back in a year to hash it out again.
LAB chair Robinson appeared really worried that expanding the licenses to more businesses would encourage everyone and her brother to apply for a license, raising the specter of florists and bike shops with liquor licenses along side balloons and bike racks. Won't happen. Just look at Murphysboro and Marion. If liquor is a fit for the business, expect to see an application. If it's not part of the business' core competency, the business won't apply.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Blue Fish Open
Without a lot of fanfare (or if there was, I missed it), Blue Fish Liquor and Cigars has opened in the shopping plaza on Sweets Drive. Surprising lack of attention given the amount of controversy its planned opening attracted last spring.
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