Au Bon Pain Closing? Say It Ain't So!

[pffft]

I loved Au Bon Pain for the location, concept...but admit it was poorly managed, staffers seemed not well versed in customer service. I wish they'd have somebody different running it, instead of closing it altogether.
One thing though, the prices might have been a bit steep for the location. OK for Boston or its other locations, but not here.

[pffft]

Agreed on NO McDonald's there. What a message that would send, right in the middle of a beautiful renovated park that is the heart of the city.
Unfortunately several generations have grown up not knowing you can have good fresh cafe food in a modest setting, without having to go that route.

[jcole]

Does anyone have any information?

First of all, where did you hear this? Do you have any documentation or is this just a rumor?

[elfez]

I've heard from a good source, former employee, that there will be a BAR going into that space before the Winter Blast. I really hope not, and agree that properly run and managed, the Au Bon Pain might have stood a better chance.

[iheartthed]

Nobody finds this post just the least bit suspect. Nobody???

[OriginalG313]

Table Talk
Au Bon Pain closing in Campus Martius?
Posted 2/3/2010 2:08 PM EST on crainsdetroit.com
Rumor has it that Au Bon Pain in Campus Martius will be closing after business hours today.
A source said a concession will temporarily take over the 2,800 square foot space through Winter Blast which runs February 12-14.

Stay tuned for more.

[jackie5275]

In the 1980s, Au Bon Pain had stores in Fairlane & 12 Oaks. In those stores, they did the French pastries & sandwich/salad upscale cafe gig. I think in & for the malls that concept was ahead of its time. I know they lasted only 2-3 yrs there. Then in this century the returned to this area in stand alone stores doing the coffee/cafe gig. I thought that they would've lasted longer than they did. I remember hearing when they first opened their hours were from 7 am to 11 pm. I went there only once a couple of years ago and saw the hours had scaled back from there. In my one time experience, the staff was apathetic and less than customer friendly. It was as if I was interrupting their social time by coming in to order a sandwich. I don't drive past it everyday, but when I do, usually during afternoon quitting time rush hour, it always looks like it's closed.

I don't know if competition from Salad Creations or Jimmy Johns had anything to do with it closing downtown. I know in west Dearborn, they had a store that opened in 2006 [[?). It only lasted about a 1 1/2 yrs. Although, it was right across the street from a Panera store, which pretty much has the same type of menu & more parking on their side of the street.

[gnome]

I seem to remember that the place was closed for a day or so last summer or early fall due to a State Tax lien.

I too had been there a few times and was generally disappointed by the service, the prices and the attitude of the employees.

[Caseyc]

Good to see the phrase "C-Mart" being used in colloquial conversation. Pretty sure I trademarked that somewhere down the line. The fact that this place can't stay in business is a stunning indictment of what's going down in downtown Detroit. 'nuff said.

[Detroitnerd]

I seem to remember that the place was closed for a day or so last summer or early fall due to a State Tax lien.

I too had been there a few times and was generally disappointed by the service, the prices and the attitude of the employees.

For every shift of bad employees, you usually have a bad manager.

[iheartthed]

I seem to remember that the place was closed for a day or so last summer or early fall due to a State Tax lien.

I too had been there a few times and was generally disappointed by the service, the prices and the attitude of the employees.

Yeah, I remember that too. If they indeed are closing this abruptly, then I suspect that it's about more than just a bad business climate. Especially closing a week before an annual event that brings a lot of business to their doorstep.

[elfez]

What's suspect about the post??

[milesdriven]

I think price was a major issue. I stopped at an Au Bon Pain on the Ohio turnpike near Youngstown last week, and after spending nearly $9 for a coffee and a sandwich, I still wasn't full. The quality was good, but the price was just too ridiculous for the portion size. Last time I was in the area, we ate at Happy Cream on Farmer and Monroe, and it was excellent.

[pffft]

Agreed, bad service and sullen employees killed ABP, if indeed it is gone -- the closing does not say anything about downtown Detroit. Other downtown eateries do a booming lunch business, because of the food, prices and service.

One great new place, le petit Zinc over on Howard & Trumbull...is indicative of a non-chain that does it right and will last.

Oh wait, it doesn't fit the doom narrative...

[iheartthed]

Good to see the phrase "C-Mart" being used in colloquial conversation. Pretty sure I trademarked that somewhere down the line. The fact that this place can't stay in business is a stunning indictment of what's going down in downtown Detroit. 'nuff said.

Please explain.

[dcmorrison12]

Throughout this whole entire thread, no one has provided any evidence that the cafe is ACTUALLY closing! Simply - the first posted said "Au bon Pain is closing!"

Is that proof enough for all of Dyes to jump on board? Can someone show me an article.... something?

[Toolbox]

A competent operator could definitely make that space work. Cafe De Troit, are you reading this?

She's not reading this. She is enjoying life in a thriving city down south.

pretty sure she was banned.

Erroneous.....

Yeah. she was.

Bailey is correct.

[bartock]

What's suspect about the post??

In the context of the above post about a temporary concession, nothing.

...and I wouldn't expect the McDonald's idea to necessarily be popular, though I think there are just as many Au Bon Pains between Warren Avenue, the freeways and downtown [[3) as there are McDonald's, and not many people are going from Compuware to the Ren Cen just to get McDonald's...look at the fact that there were ABPs in both locations, CVS in both locations. The idea of having an independently-owned place is fine. My point was that fast and cheap coffee/hot chocolate, light food fare would probably be more realistic today. To have impeccable service you'd need more employees, which is more overhead, etc. Would a Tim Horton's or a Starbucks do OK there? I'd say they'd have a better chance coming out of the gate, even with other Starbucks and Tim Hortons [[perhaps?) around. I'm not favoring bland this or corporate that, I just would like to see anything that works.

[kraig]

Just about every building surrounding Campus Martius has an operator selling items similar to what Au Bon Pain sells. The only exception[[s) I can think of is Chase and maybe Ernst & Young. That makes for a lot of competition for that type of business that isn't located inside a building with a dedicated clientelle inside. That problem was even more compounded once all of the bus riders were moved from the area.

In response to the fact that no one is suspicious of this thread. This isn't the first time that the Au Bon Pain at Campus Martius has been closed.

[Caseyc]

Agreed, bad service and sullen employees killed ABP, if indeed it is gone -- the closing does not say anything about downtown Detroit. Other downtown eateries do a booming lunch business, because of the food, prices and service.

One great new place, le petit Zinc over on Howard & Trumbull...is indicative of a non-chain that does it right and will last.

Oh wait, it doesn't fit the doom narrative...

Not a "doom narrative," but let's address a few items: First off, do you expect office workers in Compuware or the other office buildings in and around the C-Mart, the center of the CBD, to trot over to Trumbull and Howard to grab a quick bite for lunch? We're talking about what should be the pulsating, reconstructed, reconfigured heart of the city, and it's failing faster than Barney Clark's Jarvik 7. When the C-Mart plans were first announced, a grand establishment for fine dining [[not unlike the recently closed [[but not for financial reasons) Tavern on the Green in Central Park) was envisioned for the space. In what was a cold consolation, plans were quickly downsized to Au Bon Pain...and only for daytime hours.

Secondly, let's contrast it to a similar experiment, in a similar era, for a rebuilt public square in the heart of another Midwest city--Cincinnati's Fountain Square. They spent $42 million in 2005-2006 to rebuild the square, combined with a concerted effort by those stakeholders surrounding it to re-imagine their retail/restaurant spaces. The result? A high-end, locally owned Italian trattoria built ON the square; Chipotle; McCormick & Schmick; Potbelly's; Morton's; a martini bar; Taza Mia, localloy-owned coffee/panini joint; Boi Na Braza, a Brazilian steakhouse; Graeter's, a local icon in ice cream; and Ingredients, an assembly line salad making/wood-burning pizza place. These compliment the existing Rock Bottom Brewery, Palominos and locally owned French bistro abutting the square. Chains yes, but also some leading locally owned restaurateurs and businesses as well.

Surprisingly, all of these are still open [[although the Brazilian place is mystifying), and the martini bar just opened on New Year's Eve. And their business booms not just for lunch but they are actually open after the sun goes down! Wow. Amazing concept there.

So yeah....all else being equal, service and food sucking balls and all, a place like ABP in the symbolic and rebuilt heart of the city, should at least be able to keep the lights on. If you choose to ignore the fact that there may be something bigger here than ABP sucking balls, and assert that "the closing does not say ANYTHING about downtown Detroit [emphasis added]," then go ahead and keep the glasses on.

I would be a little more concerned.

[Detroitnerd]

Restaurants close for lots of reasons: Poor management, not enough customers, location. If any of you have a crystal ball, please let me know what the error mix was.

Yet I wonder: Why is it that nobody calls a restaurant closing in the burbs a "doom narrative"?

[Bearinabox]

So yeah....all else being equal, service and food sucking balls and all, a place like ABP in the symbolic and rebuilt heart of the city, should at least be able to keep the lights on. If you choose to ignore the fact that there may be something bigger here than ABP sucking balls, and assert that "the closing does not say ANYTHING about downtown Detroit [emphasis added]," then go ahead and keep the glasses on.

I would be a little more concerned.

Why do you think the Cincinnati redevelopment has been so much more successful? I'm not at all familiar with Cincinnati or what they've done to revitalize their downtown, and I'm genuinely curious.

[pffft]

The office workers in Compuware etc. have plenty of places to go to lunch, the Jimmy John's has been booming since it opened, even Vinotecca does well because of its proximity.
As for jumping in a car to go to lunch -- uh, that's what keeps Mexicantown humming. That's what downtown Detroit workers have done for years, especially in the winter when it's too cold for a long walk.
Au Bon Pain was too expensive for what it was dispensing -- just OK, mass produced salads, sandwiches etc.
Every time I've been in le petit Zinc, it's jammed. Cars parked outside. Yes, we drive to lunch, it's Detroit, not New York. And for $7, you get a lot of food, an outstanding lunch and no bored servers. I always got the feeling the Au Bon Pain staff were work-study high schoolers or something.

[Caseyc]

Because this group http://www.3cdc.org/ is in charge. The head honcho arrived here at the same time I did [['03), from a similar post in Pittsburgh and knows his shit. He also has the support and buy-in of the major stakeholders downtown, i.e. corporations). They resisted at first but are converts now. They have changed the entire downtown narrative. The site explains what they did on the Square.

[gnome]

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When a door closes, open a window.