Mr. Beef in Hot Water

It looks like Mr. Beef is in danger of closing. Although it has never been one of my favorite beefs in town, it would still be a sad commentary on these times to see them go.

hard to understand how a place that's been around for that long has such money issues...i'm guessing there's more to this than the standard food cost, not enough business type issues.

a report i read said that they're in debt more than $650,000 to vendors. With the food they serve, that's gotta be at least a year's worth of purchases.

elakin wrote:hard to understand how a place that's been around for that long has such money issues...i'm guessing there's more to this than the standard food cost, not enough business type issues.

The article indicates some portion of the loans taken on Mr. Beef's building weren't actually for Mr. Beef, but to open Natalino's.

ah. my bad. i read a short blurb earlier today and didn't bother to click the link above. now that i've read the longer article, it makes more sense.

If the revenue streams at Mr. Beef and Natalino's are as strong as they are described in the article by their owners, why wouldn't the banks wouldn't want to re-finance the loans? Obviously, many details are not being disclosed but I can't imagine any bank wanting a vacant piece of real estate (or choosing one over repayment) at this point in time. For many banks, real estate is a 4-letter word these days. Wouldn't they rather have the loans paid back? That seems entirely realistic if both these restaurants are still doing decent business. I guess they feel the owners cannot make good on the loans and that current value of the real estate will cover their exposure.

=R=