Dining options slip on icy economy – New Mexico Business Weekly:

The weak economy has devoured a dozen restaurantas justsince January, providing an oversupply of space left vacant by troublede national chains. Successful local operators are possible candidates tofill it. While all retailersx are feelingthe recession’s squeeze, restaurants are particularly vulnerabl as consumers dine out less and, when they do eat out, opt for loweer priced fare. Sales are off since last September between 1 and 10 percent at manylocal establishments, say local experts, while publicly traded national chains such as , and the were off 7 percenf or more on comparable unitd in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Most nationalsd have either put off expansions or cutit It’s not likely Albuquerque will land any of the majord names it covets in the foreseeable Those names include Cheesecake Factory, , and the two big namess in steak, and . Expect futurw expansion here by the few healtht national casual dining chains suchas , which openeds on Montgomery last year. Despitew Albuquerque’s reputation nationally as a strong restaurant it has not been immune tothe downturn. Both national and locao chainsare closing, leaving high-profile locations emptty in the North I-25 corridor and Uptown.
With an abundanc of supply, lease and acquisitionj rates are dropping, in some casesd below appraisal values. The rang of closures has hit all categories, from fast-food icon to casual dining spots such asand , to upscales Cajun seafood franchise . The closures provided opportunities for those restaurateurd who can get but thatis problematic. “The guys who can play now must have grea t credit and must have five years of experiencre inthe business. They also must put 30 to 50 percenty inthe deal,” observes David Fite, who specializes in restaurants for .
“Inn commercial real estate, the restaurant categoryh is the most difficult to get financed right Fite added thata Montana-based chain will move into Albuquerque and take thres locations in the coming months. Perhaps the most high-profile availability is the former and the adjacent restaurants just northof I-40 on Louisiana They were recently acquired out of bankruptcy by Scotttsdale-based , which now is offeringh the properties for sale or “I see two new restaurants there or a bank and a In my opinion this is the best site in Even though times are people still have to eat,” said Perry managing partner at Tradecor.
“Albuquerque is holdin g up fairly wellright now. It’sd doing 10 times better than Mann developed thePF Chang’d site and owns several restaurants here. The former Copeland’s, at 10051 Coorsa NW, is being offered for $2.8 million and is amontg the larger (7,775 squarer feet) and more modern sites available. John Henderson of Maestaas & Ward has had several showings. Meanwhile, the valure of restaurants that have sat on the marketf for several years hasdropped markedly. The former ’s at 5001 San Mateo NE has been empty for five yearsx and its price has slippedfrom $2.7 million to its curren $1.85 million.
For successful local restaurateurs, the vacanciesa are expansion opportunities. Nick Kapinson operates in Nob Hill and isinvesting $500,000 to lease and renovate the Johnnyu Carino’s site. His new restaurant will have aMediterraneah concept, but will not be called Yanni’s. Kapinson hopes to open by late March and is partnerinfg withJimmy Daskalos. “The reason restaurants are failing is becaussthey don’t take care of their people and are not Kapinson said. “In this economy, you can’rt be haphazard. You can’t be on the golf It’s no big secret: This is hard work.
” ’a Terry and Pat Keenwe and ’s Kathy Puny a have expanded their enterprises. The focuz for future restaurant developmentis Uptown. Developer Gary Goodmanj hopes to build a dozen new restaurantasat . Hunt Development’sz adjacent Quorum project is proposing at leastr threenew eateries, but both projects need tax incremenyt development district approvals from the “When you look to see who is expanding, the food categoryg is active while everything else is Trent Stafford, vice president at Hunt said. “Wwe do anticipate slippage at thehigher end.
I don’tr expect people to be spendinhg $200 for dinner this
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