Toasty Or Toasted? Quiznos Follows Sbarro Into Bankruptcy [Obamanomics Fail]

Forbes ^ | 3/16/14 | Brian Solomon

[SoFloFreeper]

Restaurant chains are dropping like flies this week.

On Monday pizza franchise Sbarro dipped into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Following in its footsteps on Friday, sub shop Quiznos announced that it too would sink into bankruptcy as part of a “pre-packaged” deal to cut its debt by more than $400 million, or two-thirds.

[Varda]

That’s what I was thinking. That was the gayest ad I’ve seen and for food ewwwww.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Gonna get me a New Yawk slice!

Classic!

[PAR35]

. But what about us anachronists who want a shirt or pair of trousers to last more than one season as they typically did in previous decades?

You've pegged it. If I'm going to buy a pair of poor quality pants made in Asia, I might as well pay $11 at Walmart instead of $60 at the Mall.

[niteowl77]

As a general thing, I prefer Quiznos' sandwiches over Subway's, which (IMO) have over time become the lowest common denominator of the sub sandwich world. Having said that, the Quiznos franchises around here have been highly variable - to put it politely - in quality. A few years back, there were Quiznos popping up so close to one another that it caused something of a ruckus (and IIRC, a lawsuit or threatened lawsuit), and a fair number of them simply shriveled up and blew away.

Subway is out for me (personal last straw: hooking up with Chelle-O), and I'd like to have more, not less, alternatives.

Mr. niteowl77

[aLurker]

Agreed.

Mutant hamsters were actually an improvement over the earlier commercials.

They became forever known as "Queerznos" after that "Put it in me, Scott" (in male oven's voice) "12 inch Toasty Torpedo" commercial.

That was supposed to make people want to eat their food?

[DoodleDawg]

It is all part of the same lethargy and malaise that has befallen America since the country was “rescued’ with the TARP bailout. “Too big to fail” turned out to be a recipe for “all the smaller ones have to fail”.

Nonsense. TARP and Obama have nothing to do with it. It is all part of the fact that people shop online now. I buy clothes online, books online, items for the house online. I do my Christmas shopping online, buy birthday presents online, and a whole lot of people I know do the same. There is a grocery store startup in one of the Kansas suburbs now that will allow you to do your grocery shopping on line, pay for it, then when it's ready they'll text you and you drive through and pick it up. Heck, even my mom buys stuff off "the interweb" and she's hardly what I'd call computer savvy. The fact is that it's just easier than going to the mall and wandering around past all the idiot teenagers hanging out.

[RayChuang88]

This recession has seen a massive “weeding out” of businesses that have inherent structural problems. Why do you think Howard Schultz returned to run Starbucks and massively overhauled the entire operation, which has returned the company back to profitability (and resulted in successful expansion in eastern Asia?).

[Steve_Seattle]

"Sbarro serves tasteless glop and Quiznos is terrible, IMO."

I disagree on both counts.

[kearnyirish2]

“What happened five years ago? Hmmmm...”

The decline had already started by that point; Obama is just accelrating it. America has been bleeding jobs for decades; it became much more noticeable as white-collar jobs followed blue-collar jobs overseas.

For us, eating out has been reduced to the occasional pizza; other stuff just costs too much as our children grow.

[mylife]

I went to Quiznos exactly one time.
They had a special on a brisket sandwich.
The service was slow and surly,the sandwich was sub par and even on special it cost me like $12.

[Steve_Seattle]

"In my area we’ve had restaurants shut down, in some cases replaced by South or Central American restaurants for the immigrants (legal and otherwise). As these immigrants fill the void left by the low American birthrate, they are the new consumers in the economy. Their restaurants are cheap, seemingly unregulated, and cater to people who know how to stretch a buck."

Last week my girlfriend and I went to an independent Mexican restaurant for lunch and it cost $35, including the tip. (We had no alcoholic beverages.) This is NOT an upscale place. A few days later we went to lunch at an Anthony's seafood place on the waterfront and it only cost $30. Anthony's is considered semi-upscale.

[Blackirish]

Yep. Most of my life good steady work. Since 08 I’ve had 4 jobs. This one tho good is contract and ends in May. Potbelly sandwichs I like....five bucks with tax. Overpriced tiny bag of chips ans a 2.00 coke I skip,

[Steve_Seattle]

"Another problem with malls is high rent."

A local mall priced-out the Barnes & Noble that was the flagship of the mall, a real destination store, the third largest B&N in the country. I thought it was a dumb move, and have only been back to the mall once since the B&N closure.

[kearnyirish2]

I’m talking about places that have no legal workers, and no employees that speak English; you can get stuffed for $6 (and the food is tasty, though plain & cheap), but I have no confidence in the sanitary arrangements. They are gold mines; the “replacement Americans” flock to them for basic sustenance - and it is all cash.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Question: WHY are malls failing?

Because they have to have police cars stationed there while they are open.

People don't like to shop where they don't feel safe. If they do shop there it is "in and out" no hanging around to eat.

[Steve_Seattle]

"The venerable Burger King may be next."

I wouldn't call it venerable. Their 1,500-2,200 calorie meals are just crap for anyone who's past 30.

[12th_Monkey]

shame, I liked the Quiz. Used to be so many where I’m at, now I can’t recall the last one I see.

kenyanomics

[niteowl77]

Question: WHY are malls failing?

Because they have to have police cars stationed there while they are open.

People don't like to shop where they don't feel safe. If they do shop there it is "in and out" no hanging around to eat.

I'm old enough to remember when "shopping centers" or "plazas" were converted to enclosed "shopping malls," and that was indeed when people began to hang around. Nothing like a little cold and precip to keep the slackers at bay.

Mr. niteowl77

[exPBRrat]

Of course if they zero in on obamacare as the cause of the bankruptcy any surviving execs will be targeted by scores of unelected alphabet agencies like the IRS for reeducation training.

[fatnotlazy]

And I’ll bet the mall will have a hard time finding a renter or renters for the space. Some mall have lots of empty storefronts and some have walled off big chunks of space to make the mall appear more filled. Doesn’t work.