Friday, July 27, 2007

Ironic Twist

It's somewhat comforting to me when a chain restaurant gets replaced with a local establishment and that is exactly what is happening at the site of the former Bennigan's at Snowden River Parkway and Waterloo Road in Columbia.
Bennigan's local franchisee, Next Shift, unceremoniously shuttered the restaurant this spring. It is hard to imagine how a national chain could manage to screw up a location as good as this but they did. The food just wasn't very good. A group of local investors have purchased the property and are in the process of converting the building into an "upscale hamburger joint" named Victoria's. I heard they will have a pretty nice wine selection as well. On the other hand this twist of fate really isn't all that surprising. Many times the second restaurant in a new location enjoys far greater success than the original. The site has some "additional capacity" so the developers are planning some new retail space to go along with their restaurant venture.

For more on locally owned restaurants check out HocoLoco Girl. Jessie is doing a pretty good job of showcasing the non chain scene in Howard County.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would have thought that the lakefront Bennigan’s would be a wildly successful restaurant, but it obviously wasn’t. Let’s see how this new joint does before we pat the little guy on the back.

Jessie Newburn said...

Lordy, lordy. Perhaps there is hope, afterall, that our community will repel the chain restaurant invasion. Thanks for the shout-out on HocoLoco Girl. (Guess where I got the idea for the name ...) ;-)

Anonymous said...

The Magic Pan and Benny's gone
Some chains go, but more live on
Of local shops we're more bereft
Some new ones come, but more have left.

Careful planning going forward
Mixed-use towers quite untoward
Ground floor lease rates just too pricey
All but chain stores find them dicey.

But wait there's hope for the local
Finding niches may be focal
Winners past may point the way
Take the lead of J.K. Lay.

Eldersburg1976 said...

Can't wait to try it out... thanks for the FYI!!

Any idea what they are building in the Walmart parking lot off Dobbin??

wordbones said...

Nice verse!

I think it is J.K. "Lea" though.

-wb

Anonymous said...

"Any idea what they are building in the Walmart parking lot off Dobbin??"

I noticed that today as well and wonder what they are building.

Hayduke said...

"Any idea what they are building in the Walmart parking lot off Dobbin??"

A Chevy Chase Bank.