eaterys that could go down the drain

Just reading of some chains that may not make the cut---------
 
Perkins with over 500 outlets.
El Torito-------an Irish Pub chain
Sharro------pizza and other Italian specialties with 1070 joints---
                  I have grabbed a slice or two many times in many airports.
Captain D's Seafood-----slowly sinking into the briny sea.
Krispy Kreme-----they've been dunked.
Maistro's Steak Houses------ High Class Roadfood about to hit the Road.
 
It is a shame to see businesses go broke, but new ones jump up and take their place very quickly.  A phrase I learned in my little one room grammar school comes to mind-------The Survival of the Fitest. 
 
 
 
l
 

Where did you get your info, Ancient Mariner? Can you provide a link..

FYI, El Torito is not an Irish Pub chain, it is a Mexican restaurant chain in Southern Cal...

A new Perkins is set to open real soon in Forked River, NJ, along Rt. 9...
(45 minutes north of Atlantic City)

El Torito? thats an Irish pub?
given that info I wouldn't put any validity in this at all.

Restaurants on the ropes

Where did you get your info, Ancient Mariner? Can you provide a link..

FYI, El Torito is NOT an Irish Pub chain, it is a Mexican restaurant chain in Southern Cal...

A new Perkins is set to open real soon in Forked River, NJ, along Rt. 9...
(45 minutes north of Atlantic City)

thanks Kona, after reading the full version not the readers digest condensed post most aren't that bad.

the ancient mariner

El Torito-------an Irish Pub chain 

It's a MEXICAN FOOD chain , not an Irish Pub chain...

Funny, I was reading this exact same article after it popped up at my Yahoo! desktop!

Interesting read.  I guess a lot has to do with location.

The El Torito here in Marina del Rey, CA is always packed with a minimum 30 minute wait.  The bar is always packed and that's where the real money is being made.

Maybe a lot of these chains need to think about not putting stores on every corner, but picking and choosing their locations..... carefully.

I remeber the El Torito in Secaucus they served that tradional Irish food,such as Burritos,enchalidas,tacos and fajitas.

ellen4641

the ancient mariner

El Torito-------an Irish Pub chain 

It's a MEXICAN FOOD chain , not an Irish Pub chain...

Oh COME ON, Ellen, everyone knows that Torito is an ancient Irish name!  Stop pulling his leg.

I am surprised that Ellen and others don't know that El Torito is an Irish Pub, and the Blarney Stone, is a well known Tex-Mex joint you can find all over Manhattan-------oh well it is a slow Sunday. 

Maybe not sorely missed but in Dayton, Ryans which had been kicking till Golden Carral killed them.  Old Country Buffet either closed or became Family Buffet or Soup and Salad.  All the Rally's bit the dust with half the Hardee's.  Out of 4 Churches Chicken 3 are closed.  The one in the projects was fire bombed!
Thats off the top of my head.

It only makes sense that Sbarro is closing...malls in general are closing.

Perkins is WAY better food than Denny's or I-Hop, but they don't have the name recognition and don't stay open late for drunks.

Krispy Kreme is simply closing some of their superfluous locations, they're not going away.  Nothing can be a Krispy Kreme donut fresh off the conveyor.

The others I've never heard of or aren't available here, so I have no idea.

felix4067


Perkins is WAY better food than Denny's or I-Hop, but they don't have the name recognition and don't stay open late for drunks.

 
I don't know about that. Perkins, once, was better than Denny's and IHOP, but most Perkins that I've seen lately, like the now gone Bennigans, are old and worn out. While Denny's has reinvented itself with a 50's diner theme.
 
I remember when Perkins came out with their bread bowl salads and soup. A take off from the San Francisco chowder in sourdough tourist favorite. They were really good early on. Then, like the rest of their menu, went to crap.
 
And, if you see a Perkins in a college town, they're open 24 hours a day. Such as the one open 24 hours in Olean, NY near St. Bonaventure University. And the one in State College, PA. And several others. So, a Perkins could stay open late if they thought it would make them more $.
 

 

I stand corrected, then.  The ones I've seen in Michigan all close at 9pm.  And their food is exactly what it's always been.  Which is not to say fabulous by any stretch, but still much better than anything Denny's has come up with.  You can slap a new "theme" on a restaurant, but if you still have the same crap food to back it up you won't fool anyone for very long.

Around here, Perkins has a reputation as the "old folks" restaurant.  I'm good with that...old folks usually know how to eat.

You'd think airports alone would keep Sbarro's alive since you're trapped there and they seem to be in almost every airport.  But, I imagine the rent in an airport is atrocious. 

Andrea

I've always enjoyed Perkins for breakfast but the only one around here is across town. They recently put some coupons in the paper so I might drop in again.

the ancient mariner


Just reading of some chains that may not make the cut--------- 
 

El Torito-------an Irish Pub chain 

 
The best Shepherds pie I ever had was at El Torito.  I washed it down with an ice cold Guinness.

Joe---you made my day-------I love it when a plan comes together---but there are none so blind as those with no sense of humor, or don't recognize a tongue in cheek. 

For an Eye-trallion guy you are OK.  I don't care what everyone else says. 

Captain D's is no loss - they serve salty greasy fish like products.  We ate at one in Missouri once when my wife wanted fish on a road trip, and I could feel my ankles swell as we drove away.

You can go to Long John Silver's for your salty grease fix now.

We have several Capt Dee's in the area. They seem to be doing ok.  They have several broiled fish choices on the menu... cheaper and better than LJS in my opinion.
 
The two Ryan's in our area are always busy...as is the Cracker Barrel. No Opinion offered in either case.

The Rally's here in Louisville are doing ok also. We like'em!
 We had a bunch of Hardee's on our side of the river close down a couple of years ago...Franchise trouble I think.

Everyone is making a joke of this El Torito thing.  SK - Whatever you think it is..IT IS!  Who is gonna question you when you're dressed in one of those Orange County Biker T-Shirts and ripping into one of those rare T-Bones!  You know you do look like that guy. 
 
Hey, didn't you tell us you were once a bouncer at Studio 54? Or was it the Latin Quarter?

Does anyone have a menu from El Torito?  That would put an end to all this bull s_ _ t.  
  If they are serving corned beef and cabbage, bangers and mash, etc. we'll soon know it! 

Perkins has awesome eclairs.Thats all I can say...otherwise tasteless food, IMO.

Us old timers like Perkins------eclairs especially.
There is one in Pinella's Park Fl that Mary and I stop at when we are in the neighborhood when it is time to "Chow Down"

As for El Torito----some people understand my sense of humor and some don't----that's what makes the world go around and around.  I think smiling and being happy is good-----better than having ulcers anyhow !!!!!  Bah humbug !!!!!

Ancient..So, are you now saying that El Torito does not serve Irish food?

Baah Ben


Ancient..So, are you now saying that El Torito does not serve Irish food?

 
It's true, they threw me out because I'm Irish!

I'm only trying to confuse those who will be confused. 

The day that El Torito's decides to serve Irish
food will be the day that Katz's Deli serves
Pulled-Pork Sandwiches.  Oy vey !!!!!!!

Katz's pulled pork sandwiches and a side of east river/hudson bay lobster salad, doesn't get any better than that.

My heart goes out to employess that lose their job and the owners that lost their dream. As a roadfood diner, I eat at none of these and so will not miss them if they go. A former Perkins location had a 20 year year run as a Rusty Skillet (not my choice for a good restaurant name but we had a local seafood restaurant called the Rusty Harpoon-ugh) but they just shut their door. Gone in Milwaukee for decades, IHOP returned and the parking lot seems OK so I suspect it is going well. Also gone for maybe ten years Benihana also returned but there is much competion for them and I suspect the worst. Does anyone ever return after a visit? I doubt if Sabor, our "gaucho" restaurant will make it w/o dropping their prices. On a national level, I miss the Magic Pan but we have a great local French bistro called Chez Jacque that makes terrific crepes. We had several local chains that are missed such as Dutchland Dairy and Heineman's. It's a tough business.