Quizno's gone?

[MsDarkstar]

Does anyone know anything about the Quizno's down in the Riverwalk shopping ctr? Tried to stop in this last Thursday for lunch & there was a handwritten sign on the door that said "Sorry, we are closed." All the tables & fixtures were still inside, it looked like they were just closed for the evening but they're no longer listed on the Quizno's website when you search for a location. I'm not a HUGE fan of theirs, I know there are other sandwich places in town, I just get the occasional hankering for one of their honey bacon club sandwiches.

[mugofbeer]

Just poor management. Had some dealings with them once and was suprised at how un-manegerial they were. A little too Boulder-ish

[bluedogok]

They have been struggling nationwide, many of them closed or changed format in Austin before I moved to Denver. They have had a bunch of corporate/franchise issues and lawsuits going on.

[ylouder]

I used to be a fan but went into a chain in DC and while watching the worker make a pitiful sandwich for me I just walked out and haven't been back in 4 years.

It was around the time that 5 dollar subway footlongs started and have never felt like I was getting.f under served or ripped off with them.

[Mel]

They were pretty good in the early days but wandered into the sub-par zone and I will not miss them.

[Bunty]

Quizno's also went out of business in Stillwater and was replaced by Firehouse Subs.

[Mel]

Quizno's also went out of business in Stillwater and was replaced by Firehouse Subs.

Firehouse is good, so is Jimmy Johns.

[jn1780]

I thought this Quizno's closed a couple of years ago? Another franchise owner must have bought it since I last noticed it gone and met the same fate.

[MsDarkstar]

Yeah, it closed down a few years ago for probably 9 months or so then reopened under new ownership. I went in once & there was no adult supervision, just teenagers working there. They had hip-hop music on with the volume up VERY loud, they were hollering at each other from across the store & into the back room, the floor & several tables were dirty, and they just seemed to be treating the place like their own little hangout. This was all observed while standing in line, and I decided to leave and go elsewhere for food. Decided to try it one more time about a month later & the interior was spotless, there was no loud music on and the employee was a polite adult. I commented that the last time I was in I felt like I was in a frat house, she laughed & said yeah, we got rid of most of our employees and are starting over. Guess it didn't work out for them.

[SoonerDave]

Quiznos on SW 104th closed a little under a year ago, and my wife swore them off after she swore she got food poisoning from them.

I see them advertising nationally still, but their presence here seems to be diminishing. Not a huge loss as far as sandwiches go, IMO, but a downer for the folks who worked there.

[Jeepnokc]

They have very high franchise fees and also require the franchise too buy the supplies from their distributor which frequently was more expensive than they could source themselves. Saw article in either the NY Times or WSJ this last week that they (the national company) were preparing to file bankruptcy.

[Easy180]

That is a bad location for a food joint. Kinda had to know Quizno's and Harry Bears were hidden back there.

[Bimmerdude]

That is a bad location for a food joint. Kinda had to know Quizno's and Harry Bears were hidden back there.

Sadly, that whole building is in a bad location. The AT&T place closed, then the salon....surprised the UPS store is going strong. Poor parking too.

[Dubya61]

They have very high franchise fees and also require the franchise too buy the supplies from their distributor which frequently was more expensive than they could source themselves. Saw article in either the NY Times or WSJ this last week that they (the national company) were preparing to file bankruptcy.

As I understand it (way too much credit given to my "information," I'm sure) Domino's has similar franchise agreements. A little trivia factoid I came across about 2 months ago was that Domino's (the corporation) made more money selling their dough than any other aspect of the business model.

[SoonerDave]

Doesn't seem that out of the ordinary to me - I think McDonald's franchisees have to purchase their supplies, meats, whatever, from "approved" suppliers. I know Lopez Foods provides the meats, sausages, etc for their burgers and breakfast sandwiches. That's why I always get kind of a chuckle from folks who feign horror at McDonald's supposed "mystery meat.." a familiy member who used to work there told me its just another meat product they produce for a customer - just a big quantity of it...

Lopez actually packages up McDonald's sausage under the Good Value label. Used to be Country Cousins a time ago, I think. Same family member alerted me to this..."exact same stuff...just goes into a retail bag rather than the McDonald's shipping box..."

Just some trivia

[wahoorob]

Here's the WSJ article that does a good job of summing up the problems Quizno's franchise owners have faced.

Quiznos Moves Toward Bankruptcy Filing - WSJ.com

This section pretty much sums it up:

Steven Raposo said he spent a total of $350,000 to open a Quiznos franchise in Norton, Mass., in 2005. He said he and his family soon realized they wouldn't be able to bring in enough money to cover expenses and put the franchise up for sale. They sold the business less than a year later for about half the price.

Mr. Raposo said his annual sales would have been about $600,000, but he was still facing monthly losses of between $3,000 and $5,000.

"It sounds like we were doing a lot [of business] but there was actually no profit because of food costs and labor," said Mr. Raposo, a practicing chiropractor.

[bluedogok]

As I understand it (way too much credit given to my "information," I'm sure) Domino's has similar franchise agreements. A little trivia factoid I came across about 2 months ago was that Domino's (the corporation) made more money selling their dough than any other aspect of the business model.

That is very common in multi-level corporations. When I was at Benham we did a lot of work for Coca-Cola, mostly syrup branches but sometimes other facilities. Coke made most of their money selling concentrate to their own syrup branches who then sold syrup to the bottlers (both wholly owned and contracted) and fountain providers. There were big budgets for concentrate facilities (I worked on one in Ireland) and pretty thin budgets for the syrup branches in comparison.

[SoonerDave]

Here's the WSJ article that does a good job of summing up the problems Quizno's franchise owners have faced.

Quiznos Moves Toward Bankruptcy Filing - WSJ.com

This section pretty much sums it up:

Steven Raposo said he spent a total of $350,000 to open a Quiznos franchise in Norton, Mass., in 2005. He said he and his family soon realized they wouldn't be able to bring in enough money to cover expenses and put the franchise up for sale. They sold the business less than a year later for about half the price.

Mr. Raposo said his annual sales would have been about $600,000, but he was still facing monthly losses of between $3,000 and $5,000.

"It sounds like we were doing a lot [of business] but there was actually no profit because of food costs and labor," said Mr. Raposo, a practicing chiropractor.

Sounds like a back-breaking business. (rim-shot).

[bluedogok]

Here's another story about the bankruptcy in The Denver Post

Denver Post - Franchise operators wait, watch as Quiznos files for Chapter 11 reorg

[Easy180]

This thread had me trying to remember the name of the Italian place that was in before Harry Bears....They made a pretty mean pepperoni chicken pasta

Anyone remember the name?

[MWCGuy]

Doesn't seem that out of the ordinary to me - I think McDonald's franchisees have to purchase their supplies, meats, whatever, from "approved" suppliers. I know Lopez Foods provides the meats, sausages, etc for their burgers and breakfast sandwiches. That's why I always get kind of a chuckle from folks who feign horror at McDonald's supposed "mystery meat.." a familiy member who used to work there told me its just another meat product they produce for a customer - just a big quantity of it...

Lopez actually packages up McDonald's sausage under the Good Value label. Used to be Country Cousins a time ago, I think. Same family member alerted me to this..."exact same stuff...just goes into a retail bag rather than the McDonald's shipping box..."

Just some trivia

I understand Lopez/Lopez subsidiary provides the chicken for the chicken nuggets through a joint venture with Tyson. You guessed it, there made right here in Oklahoma as with most of McDonald's ingredient for their products. Buns, meats and produce come from suppliers right here in Oklahoma or whatever state the Mcdonald's your eating at is located.

[MsDarkstar]

This thread had me trying to remember the name of the Italian place that was in before Harry Bears....They made a pretty mean pepperoni chicken pasta

Anyone remember the name?

I believe you're thinking of Berkley's. If memory serves correctly, the owner was a former Mazzio's guy. They had good food, but over in that corner is just a killer.

[Roger S]

I think they started their downward spiral after they quit using this commercial.