Burger King Gone for Good?
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Wednesday evening I noticed that paper had been placed over the windows in the Burger King on the corner of 7th/Flower and the store was closed suspiciously early. Using my camera to peer over the paper I could see that inside the menus had been taken down. Was this a remodel, or was the fast food joint gone for good?
Well today the exterior signage is down as well, so I'm tending to lean toward the latter. I eat (or ate) there semi-regularly (at least every couple weeks), so I'm a little bit disappointed by that.
The rumor I heard a while back was that the McDonalds across the street in the Fine Arts building was losing their lease as well, so soon that part of 7th street could be oddly devoid of big-time fast food. For a really heavy lunch spot, that's an odd turn of events.
green LA girl on July 08, 2006, at 10:19AM – #1
If they are indeed leaving, it's prolly good news for your arteries :P Hopefully some yummy local joints will take their place?
Rico A on July 08, 2006, at 11:13AM – #2
This comes right as plans are laid out to demolish the Burger King on Fig/Sunset (I think that's the intersection anyway) and replace it with a tall condo building. I think it's called Chinatown Gateway.
Joel C on July 08, 2006, at 01:16PM – #3
It could be that, as you suggest, either BK's sales are down, or a renovation is on its way. But unless they put out a statement, we don't really know what the cause of closure is.
Up until recently, joints like BK and McDo have benefitted from a lack of competition, due to chains being afraid of the area. But now that other food places are opening (incl. Subway, Pucks, Qdoba, etc.), the owners of that BK and McDo are realizing they're not the only kids on the block anymore.
It's also possible that they are moving to a different location. For all we know, they may have snagged a spot in the under-renovation Roosevelt Building. Or maybe the rent has gone up due to the improving area.
I don't know which (if any) of these explanations are true. But I would say, don't assume that the store is closing due to some downturn in demand for fast-food in the area. There are any number of reasons they could be closing.
Tim Quinn on July 08, 2006, at 01:29PM – #4
last time we were in New York Hardware on Eighth near Olive the proprietor said there rent had been tripled and they were gonna close. Landlords are going a little too fast if you ask me, the community isn't there yet to support businesses paying those kinds of rents. I have a suspicion that is what is happening to BK.
Rico A on July 09, 2006, at 10:13PM – #5
In response to the above comments, I can't exactly speak for the 7th/Flower BK, but the Fig/Sunset BK is closing because it's taking up prime real estate and could better serve the community as a different kind of development. The franchisee was quoted as saying that the Fig/Sunset BK is one of the most profitable of his franchises.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on July 10, 2006, at 09:40AM – #6
Joel: Both the Burger King and the McDonalds did (or, in McDonalds case, still does) very brisk sales. Rent jump is a possible reason, but certainly sales seemed plenty high.
Dana Gabbard on July 10, 2006, at 11:03AM – #7
What I liked is the BK would sell you a burger at 7 a.m. when the McDonalds only had breakfast.
Scott Mercer on July 13, 2006, at 03:02PM – #8
There also used to be a Burger King next to the Eastern Columbia building, in a one-story retail building on Broadway. That's been gone a few years now, and the building was demolished to build the EC's parking garage. But I'm told there will be retail space fronting on Broadway that will return to that spot.
Ang on July 09, 2008, at 05:42PM – #9
Two Burger kings have closed down for good in my area ( which is a very populated busy area) and i've read on other sites about more closings. Also, Bennigans & Ponderosa have closed down in our town and the next town over.
What the heck is going on??