Fairway Owners Fight Collapse with Bankruptcy Deal

After rapid and apparently misguided expansion, the New York grocery store Fairway may finally be reaching the end of its lifelines. Stocks in the store, which went public in 2013, have been falling since CEO Jack Murphy came on in 2014; they now rest at 30-40 cents a share. Nasdaq has twice warned the company that they may be delisted, and over the past 5 years they have accumulated $267 million in debt.

The chains owners have made attempts to sell, but have not been able to come up with buyers. Now, in a last-ditch effort to keep at least the most successful stores open, they are attempting to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of May and restructure their debt. If the deal goes through, creditors will take over the company temporarily until they (hopefully) reach more solid footing.

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Sushi Zen Closes Amid Plans to Reopen with 3 Times the Space

image.jpgMidtown staple Sushi Zen first opened its doors in 1983, when sushi was still considered an adventurous choice for Times Square dining. In the years since, more and more upscale sushi restaurants have joined the scene, and raw fish has fully entered the mainstream (arguably ushering in the next-wave poke trend). Sushi Zen, run by head chef Toshio Suzuki, nevertheless remained a favorite, earning some celebrity chef fans like Michael Anthony and training others like Masaharu Morimoto in the traditional Edomae style of sushi making.

Now, Sushi Zen has shut down operations at it’s original location at 108 West 44th. There were plans in the works to reopen three blocks north at 114 West 47th Street, a move predicted as early as March of last year, with a new space significantly larger at 6,500 square feet. It now looks like that new space will not pan out.

Although New Yorker’s may now balk at paying more than $25 for their sushi entree, Sushi Zen was a staple that consistently earned high marks from critics.

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Bark Hot Dogs Closes Up Shop

10435790_10152728392254916_3747257176259248714_n.0.0.jpgAfter a brief stint with a second location in Greenwich village last year which closed after six months, the 7 year-old Bark Hot Dogs will officially close up shop completely on February 7th. Bark was a Park Slope standby for many years, and owner Joshua Sharkey had previously talked about plans to open a different Manhattan location in a new neighborhood. That now seems unlikely, although Sharkey has been vague on the exact reasons for closure, stating only that (unlike the Greenwich Village location), rent was not the primary factor.

In honor of their final week, Bark’s popular homemade condiments will be available in bulk for $5 a pound. Stock up now for Superbowl Sunday, and get one last dog before they’re gone.

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Competitors See Opportunity in Chipotle’s Troubles

The Chipotle food-safety saga has been impossible to ignore for the last few months, as everyone from hungry college students to Wall Street traders are forced to reckon with the chain’s downfall. For other fast-casual and fast food restaurants, however, the news is an opportunity to snatch some new guests. As we wrote earlier, Sweetgreen has already earned the moniker “the new Chipotle” to some, and they’ll undoubtedly benefit at least somewhat from the Mexican chain’s decrease in sales. Others are hoping that they can improve their image by highlighting food safety practices – and surreptitiously reminding everyone that they haven’t caused any norovirus outbreaks recently.

Canadian chain Freshii is twisting the knife by offering half-priced Mexican food while Chipotles everywhere are closed for an all-hands meeting and regroup. They claim that this is to “help consumers through these dark hours,” and that “the least [they] could do was look after their customers while Chipotle paused to recalibrate.”

White Castle, while not a direct competitor of Chipotle, has decided now would be a good time to launch a website devoted entirely to advertising their food safety practices. The website is unambiguously named http://www.WhiteCastleClean.com, and it showcases their commitment to “promoting food safety, cleanliness and transparency.”

Chipotle meanwhile is struggling to recover while their stocks are in free-fall. CEO Steve Ells has made repeated statements about their new food safety practices, and promised that they will release any information about the source of the outbreaks last year. This Super Bowl, they are offering $50 currency card and a limited-edition gift from the makers of Tabasco sauce to anyone who uses their catering service.

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Chick-Fil-A Rings in New Year by Getting Shut Down

wrewr435345fdssdfsd.jpgAfter a December Health Inspection that earned the fried chicken chain a damning C grade, the midtown Manhattan Chick-Fil-A has closed for five days in order to make improvements to operations and hopefully earn a higher grade on re-inspection. “Grade Pending” currently hangs in their window until the update is complete.

This New York branch of the controversy-ridden chain earned a total of 59 violation points on their December 24th inspection, and 39 on an earlier December inspection. Those include a number of “critical” violations for things like the presence of filth flies and improper food storage. They are allowed to leave the “Grade Pending” sign up until their appeal is heard at an Office of Administrative Trials and Hearing Health Tribunal.

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Williamsburg’s Biblio Closes

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In a statement posted to Facebook this week, the owners of Biblio at 149 North 6th St. in Williamsburg announced that they would be closing the doors to their book-themed bar and restaurant. Biblio opened in 2013 with a cozy, library atmosphere and a number of literary touches, including a menu divided into sections like “Forward” and “Preface” which they simplified in eventually pared down to gastropub classics and lighter takes on comfort food.

In their statement on Facebook, the restaurant’s owners thanked their patrons from the past two years, but explained that business has not been strong enough to sustain them, particularly in 2015. They did not give a specific date for their final day.

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Market Diner to Close After Service Sunday

jpgAfter 53 years of business, one of New York’s finest diners is closing. Earlier this summer, rumor spread that the Moinan Group had plans to build a 13 story mixed use development at the corner of 11th Ave and West 43rd St. Presently located on the corner is Market Diner. Market Diner has been in business since 1962 and served prominent iconic people of New York City like Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra and the Westies gang were noted fans of the diner and frequently ate at the diner decades ago. Moss says ” Anytime I’ve gone by the Market Diner, the place was packed. People loved it.” The Market Diner was also featured on Seinfeld.

While the diner was highly popular years ago,  now, the diner is being forced out of the complex. “Diners are a dying breed in Manhattan.” With rapid increases in costs of land, landlords want to develop buildings that can potentially be rented to generate more revenue. As an effect of new developments, many older businesses are being forced out.

The Market Diner will close at the end of service on Sunday, November 1st. The Garden Center next door will also be closing for the new development.

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All Organic Avenue Stores to Close in NYC

urlJuicing stores have taken New York City by storm with multiple retail stores from Juice Press to Organic Avenue opening all around New York City. With the shift in the food industry to organic produces, “green juices” have rapidly become popular and its own trend. However, with the recent acquisition from Vested Capital, popular juice company “Organic Avenue” has announced that they will be officially closing all ten New York locations.

A fallout on juices have become a growing sight in New York City with recent closings of the Juice Press on East 10th Street and other locations within the East Village.

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The Big M loses it’s Size

For the first time since 1977, one of the largest restaurant chains inMcDonalds-Closing the world, McDonald’s, is projected to close more stores than open in the United States. Over the past two years, McDonald’s has been suffering from decreasing revenue and drops in profit from stores worldwide. Increasing numbers of competitors in the United States, economic instability in Europe and strict food safety regulations in Asia have effected the performance of McDonald’s. Already in the first quarter of 2015, McDonald’s closed 350 stores performing poorly in Japan, United States and China hoping it will drive profits upward. McDonald’s CFO Kevin Ozan is implementing turnaround strategies to “win over the millions of burger-eaters.” The company’s approach within limited service fast food is labeled to be outdated and far from trending dietary factors. This generation, the Millennials, are prone to be more health-conscious and interested in key words like “organic, free range, locally grown” which are areas that McDonald’s is incoherent with. With McDonald’s lagging attempt to follow trends, competitors continue to grow like Chipotle which caused the biggest drop in sales to McDonald’s with its entrance into the limited service industry. McDonald’s has not officially disclosed the number of stores closing but it is speculated that a target of 700 restaurants with poor sales will be shutting down this year.

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Rent Spike Forces Heartland Brewery To Close

It is sad to see such an integral part of the Union Square neighborhood closing. Heartland Brewery at 35 Union Square West opened in 1995, and as of yesterday was forced to close due to a large rent spike. Jon Bloostein also has four other brewery locations as well as Flatiron Hall, Houston Hall and Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar in Times Square, but there is something about this specific closing that makes it eerie for the restaurant scene in Union Square; if a high-profit brewery with a large turnover can’t make it, does that mean all restaurants are doomed?

Danny Meyer, who will be closing the epic Union Square Cafe at the end of this year, wrote that the rent had tripled for the 6,600 sq ft space. Rumors are that the other high-volume touristy spot in Union Square, Blue Water Grill, may also be facing the same fate. As for the Heartland Brewery, Bloostein said the rent spiked to $2 million for the full space, meaning $450 per square foot. According to a real estate broker who focuses mainly on spaces for the hospitality industry, the average asking rents in the Flatiron/Union Square area are on average $275 per square foot. This creates a very tricky atmosphere for traditional restaurants.

To read more about the closing of the iconic Heartland Brewery in Union Square, click here