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

[Detroitnerd]

Attachment 5124

When a door closes, open a window.

Haha. Nice, Gnome. Here's some other ideas:

Monica Conyers Charm School
Sam Riddle, Marriage Counseler
Bobby Ferguson Anger Management Counseling

[gnome]

thanx Dnerd, I'm sure Torya is stretched thin with her two or three locations, but of all the people who deserves a good-karma payoff, she does.

Here is the link from the tax lien thread from August 09:
http://detroityes.com/mb/showthread....ht=au+bon+pain

[Detroitnerd]

I doubt Torya would have the money to pay off the necessary people ...

[Caseyc]

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.

I don't think millions were invested in the C-Mart so people could drive to Mexicantown and Trumbull Village for $7 lunches. Is it really that long a walk from Compuware or E&Y to the park that you have to drive several miles away instead? In any event, this thread is about ABP and why it failed. I would submit that there may be more far-reaching causes extraneous of the service and sullen employees found inside the soon-to-be shuttered establishment.

You would counter that the "closing does not say ANYTHING about downtown Detroit."

It is that statement which I find somewhat problematic and troubling.

[iheartthed]

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.

Interesting.

First, we still don't know if ABP is actually closing.

Second, NYC refused to renew Tavern on the Green's lease because Tavern on the Green filed for bankruptcy last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/dining/16tavern.html

Third, while you do present some interesting juxtapositions to show what CM could be, you still haven't answered the basic question: What does this donut shop closing say about downtown as a whole? Using ABP as an example of why the downtown economic model is broken is about as flawed as using the Hard Rock Cafe as an example to say that any business can thrive there.

I'd bet money that ABP is closing as a result of mismanagement moreso than anything... if indeed it is closing.

[OriginalG313]

Here's the latest information.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...FREE/100209918

POSTED: 12:52 p.m., Feb. 4, 2010
LAST MODIFIED: 12:55 p.m., Feb. 4, 2010 Recommend Comment Email Print

Au Bon Pain closes in Campus Martius Park; replacement café planned
By Dustin Walsh
Rated Not yet rated
Rate This
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Au Bon Pain at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit officially closed yesterday, according to an employee at the chain’s Renaissance Center location.
The 2,800-square-foot bakery and café will be replaced by an American bistro-style café by May 1, according to Bob Gregory, president of Detroit 300 Conservancy, the nonprofit overseeing the park.
“We look with excitement to open a new café at Campus Martius Park,� Gregory said in a statement. “This new eatery will be comparable to some of the cafés in the top-ranked parks and plazas in the United States and Europe, making it the perfect complement to the park.�
Au Bon Pain opened in Campus Martius in 2004 and was the French-inspired chain’s first Michigan location.
The chain’s Detroit Medical Center and Renaissance Center locations are still in operation.

[Caseyc]

Interesting.

First, we still don't know if ABP is actually closing.

Second, NYC refused to renew Tavern on the Green's lease because Tavern on the Green filed for bankruptcy last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/dining/16tavern.html

Third, while you do present some interesting juxtapositions to show what CM could be, you still haven't answered the basic question: What does this donut shop closing say about downtown as a whole? Using ABP as an example of why the downtown economic model is broken is about as flawed as using the Hard Rock Cafe as an example to say that any business can thrive there.

I'd bet money that ABP is closing as a result of mismanagement moreso than anything... if indeed it is closing.

Filing chapter 11 in NYC as a restaurant is not always the kiss of death. In a corporation that size, it's a new lease on life. That said, however, the city saw that they were many resaurant operators salivating at the chance to take over that space, and this was a convenient way to effectuate a profitable change. It will be very competitive.

As for what it says....? Apparently, that the establishment had a bad product, and don't worry, cuz everything's gonna be A-OKAY.

[p1acebo]

Here's the latest information.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...FREE/100209918

POSTED: 12:52 p.m., Feb. 4, 2010
LAST MODIFIED: 12:55 p.m., Feb. 4, 2010 Recommend Comment Email Print

Au Bon Pain closes in Campus Martius Park; replacement café planned
By Dustin Walsh
Rated Not yet rated
Rate This
Advertisement

Au Bon Pain at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit officially closed yesterday, according to an employee at the chain’s Renaissance Center location.
The 2,800-square-foot bakery and café will be replaced by an American bistro-style café by May 1, according to Bob Gregory, president of Detroit 300 Conservancy, the nonprofit overseeing the park.
“We look with excitement to open a new café at Campus Martius Park,” Gregory said in a statement. “This new eatery will be comparable to some of the cafés in the top-ranked parks and plazas in the United States and Europe, making it the perfect complement to the park.”
Au Bon Pain opened in Campus Martius in 2004 and was the French-inspired chain’s first Michigan location.
The chain’s Detroit Medical Center and Renaissance Center locations are still in operation.

o0o0o0o0o bistro-style cafe sounds pretty good.

[iheartthed]

Filing chapter 11 in NYC as a restaurant is not always the kiss of death. In a corporation that size, it's a new lease on life. That said, however, the city saw that they were many resaurant operators salivating at the chance to take over that space, and this was a convenient way to effectuate a profitable change. It will be very competitive.

As for what it says....? Apparently, that the establishment had a bad product, and don't worry, cuz everything's gonna be A-OKAY.

Chapter 11 is not always the kiss of death for any company... But to go from the top grossing restaurant in the country to bankruptcy in the span of a year is pretty fucking spectacular. And that's why it's hard to criticize the city for pulling the plug.

But Tavern on the Green's money woes don't say anything about the viability of a restaurant in that space on Central Park West. And an Au Bon Pain bankruptcy doesn't really say much about the viability of a coffee shop in Campus Martius.

[pffft]

That's great news. It's a wonderful location, especially in the spring/summer/fall, eating at the outside tables.
It needs someone with more of a handle on customer service. Hopefully the staff will be motivated and eager.

[BShea]

Here's the latest:

Au Bon Pain closes in Campus Martius Park; replacement café planned

By Dustin Walsh

Au Bon Pain at Campus Martius Parkin downtown Detroit officially closed yesterday, according to an employee at the chain’s Renaissance Center location.

The 2,800-square-foot bakery and café will be replaced by an American bistro-style café by May 1, according to Bob Gregory, president of Detroit 300 Conservancy, the nonprofit overseeing the park.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...FREE/100209918

[EastsideAl]

ABP as a chain is suffering. They're expansion into suburban stores was way too late to fight Starbucks and Panera, and most of those have subsequently closed. And on my last visit to NYC I noticed that a number of the larger stores they opened in Manhattan in the late 90s and early 00s have since disappeared, while there's a Starbucks on nearly every corner. I don't think that ABP has been very competitive on the price/value ratio, particularly when compared to places like Panera, or better yet locally operated cafe & lunch places.

Beyond that, the ABP in Campus Martius was, as noted by so many above, operated and managed abysmally by people who seemed mostly disinterested in actually serving customers. So there was no real reason to go there if you weren't right next door at the skating rink, and they were unhelpfully closed during a lot of those hours. All that really comes down to a franchisee and management issue, and it is consistently amazing to me the low level of service, the obvious lack of caring, and the evident lack of any business sense, that a lot of franchise operations around these parts think they can get away with. Almost like just having the franchise itself should print money for the operators.

I hope that Detroit 300 really does have something better ready to come in there, and they aren't just blowing smoke. Certainly what is described above sounds like a potential significant improvement over ABP.

[EastsideAl]

Chapter 11 is not always the kiss of death for any company... But to go from the top grossing restaurant in the country to bankruptcy in the span of a year is pretty fucking spectacular. And that's why it's hard to criticize the city for pulling the plug.

I've been told by people I know in the Central Park Conservancy that there was a strong ongoing suspicion of financial hanky-panky with regards to the Tavern on the Green concession, and that the Chapter 11 business was just the last straw.

[pffft]

Good post, Al...

Agreed, I'm not a Panera bread fan, but when it's nearby and I have lunch at one, I have to admit, I get a good lunch for the price.

I never felt that way at ABP. I always felt guilty about spending so much, for pretty mediocre food.

I've never understood that sort of employee attitude, in this economy, either. Surely there are so many people in need of jobs, that competition would be pretty fierce? That's why it appeared to me that it was some sort of work-study thing where they were getting cheap employees who couldn't care less.

[p1acebo]

Good post, Al...

Agreed, I'm not a Panera bread fan, but when it's nearby and I have lunch at one, I have to admit, I get a good lunch for the price.

I never felt that way at ABP. I always felt guilty about spending so much, for pretty mediocre food.

I've never understood that sort of employee attitude, in this economy, either. Surely there are so many people in need of jobs, that competition would be pretty fierce? That's why it appeared to me that it was some sort of work-study thing where they were getting cheap employees who couldn't care less.

Agreed, ABP was definitely over priced... at least to fill me up. I would always choose the Sub Way over ABP at Detroit Receiving for that reason.

[iheartthed]

I've been told by people I know in the Central Park Conservancy that there was a strong ongoing suspicion of financial hanky-panky with regards to the Tavern on the Green concession, and that the Chapter 11 business was just the last straw.

Yeah, that's what I also suspected. But that was just by my own intuition.

[bike4beer]

More proof that ABP is a goner.

http://www.campusmartiuspark.org/

The word doc that is behind the link is dated yesterday.

I rarely went into ABP. Slow, expensive [[for what you got).

[bartock]

I hope this kills my McD's/Tim Horton's/Starbucks idea. So much for thinking I was being pragmatic.

I personally much prefer something like a bistro and, assuming good value, will do my best to help it stay in business.

[downtownguy]

In the 1980s, Au Bon Pain had stores in Fairlane & 12 Oaks...

...and a store downtown about 700 feet due west of the current location. I'm pretty sure it was in the Detroit Commerce Building, where now stands the parking garage for the Book Cadillac.

I became a regular at ABP about 3 years ago on Sunday mornings. I have to defend the staff as being the scapegoat for it's failure. In fact, I found them to be friendly and helpful. At that time, they had a regular manager on duty. About a year later, they began operating without a manager on Sunday, and instead gave the responsibility without authority to a senior employee. Often they would be slammed the night before by crowds attending events in the park, and would never have enough staff on hand to replenish inventory. Many times, the same employee that closed late on Saturday had to open Sunday morning.

While I never came by during the week, it was obvious to me that the owners didn't manage the weekend business very well. Eventually, I gave up and quit going. Too bad, because it was a great place to leisurely read the paper and people watch through the big windows.

[Caseyc]

Well, it looks like downtown Detroit and the C-Mart business district is pretty well thriving, at least based on what I read here.

But here's a suggestion in order to keep that successful business model humming--Detroit 300 needs to have an active organization programming events there 7 days a week. Again, I use Fountain Square in Cincinnati as a comparison. The 3CDC organization has events going non-stop year round. Even on slow nights, say, saturday morning, and Monday and Tuesday nights in the winter, they have broomball games. These bring many people down to the Sqaure, who then patronize the businesses on the Square during slower times. These leagues are sold out every year....40 teams, 12 persons per team paying $37 a head for a 6 week season in the depths of winter. Beer sales on the square and neighboring establishments have big business as well. The programming in the summer is crazy....packed crowds at least 6 out of 7 nights a week....restaurants setting up temporary establishments to sell food during summer months on a nightly basis [[not just for "big events")...again, big spillover to neighboring businesses.

I am not talking about three or four major events per year, but 7 days a week programming for day and night time crowds. http://www.myfountainsquare.com/events

here's what I get when I click on events at the C-Mart: http://www.campusmartiuspark.org/events.htm

Sure, the home page talks up the Winter Blast....but you need a lot more than that. Detroit is really good about taking one event and patting itself on the back so everyone feels better. The Winter Blast does that....but if the Super Bowel taught Detroit anything, you need more than one huge event to make up for the death of a thousand business cuts that occurs during the more predominant downtimes. Take a close look and compare the two websites. Detroit 300 needs to get off its ass and do some work. If not, turn it over to someone who can. The end.

By the way, $7 admission and $3 skate rental seems awfully high for C-Mart skating....it's $2.50/2.50 here.

[jtw]

I liked the idea of Au Bon Pain right there. However, every visit was mediocre at best with slow service and indifferent employees. Combined with its relatively expensive prices, I'm not crushed to see it go.

Seems like even a mismanaged business ought to be able to succeed in that location, so as far as I'm concerned it's a dual indictment of the state of Downtown as well as ABP itself.

Would've liked to see a decent coffee joint with some limited food offerings and good hours...But since it's a bistro coming in, I wish it luck.

[Toolbox]

...By the way, $7 admission and $3 skate rental seems awfully high for C-Mart skating....it's $2.50/2.50 here.

That high price is the "Value Add" portion that supports the graft and stuff like that. As a friend of ours says, "stuff happens".

[bartock]

Caseyc - just a couple of immediate impressions regarding your thoughts. First, Fountain Square looks to have a much larger skating area; second, there is a significant amount of retail there, meaning more foot traffic during more hours than here.

[pffft]

Winterfest? Campus Martius has entertainment all spring/summer...apart from the Ford First Fridays, which bring in some great entertainers, there's local acts on many other days as well. I attended several radio-promoted shows as well.

During Jazz Fest, Campus Martius is its own stage...a wonderful vantage point to see several stages, actually.

[French777]

the Au Bon Pain food was good I thought, yet many times I went there they were closed.