R.i.p.

[bluedogok]

BMW Motorcycle of Oklahoma City/Ducati Oklahoma has closed. From their website, it looks like the closure happened at the beginning of December 2011. I imagine it is a difficult job to sell expensive motorcycles during a recession.

Actually both had good years last year and Ducati had a 43% sales increase in 2011 and BMW Motorrad (the motorcycle division) sold their most motorcycles ever, Triumph also had a very good year and H-D seemed to have some improvement as well. This does run counter to most of the industry where the Big 4 (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) have seemed to struggle.

MotorcycleUSA - Ducati Claims 43% Sales Increase for 2011

BMW Magazine - BMW Motorrad Reports Best Ever Sales in 2011

MotorcycleUSA - Triumph Motorcycles Claims 2011 Sales Growth

From what I have read on some motorcycle forums is BMW Motorrad USA showed up with a truck and basically repossessed everything BMW from the dealership. They were going to go on with Ducati but I think realized they were already too far gone and closed up. I have heard some various other stories about the reason why BMW pulled the dealership from them, not sure how accurate they are but if true it wouldn't surprise me. Supposedly someone else has already signed up to take over BMW, not sure about Ducati yet but I'm sure it won't be long before both are open.

I had stopped in there a few times and at times it seemed like I was bothering them or something. I think the location on I-40 was horrible, you had to get to the dealership off Reno through some other buildings, just because it's on a major highway doesn't make it a prime location. The other BMW/Ducati (and Triumph) dealers elsewhere that I know of are not on major interstates for the most part, the Waco dealership (Ducati/Triumph/Victory) is the only one that I can think of, locating on an interstate seems to be a Big 4 or Harley thing.

[ljbab728]

There also used to be a Catfish Cabin in MWC at 10th and Douglas. It was an "all you can eat" buffet. I knew two brothers who went in and ate fried shrimp for hours, until they were run off and barred for life. (Which turned out to be only a few months because the place closed its doors).

As far as the one under discussion here goes, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did: Everything was greasy and tasted the same.

I also suspect that their business was impacted significantly by Cajun King which is about a mile away. They get rave reviews for their catfish.

[T-rex]

the Nino's on air depot in MWC closed sometime in the last few weeks
went by last weekend and doors were locked and a sign on the door thanking all for their business

[MikeOKC]

Quiznos at 63rd and May is a victim of Jersey Mike's, just up May a few blocks north and by Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches which opened not long ago just a few blocks south on May Ave. They're already off the map on the national website. They were squeezed out by two more popular national chains, not to mention better sandwiches (in my opinion).

The Sub Wars in Oklahoma City

[SoonerDave]

the Nino's on air depot in MWC closed sometime in the last few weeks
went by last weekend and doors were locked and a sign on the door thanking all for their business

I think all the Nino's have closed up shop. I know the one on S. Western closed some weeks ago. Not a place we frequented; last time we went there, which was some years ago, didn't get the impression cleaning the place was high on their list of priorities. Not like there aren't plenty of Mexican options in OKC, too...

[RadicalModerate]

If Quizno's hadn't stopped running these ads, they wouldn't be facing the current crisis.


Not to mention offering consumer irresistable enticements like these:


Long John Silvers should probably consider launching a campaign,
using this jingle, before they face a similar fate:


(Here's the long version for all the real seafood lovers):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTpUVAcvWfU
Rolling Stone rated it among The Top 100 Music Videos in History.

[SoonerDave]

Radical, I don't know if advertising really pointed to Quizno's demise as much as their food. But I grant ya, it seems the commercial campaigns for them (and a BUNCH of other, more successful ones) are delving into the broad depths of the asinine. I understand how advertising supposedly targets something like an 8th grade audience, but good grief, some of these campaigns defy the imagination for their stupidity. Its almost like the food industry's advertisers have gone creatively bankrupt.

Heck, there are clever, somewhat original campaigns out there outside the food business. I was reading the other day that the insurance advertising "market" was overhauling itself due to the success of the "Mayhem" Allstate ads and the "Farmers" jingle, recasting insurance companies as humorous or even self-lampooning to draw customers. Not every commercial works, of course, but the idea, to me, is creative and different. But most food/restaurant ads these days are just incomprehensibly inane...

[RadicalModerate]

"Its almost like the food industry's advertisers have gone creatively bankrupt."

Sort of a vicious economic circle, if ya' think about it . . . =)
(Technically, isn't it the food industry's advertising AGENCIES that have gone creatively bankrupt . . ? =)

If you think about it, in this age of Twitter and Apps, it's pretty hard to grab people's attention long enough for a creative, 30 or 60 second spot. One would think it would be the other way around but . . .

P.S.: I ate at a nearby, easy to get to, Quizno's two or three times (and also at another one that just happened to be in the vicinity of where I was in a different location). Overall opinion: "Meh . . . Subway with a toaster." (Pre-Subway toaster addition). Unfortunately, I got the same feeling at Jersey Mike's. Their counter staff added a little authentic East Coast surliness to the mix, but other than that, it was a one time only visit for me.

[SoonerDave]

Agencies? Okay, sure, I'll give you that one.

Now, prejudices disclosed - I'm a big Jersey Mike's fan. The fresh-cut meats and authentic preparation really put it a cut above in my book. Unfortunately, Subway opened up about 300 yards from my front door (literally), so its really difficult to convince the *rest* of my crew to go the extra five or six miles to the nearest JM's. Yeah, Subway's OK, but only OK for me.

[RadicalModerate]

Location . . . location . . . location . . . =)
(and effective, creative advertising . . . =)

BTW: Please accept my apology if anything I've said in here is too obscure or obtuse for understanding.
I suffer from a phrasing and punctuation deficit. Please send your generous donation to . . . =)

[John_T]

Incredible Pizza in Warr Acres. I believe it became a Chinese restaurant. I used to love Incredible pizza. they had great pizza, and it was always fun. It is a shame, I loved how they had a pizza buffet.

[TheTravellers]

Incredible Pizza in Warr Acres. I believe it became a Chinese restaurant. I used to love Incredible pizza. they had great pizza, and it was always fun. It is a shame, I loved how they had a pizza buffet.

If you're talking about the one on NW Expressway/MacArthur, it actually turned into a Gattitown a while back and is still open, AFAIK. There was a thread about it somewhere on here, probably in Food and Restaurants.

[kevinpate]

Yes, Incredible Pizza became Lido's, for a short spell, then about a year ago the place reopened as a GattiTown. Haven't been in so I don't know how much changed beyond the branding.

[Urban Pioneer]

Actually both had good years last year and Ducati had a 43% sales increase in 2011 and BMW Motorrad (the motorcycle division) sold their most motorcycles ever, Triumph also had a very good year and H-D seemed to have some improvement as well. This does run counter to most of the industry where the Big 4 (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) have seemed to struggle.

MotorcycleUSA - Ducati Claims 43% Sales Increase for 2011

BMW Magazine - BMW Motorrad Reports Best Ever Sales in 2011

MotorcycleUSA - Triumph Motorcycles Claims 2011 Sales Growth

From what I have read on some motorcycle forums is BMW Motorrad USA showed up with a truck and basically repossessed everything BMW from the dealership. They were going to go on with Ducati but I think realized they were already too far gone and closed up. I have heard some various other stories about the reason why BMW pulled the dealership from them, not sure how accurate they are but if true it wouldn't surprise me. Supposedly someone else has already signed up to take over BMW, not sure about Ducati yet but I'm sure it won't be long before both are open.

I had stopped in there a few times and at times it seemed like I was bothering them or something. I think the location on I-40 was horrible, you had to get to the dealership off Reno through some other buildings, just because it's on a major highway doesn't make it a prime location. The other BMW/Ducati (and Triumph) dealers elsewhere that I know of are not on major interstates for the most part, the Waco dealership (Ducati/Triumph/Victory) is the only one that I can think of, locating on an interstate seems to be a Big 4 or Harley thing.

If someone new opens up, they need to move downtown and have a small, high profile shop. Auto Alley or Film Row would be ideal. Also, I think there are some opportunities in the superbike market that are sorely being missed.

[metro]

the Nino's on air depot in MWC closed sometime in the last few weeks
went by last weekend and doors were locked and a sign on the door thanking all for their business

The NINOs on NW Exp. closed about a month ago as well.

[metro]

Incredible Pizza in Warr Acres. I believe it became a Chinese restaurant. I used to love Incredible pizza. they had great pizza, and it was always fun. It is a shame, I loved how they had a pizza buffet.

John, it was never a Chinese restaurant, it has always remained a pizza buffet/ kids play zone arcade despite the name change. You were probably confused when it changed to Lidos a few years back, which is a national chain of the same concept. It's been Gatti town for at least a year, if not two, and frankly, it's cleaner and the food slightly better than When it was incredible pizza. As someone stated, there are also 4 or so reads on the place in the food court section of the website if you want all the official deets.

[Bunty]

Didn't the Prohibition Room close?

[kevinpate]

Didn't the Prohibition Room close?

Yes, and I believe I heard those folks moved out west. I also heard someone connected to it opened Whiskey Chicks in BT, but I haven't been in OKC in the evening in quite a while so we just exhausted my limited knowledge.

[OKCTalker]

It seems like there is a wave of businesses closing, or it could simply be my perception. Markie's Deli went dark recently, Steve mentioned a few others in his online chat last Friday, today's Oklahoman reported that Twid's sporting goods has closed, and I heard last night that Avalon seafood market just shut down.

This is a morose thread, but maybe some lessons can be learned from the closures during relatively good economic times in central Oklahoma.

[kevinpate]

While it's true a rising tide lifts all boats, the boats which are not properly secured can end up having their hulls gouged, and then they sink.

[Hawk405359]

Restaurants and bars are just so hard to keep in business that I'm not surprised a lot of closings are them. Longevity is really rare in the industry without a change in quality.

[SoonerDave]

I can't recall the specific statistic, but I think something like at least half of all new restaurant startups fail in six months. Case in point: the old Don Pablos->Interurban->Poblano Grille->A1 Asian Buffet on I-240 at Penn closed after barely a month, following *at least* that much time spent remodeling.

Think a lot of people go into restaurant ownership incredibly naive, believing you just sit back and let someone else do the work while the $$ roll in, but not realizing its one of the hardest businesses in which to be successful. Believe that's why you see shows like "Kitchen Nightmares" (and its ilk) that tend to feature well-meaning people on the brink of bankruptcy who were/are clueless about how much work, expense, and risk is involved in running/starting a restaurant.

[RadicalModerate]

Anyone thinking about opening a restaurant should read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

I heard an interesting talk on the radio the other day featuring some famous consultant who was talking about how many (big) businesses fail because they stop trying to compete with start-ups offering less expensive products and drop those lower-end parts of what they offer in order to increase the profitability of their more "up-scale" products. Eventually, they are pushed out of business from below. I'm not sure how this applies to restaurants, but I still thought the concept was interesting.

[Plutonic Panda]

Long John Silvers should probably consider launching a campaign,
using this jingle, before they face a similar fate:


(Here's the long version for all the real seafood lovers):
Fish Heads - Barnes and Barnes (1979) - YouTube
Rolling Stone rated it among The Top 100 Music Videos in History.

More like a music picture

[RadicalModerate]

Hint: (Click the link in the text below the illustration) =)