January 22, 2009

Tough Times for Retail

I predict here that over the next couple months we are going to see a few bigger name restaurants in Worcester hot spots (Canal, Shrewsbury Street, etc) close. Adding a local meals tax will only worsen the situation.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Meals Tax and probably the 2 worst months ,weather wise -in a long, long time. Every weekend ... Ice storm, extreme cold, Nor'Eaters , nuisance snows...etc. December & january have been absolutely BRUTAL to the restaurant/hospitality industries...

Harry T
Worcester, MA

PS

Rhode Island , New Hampshire & Connecticut border restaurants will do gangbuster business if the meals taxes go up...

Bill Randell said...

Add into credit tightening by suppliers, not to mention customers the restaurant business is brutal right now.

Friend of mine works for Nabisco and tells me the grocery stores are up. In other words people are staying home to eat and not going out.

Next time drive down Shrewsbury Street and count the signs for lease or sale. It is amazing.

Bill

Anonymous said...

I think Ct already has a 7 or 8% meals tax.

RI used to have a 6% sales tax, last I knew...so I assume meals is at least that much.

I guess Cow Hampshire has no sales and therfore no meals tax, too????

Raising taxes during a recession.....should never happen and we're lloking at what i think is a def. 10 cents in the gas tax soon.......BTW Mr "Together We Can"........wth is my property tax cut you promised......thsi is why I never ever watch or listen to any debates or political rhetoric from these jokers. I find a few 1000pm crime dramas better.........

Then we have our city Council passing what Jeff calls a bunch of fell good baloney.........strip joint laws that are unconstitutional.........shopping carts ord. that penalized supermarket rather than the Hobos who steal the carts........vendor pushcart ord............sidewalk shoveling ord.....and soon a 2.5" knife ord.............as Jeff mentioned on his blog yesterday........thsi stuff has littel or no substance to it.........all feel good crap.......this council will not tackle the real issues that are destroying the city..........

Meanwhile the impotent school committe cannot make a decison re add'l classroom time for snow days.......have they even discusssed it yet........and other communities have already addressed the issue and made a decision......any wonder no one wants their kids in Worc Public school ghetto.........the teachers will all whine if Apr. vacation is axed........inmates running the asylum

Can we get Di's guy Guy to bring some of his guests out to paxton to help out the boy scounts clean Treasure Valley of all the downed trees from Dec. ice stormmmmmmmmm.............come on Guy you can even bring along the $300,000 Guy Swatmobile Mobile Command Center.........in case some stoner you have on the work crew decides to wander off into the woods and toke a Left Handed Lucky. If you dont start using that Swatmobile the tires will soon begin to rot from lack of use. Check the brakes too. I dont want that thing carreening off the road into one of the many houses of Worc. cops who live in Paxton. And Paxton is a "NO Jake Brake Zone" too..so no fidddlin' with that Jake Brake.

Anonymous said...

I am not going to mention the name or type of bisiness for obvious reasons, but my instincts tell that we may lose a long time Worc based business before all the dust settles from this latest economic malaise

And speakign of retail, what of the rumors months ago that Daimond Chev was going out to Rte 20 in Auburn??