Things We Lost in the Virus

The Quarantine Zone
#1

Not a thread about the people who have died. This is a memorial thread for the various businesses and other institutions that have announced they will not be re-opening when the lockdown ends.

The Original Hot Dog Shop in Pittsburgh was mentioned in this thread.

Bob Smith operated one of the last remaining Ground Round restaurants in the country.

Paul Neubauer got sick from Covid19. He recovered but decided it was a sign it was time to close down Crazy Nick’s Video, the last remaining video store in the Albany area.

Playboy magazine has ceased publishing, as related in this thread.

#2

I think the “salad bar” will not make a comeback.

#3

Well, some businesses like Playboy had already been circling the drain for awhile, so if it wasn’t this thing now, anything else that would have hurt what was left of the business even a little bit was going to have the same result. We’ve had a few restaurants here that have decided to shut for good, but pretty much all of them had other issues that had been plaguing them for awhile (like rent increases/disputes with landlords) so the owners just decided to cut bait. I wouldn’t be surprised if they opened something new somewhere else once the coast is clear.

#4

That reminds me of this thread: Sweet Tomatoes restaurants are no more. I mourn.

I’m looking for specific places that are closing not general categories. Or discussions of why businesses are closing or what the effects on the economy will be. Those topics can be discussed in other threads.

#5

The Smith Center is Las Vegas is closed “for the indefinite future.” My local coffee shop, Abby’s, probably won’t reopen.

#6

Is there any reason to believe that The Smith Center won’t reopen once this all goes away? I believe it was owned by various governments (city, county, and state?) until the bond is repaid.

#7

Stans Donuts in Westwood

#8

One of the local traditional shopping malls was informed their Nordstrom will not be reopening along with the rest of the mall. The mall was doing pretty well as one of the remaining malls in the region as some of the smaller, older, more empty venues have gone the way of the dodo. They did a facelift a few years ago and that appears to have helped. However, losing a major anchor could spell trouble, even if they are able to hang-on for a while until the new norms are established. It’s unlikely a new tenant will be found to fill that spot.

Nordstrom is in trouble more generally already, but there will be trickle-over to malls and other places where they are pulling back. The other anchors at this mall are also all in trouble (Sears, JCPenny, Macys). Malls in general were already on the bubble but the situation is not improving their prospects.

#9

Two local restaurants have gone under:. Katy O’Byrne’s, an Irish pub, and Pinhead Susan’s (never went there because my wife Susan didn’t want to set foot in it).

#10

That NCAA basketball tournament looked to be wide open fun.

#11

J.C. Penney has gone belly-up. True, it had spent so much time circling the drain, it was reeling, but it was the only affordable clothing store in my local mall. They were always having sales. I can’t drive, so my choice is the massively overpriced clothing at Macy’s or the narrow selection of poorly-made crap at Target.

What happens to their stock?

#12

I thought the latest news is that J.C. Penney is closing a lot of their stores but still planning on keeping a lot of other stores running. That’s obviously not a sign of good health but it means the end is still a couple of years away.

#13

This actually happened back in April but I just found out about it. Vulcan Video in Austin Texas has closed. As a video store, they were obviously not doing well and having to shut down for Covid19 was more than they could handle.

#14

Common sense.

~VOW

#15

After 33 years, the Espresso Royale chain of coffee shops here in Ann Arbor and elsewhere has closed for good, specifically because of the pandemic. A sad epitaph stands on their website.

#16

Maybe not dead yet.

#17

G.H. Bass Shoes and Wilsons Leather are closing their brick-and-mortar stores nationwide.

#18

Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy protection. Here’s one of my favorite acts…I never get tired of watching it and I’ll never figure out how they do it. At 1:43, for instance, how do those guys in handstands support all that weight?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBaYyFxUUiU

#19

If this plague lasts half as long as I fear it will, we’ll probably never see The Rolling Stones ive again.

#20

I think that’ll be the case for a lot of the geriatric rockers and nostalgia acts, large stadium gatherings will be the last thing to come back.