Spokane7
51°
January 23, 2012 in Business, City
Old Country Buffet closes 2 Spokane restaurants
The last two Old Country Buffet restaurants in Spokane County have closed as part of the company’s Chapter 11 reorganization.
Parent firm Buffets, Inc. filed the bankruptcy last week in Delaware, announcing it would close 81 underperforming restaurants. Those closed restaurants are roughly 16 percent of the 500 it operates nationally.
The local locations were 12205 E. Sprague, at the corner of Pines and Sprague, in Spokane Valley; and 5504 N. Division St. in Spokane. Both closed Thursday, said Melissa Sheer, a company spokesperson.
The Spokane Valley restaurant had roughly 9,600 square feet on the northeast corner of the Opportunity Shopping Center. It is next door to vacant retail space last used by Jo-Ann Fabrics.
Together, those adjoining open retail spots provide about 25,000 square feet, said Carl Guenzel, of Kiemle & Hagood, which represents property owner Pac Trust of Portland.
TierPoint data center sold 
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 23 at 12:14 p.m.
Not like they actually served food anyways.
drywitt99 on January 23 at 12:18 p.m.
It IS REAL FOOD!!!!
The unanswered question is “Where will 70 year old couples go to kill time in the early afternoon?”
misjustice on January 23 at 12:22 p.m.
I feel bad for the employees that don’t have jobs now.
John_Thomas on January 23 at 12:28 p.m.
How is the closing of two buffet restaurants newsworthy?
drywitt99 on January 23 at 12:29 p.m.
Don’t be sorry….the Republi-baggers are focusing on job creation like a laser beam!!!
Right????
Dr_Dachshund on January 23 at 12:56 p.m.
While I feel bad for the employees here, I must say that both the locations were not exactly well-run. I’ve been to both locations one time each, and nothing I saw or ate there inspired a return trip. For desolate buffet lovers, there is still the Golden Corral, which IMHO is much more cleaner and the food’s hotter/fresher there.
nslopeofw on January 23 at 2:23 p.m.
Dry
I thought your boy had fixed the economy? Remember the added jobs articles you all touted? OOOPS!
nslopeofw on January 23 at 2:23 p.m.
I like the buffets, you get to pick what you want, all you can eat, and its pretty good! Definitely sux.
westerly on January 23 at 2:29 p.m.
More empty buildings along Sprague…quite a barren strip, mile after mile….and on and on…How does city of the valley survive?
Dazzeetrader11 on January 23 at 2:38 p.m.
Cost of food up. Expendable income down.
It’s the Obama economy. Nothing else explains it.
Just like gas…dilute the dollar…then gas goes from $169 to $3.40…twice what it was when this fake moved into the WH.
No big mystery here…
AND it’ll get worse. Wait till you see your taxes next year.
I hope the Dem libs can deal with the pain he’s causing.
Northern_kid on January 23 at 3:08 p.m.
Dazzeetrader11 - The current recession is NOT the work of the current president. He inherited it. He was elected in the fall of 2008 and took office in Jan. 2009. The former president with his 2 wars, no-bid awards to Haliburton in Iraq, and complete lack of effort in trying to stem this recession lead to the deepest Economic situation since the great depression of the 1930’s.
Maybe some day Bush will find those weapons of mass destruction that Saddam had hidden…. but don’t hold your breath!
As for gas going to $3+ per gallon, that’s call supply and demand. And demand in China for gas for shiny new cars has gone thru the roof. From Bloomberg Businessweek:
GM, the biggest overseas automaker in China, projects nationwide car sales will expand 10 percent next year, while Volkswagen, Honda and Nissan Motor Co. estimate as much as 10 percent growth. Sales in China climbed 5.9 percent in the first 10 months of 2011, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
GM, whose sales in China have surpassed 2 million units this year, said it aims to double deliveries in the country to 5 million by 2015. The automaker will sell its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car for 498,000 yuan ($78,300) in China through 13 dealerships in eight cities, according to the company.
But don’t let facts get in the way of your opinions….
EthicsinLE on January 23 at 3:26 p.m.
That sucks, I love Old Country Buffet, the kids had a fun time there. Granted, the food could have been better and the location was not the best, but it was a decent place for the value. I do like the Golden Corral much better. Old Country needs to improve and get more competitive, but it had it’s place for sure.
nslopeofw on January 23 at 3:26 p.m.
Northern Kid-
By your way of thinking, nothing Clinton did was actually his fault. It was Bush 1 before him. Is that what you are trying to say?
Middleman on January 23 at 3:29 p.m.
I wish Golden Corral would move in and maybe expand to Joanne Fabrics. They have WAY better food for the same price. We’ve been road trippin’ it up to the North side for years to avoid Old Country. Seems to be a good location. Just crappy food!
therailroader on January 23 at 3:54 p.m.
I feel bad for the employees who lost their jobs, however, the food had no taste. I’m amazed they stayed open for as long as they did!
I love how anything negative gets blamed on Obama. I totally understand & respect the less government part of Republican agenda (on all levels, not just not federal) of which more should have been done by Obama over the past 4 years. Thanks to Cheney’s “behind closed doors antics” of the 8 prior years in office, we are living during the end of the American Empire (like the British Empire before us). Corporate greed like Cheney’s Halliburton (do you really think he didn’t get some type of corporate kickbacks during the Iraqi invasion and Hurricane Irene debacle for their exclusive US contracts) bleeding our country’s coffers. Wake up & educate yourself by reading & investigating; not by watching Hannity or Rush Blimplauh!
The_Seer on January 23 at 4:59 p.m.
I remember the old Chuckwagon on North Division. That was the heyday of buffets.
They are still really big in Texas, though, and throughout the south. My favorite was always Luby’s.
bdr on January 23 at 5:24 p.m.
Well I wonder if they will blame it on the two way street?
Or will they figure it out the economy sucks and business’s along Sprague are duplicated selling the same duplicated China made crap for 7 miles.
jdspokanewa on January 23 at 5:40 p.m.
I got news for you all, Buffets Inc. has been struggling for years. Bad food and ambiance is their problem, not the economy or the President.
DB1640 on January 23 at 6:23 p.m.
Every president “inherits” problems from the previous administration. In my lifetime I do not ever remember such a whining crybaby in the White House. He has made things much worse and does not deserve reelection.
Username2 on January 23 at 6:26 p.m.
Huh. I wonder if the stores were deemed underperforming due to a lack of customers, or because too many customers were overachievers with the all-you-can-eat thing…..?
greenlibertarian on January 23 at 6:53 p.m.
“westerly on January 23 at 2:29 p.m.
More empty buildings along Sprague…quite a barren strip, mile after mile….and on and on…How does city of the valley survive?”
Sullivan corridor.
“Username2 on January 23 at 6:26 p.m.
Huh. I wonder if the stores were deemed underperforming due to a lack of customers, or because too many customers were overachievers with the all-you-can-eat thing…..?”
Well this town sure has its “fair” share of the obese.
Anybody notice customers going into these buffets with large purses or guy with backpacks/whatever?
detroitdude on January 23 at 6:56 p.m.
LOL I saw an “Obama” and lets politicize the closing of Old Country Buffet.
Maybe Old Country Buffet is failing because their food sucks? I want to be sympathetic, but the last time I was there, I dunno how a chef makes “freshly sliced turkey” dry and totally devoid of flavor, and how pouring several cans of green beans into a tray and heating them up with some butter is supposed to be delicious.
They have had this curse for awhile though, you drive cross country its usually a last resort to stop at this restaurant.
detroitdude on January 23 at 6:58 p.m.
Well them and Cracker Barrel…
Shadedmuse on January 23 at 7:56 p.m.
I like Bonananza Steakhouse? are they still located at Division and Francis?
The ression is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!! stop Whineing and suck it up like a man.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 23 at 8:13 p.m.
@ Northern..yep son…that’s Volt’s a doozy….
.http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120123/RETAIL07/301239977/
Not sure how Bush is tied into the closing of the Buffet.
Point is that gas was $1.69 when O took over. WIth his dollar management , it’s now twice that.
Similarly ( even though Northern went wild over something else…apparently), food costs are up (Thanks Bernanke and Obama), and nobody can afford the gas to even get to a Buffet.
Meanwhile, fewer people can afford to go to this Buffet. Are your neurons connecting to the line of fact and logic??
Quite a spot Obama’s got the economy in. Businesses close…and last time i was in town, lots of for sale signs on Sprague./….too many.
PROFINTOX on January 23 at 9:00 p.m.
So funny how people try to make everything political. Jdspokanewa and detroitdude have it right on this one — this undoubtedly has nothing to do with the president’s policies. Business come and go no matter who is in the White House so really a lot of commenters here are just trying to push their right or left agenda. Give it a rest already. Have you ever noticed how you all always completely criticize the other side? The right never admits the left has any good ideas and is to blame for everything and same goes the other way around. And then you wonder why politicians do the same partisan bickering in Washington? Think you would do any better? And that is not meant to be an endorsement of politicians. Bottom line, Buffet Inc. has been having financial issues for several years now.
pmbrown49 on January 23 at 9:48 p.m.
If they charged 10 cents a pound per diner eating there, they might still be in business.
Bad Business Model: Bad Food, Low Prices, No one under 300 pounds eating there
Username2 on January 23 at 10:39 p.m.
So in summary, Old Country Buffet announces the closure of two Spokane area locations owing in equal measure to:
a) George W. Bush, a.k.a. “Mission Accomplished”
and
b) Barack H. Obama a.k.a. “Hope…(is not actually a plan)”
Darn politics anyway!
Roberoo on January 27 at 4:48 a.m.
Sorry to see any business that employs local folks, shut it’s doors. Good, bad, or indifferent the restaurants had a following. Spokane can’t afford to lose one job let alone dozens.
I often wonder what our economy would be like if Clinton was followed by Obama rather than a president who darn near tipped this country over. Just what have the repubs done for this country in the last 11 years save for start two wars, use Social Security like their own personal AMT machine,and then want to shut it down, deem corps as people, (where is that birth certificate?) and drag their heels in governing because like a spoiled child they lost the White House. Obama spent so much time and energy trying to work with a repub stone wall that he has lost the part of his base who see these efforts as a waste of time as the repubs have made it clear they are going to hold their breath and pout until a repub is back in the White House. Is that any way to govern or show patriotism ? I’ve noticed that through 19 debates the name G.W. Bush hasn’t been raised, not once. Ever wonder why ?