Panera Bread in San Marco to close

[thelakelander]

3rd & Main still has a few retail spaces available?  How much space are they looking for?

[jason_contentdg]

^ May be a feasible location, but I would love to see them in a building that is vacant and would create another traffic node.

[thelakelander]

Very true.

[thekillingwax]

Being able to bake bread there is also a concern, I don't think they can have that type of equipment there, can they?

[stjr]

Drove by Panera's tonight.  The sign in front says 5,900 sf available so this must be what they have now.

I would think the Springfield area is a different market from San Marco and locating a store in one place or the other would be a somewhat independent decision.  In other words, if the support is present, they could have a store in both locations.  Alternatively, closing one store would not necessarily justify the opening of the other.

[sheclown]

I just talked with Kevin, and he thinks that the old Boomtown Space would be a better fit.

Phil Neary has the parking lot in the back accessible from the alley.  He'd rent space for parking...

[tufsu1]

Drove by Panera's tonight.  The sign in front says 5,900 sf available so this must be what they have now.

I would think the Springfield area is a different market from San Marco and locating a store in one place or the other would be a somewhat independent decision.  In other words, if the support is present, they could have a store in both locations.  Alternatively, closing one store would not necessarily justify the opening of the other.

I think the 5,900sf is the extra land that Accubuild has been trying to sell/lease for sevral years.

As for tpringfield/San Marco thing, I agree...it makes sense for Panera to stay in the San Marco area...or maybe even Lakewood since Atlanta Bread closed.

[thekillingwax]

We always wondered who'd buy that tiny strip of land there, there's absolutely no room for extra parking because Panera's lot is always full and laid out like a puzzle.

[stjr]

Here is the T-U's version on Panera-San Marco:

San Marco Panera Bread landlord says restaurant closing
Has not renewed on lease to allow operation past Dec. 31

    * By Kevin Turner
    * Story updated at 5:27 PM on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

A Panera Bread location in San Marco that had operated since 2000 has opted not to renew on its lease that ends Dec. 31, according to a representative for the location at 1615 Hendricks Avenue.

I. Mark Rubin, president of Accubuild Companies, said his firm is landlord for the Richmond Heights, Mo.-based restaurant, and said that it had opted to not exercise a five-year lease renewal option allowing the lease to continue from Jan. 1, 2010 forward. That means the restaurant has to clear out of the space by Dec. 31, he said.

“They really didn’t provide any information,” Rubin said. “It’s a shame they’re not [staying]. They’re a good offering for San Marco.”

Rubin said it’s especially unfortunate because Panera was one of the first national tenants to come into San Marco after an effort to attract such business there.

“It was a re-gentrification of San Marco,” he said. “We started the re-development of San Marco in 1995. Our fingerprints are on most of the buildings in San Marco.”

The loss of a business in the area won’t last for too long, Rubin said.

“We’re working with a number of other retailers who are anxious to go in and replace them,” he said.

Panera Bread’s vice president of public relations couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

http://jacksonville.com/business/2009-10-20/story/san_marco_panera_bread_landlord_says_restaurant_closing

[Bativac]

This is a real shame. I go to this Panera at least once a week. Their coffee is excellent, I like their bagels (yeah, yeah, I know), and the employees are always pleasant. I hope they're able to find decent jobs elsewhere. My dad and I checked into some San Marco places out of curiosity (we were gonna open an art gallery) and the rents are pretty outrageous. My fiancee worked for a lady who owned a Curves gym in San Marco and had to shut it down due to the high rent (well, that and the outrageous franchise fees). Are landlords really that greedy and short sighted?

Can someone reccommend another Panera-ish type of place that's open on weekends where I can get a good cup of coffee and a chocolate chip bagel?

[Ernest Street]

quote author=Bativac link=topic=6478.msg104843#msg104843 date=1256125920]
Are landlords really that greedy and short sighted?

Yes they are.
And from seeing the phone numbers on a lot of realty signs, there are also a lot of long distance landlords that have no clue how bad it has been in Jax.

[strider]

Any closing in this economy is not good. 

How could landlords possibly be greedy when there are so many places available?  It is definitely a renters' market. 

[lindab]

A renter in hand is better than potential renters in the bush.

Aren't these the same guys that got into a fuss with RAP over moving an historic house for a new development?

[Bativac]

quote author=Bativac link=topic=6478.msg104843#msg104843 date=1256125920]
Are landlords really that greedy and short sighted?

Yes they are.
And from seeing the phone numbers on a lot of realty signs, there are also a lot of long distance landlords that have no clue how bad it has been in Jax.

I noticed the same thing. Out of town landlords are disconnected from the local reality, I guess. So what happens? The rent is too high, nobody can afford it, the economy slows, more businesses shut down, more buildings are empty... and businesses that CAN afford the rent don't want to be the only shop open in the middle of a ghost town...

So the buildings sit vacant forever? Why don't they, I don't know, lower the rent to start, with an option to increase the rent at the end of a term specified in the lease contract?

I don't expect property owners to "care" about the local economy, but from a business standpoint, if you can turn the area into a "hip" place by lowering the rents and allowing more interesting shops to move in, you'll reap a greater benefit than just letting the building sit vacant until someone is willing to pay your outrageous monthly rent... right?

[thirdeye]

From my experience, while searching for my brewery location, is that most landlords in this town would rather have an empty building than take $2 less a square foot. They also want you, as the tenant, to make improvements to their building in exchange for the "privilege" to lease from them.

I have a friend in San Marco whose landlord raised his rent and he had to sell his business. Shocking in this market, but in-town property owners are just as clueless.

Most landlords in this town get what they deserve...(maybe I should not have said that!)