PR: Boombozz/Hurstbourne to switch to burgers

I am just reminded of visit Becky and I made to the very picturesque Mississippi River town of Redwing MN. It was January and we were down on the river photographing the hundreds of Bald Eagles that winter over in the area. For lunch we stopped into this quaint little local restaurant on Main Street and being the middle of the winter in MN I ordered what else...Chili. When the chili came out it was so horribly "semi-homemade" that it was comical. I am quite certain the recipe consisted of (in it's entirety) : 2 parts Campbell's Tomato soup, 1 part canned kidney beans and one part unseasoned ground beef. It was hilariously awful...I should have asked if Sandra Lee was in the kitchen.

Steve-
I lived and worked in Redwing in the 1990's and the bald eagle population/concentration during winter is amazing. as you know, the birds congregate in the area since the Mississippi seldom freezes solid like the remainder of the river in that stretch ....nuclear power plants are enviro friendly afterall.
I hope your sad chili adventure wasn't at the Stags Head restaurant as I recall the food and beverage options were pretty damn good back then.
'Winger[/quote]



Pretty ironic, as we speak I am winding down the weekend after taking out several eagle watching cruises on Kenlake ( L.B.L. ) area. Saw around 45 today, not as heavy as northern states obviously. But still pretty cool
From what I understand we had one perch on our docks back in Harrods Creek a couple of days ago for a few minutes

I appreciate all the support . We chose to move the Hurstbourne location to Westport Village because of our expansion plans for the Taphouse concept. We were in the process of planning the renovation of the Hurstbourne location to a Taphouse, when the Westport Village oppurtunity came about. The Hurstbourne location is a great spot and we are doing extremely well. We would never have considered another concept if the location was not a good one. Traffic at the corner is 40,000 cars per day! and the demographics are excellent. I can understand Brian Curl's sentiments in regards to the area. I would feel the same way about the area if I had to sell out like he did with his Quizno's on Westport Rd., due to poor sales.

The staff would like to thank everyone for there support! And if any of you ever have a problem or concern with one of our locations, there is a DIRECT PIPELINE TO THE TOP........ME, just go to our website www.boombozz.com and hit the "TALK TO TONY" tab, I will be there to help.

Best,

Tony

I appreciate all the support . We chose to move the Hurstbourne location to Westport Village because of our expansion plans for the Taphouse concept. We were in the process of planning the renovation of the Hurstbourne location to a Taphouse, when the Westport Village oppurtunity came about. The Hurstbourne location is a great spot and we are doing extremely well. We would never have considered another concept if the location was not a good one. Traffic at the corner is 40,000 cars per day! and the demographics are excellent. I can understand Brian Curl's sentiments in regards to the area. I would feel the same way about the area if I had to sell out like he did with his Quizno's on Westport Rd., due to poor sales.

The staff would like to thank everyone for there support! And if any of you ever have a problem or concern with one of our locations, there is a DIRECT PIPELINE TO THE TOP........ME, just go to our website http://www.boombozz.com and hit the "TALK TO TONY" tab, I will be there to help.


Best,

Tony

When is the Westport Village location going to open? Is it going to have the same food menu and beer list as the Bardstown Rd store?

I appreciate all the support . We chose to move the Hurstbourne location to Westport Village because of our expansion plans for the Taphouse concept. We were in the process of planning the renovation of the Hurstbourne location to a Taphouse, when the Westport Village oppurtunity came about. The Hurstbourne location is a great spot and we are doing extremely well. We would never have considered another concept if the location was not a good one. Traffic at the corner is 40,000 cars per day! and the demographics are excellent. I can understand Brian Curl's sentiments in regards to the area. I would feel the same way about the area if I had to sell out like he did with his Quizno's on Westport Rd., due to poor sales.

The staff would like to thank everyone for there support! And if any of you ever have a problem or concern with one of our locations, there is a DIRECT PIPELINE TO THE TOP........ME, just go to our website http://www.boombozz.com and hit the "TALK TO TONY" tab, I will be there to help.


Best,

Tony

When is the Westport Village location going to open? Is it going to have the same food menu and beer list as the Bardstown Rd store?

Justin,

We are scheduled to open Feb, 16th, we have have expanded menu but same beer list

[Robin Garr]

The staff would like to thank everyone for there support! And if any of you ever have a problem or concern with one of our locations, there is a DIRECT PIPELINE TO THE TOP........ME, just go to our website http://www.boombozz.com and hit the "TALK TO TONY" tab, I will be there to help.

Tony, as long as you maintain an attitude like that - and knowing you, you always will - the whole local vs chain argument is irrelevant. You make a quality pizza, sir, and it's certainly one of my go-to options when I'm in the mood for one. I think the same is true of most of this forum. We haven't forgotten that you developed the Brooklyn pizza as a result of input right here in this forum. And the Taphouse concept in particular has been a big winner among many in this Merrie Little Bande.

I'm one of the "anti-chain gang," I guess, because I've seen how often development into a chain retards quality at the growth point where bean counting supersedes quality and care. We certainly saw what happened when a chain took over Louisville's once great newspaper.

But you keep doing what you're doing, and I for one won't complain about how you manage the place or how you choose to grow.

The Hurstbourne location is a great spot and we are doing extremely well.

It's an extremely curious strategy that a business doing "extremely well" would take a risk on a completely different concept. Why mess with success?

For an example, if a restaurant had a sales goal of $30k a week and was meeting that goal and happy with the profit, would they make a risky change and just hope that it resulted in the same $30k sales a week for no reason? Obviously, that doesn't make sense.

There's plenty of traffic/population in that area (N. Hurstborne) and I can't see the pizza business there would take much if any business from the Tap House in Westport Village. There's not a ton of pizza (locals especially) competition in that area and a burger joint will likely produce lower per check averages than pizza.

A big problem in Springhurst is that it's totally saturated with restaurants, probably too many for the population density and people can only eat out so many times and at so many different places per week and unfortunately many are drawn to chains such as Cheddar's that aren't all that great.

And Tony, not sure where you're getting your info on Quizno's, that business was sold to another franchisee that wanted to expand at a profit.

[i]

A big problem in Springhurst is that it's totally saturated with restaurants, probably too many for the population density and people can only eat out so many times and at so many different places per week and unfortunately many are drawn to chains such as Cheddar's that aren't all that great.

This, A MILLION TIMES, THIS!!!!!!!!

People live and work and shop in places that arent this area. Quit forsaking places like the South End and Southern IN.

The Hurstbourne location is a great spot and we are doing extremely well.

It's an extremely curious strategy that a business doing "extremely well" would take a risk on a completely different concept. Why mess with success?

For an example, if a restaurant had a sales goal of $30k a week and was meeting that goal and happy with the profit, would they make a risky change and just hope that it resulted in the same $30k sales a week for no reason? Obviously, that doesn't make sense.

There's plenty of traffic/population in that area (N. Hurstborne) and I can't see the pizza business there would take much if any business from the Tap House in Westport Village. There's not a ton of pizza (locals especially) competition in that area and a burger joint will likely produce lower per check averages than pizza.

A big problem in Springhurst is that it's totally saturated with restaurants, probably too many for the population density and people can only eat out so many times and at so many different places per week and unfortunately many are drawn to chains such as Cheddar's that aren't all that great.

And Tony, not sure where you're getting your info on Quizno's, that business was sold to another franchisee that wanted to expand at a profit.

Brian, even though you have a restaurant background you don't know Tony or what he's trying to do. He's been very successful in the Louisville market despite the bad economy so he must be doing something right. I fully understand why he is trying to expand the Taphouse concept and and location he has chosen should be excellent. Having two of his operations selling the same basic product that close together wouldn't make sense but he sees great potential for the Springhurst location and wants to capitalize on that with a new concept. That certainly makes complete sense from a business standpoint since he knows it's a good location. Certainly makes more sense than starting a new concept in an unknown location.

Mark,
All I'm doing is analyzing statements, I of course don't care what anyone does with their own business. But when I see statements that are illogical then I'm going to point it out. I stand by my reasoning that such dramatic changes are not made when a business is doing "extremely well". Since my post, I've received information from others that my reasoning is correct.

Good luck Tony! I love your pizza and hope you kick tail with the Tap.

I wish Tony the best of luck in westport village, it will be a shame, the hurstbourne location was extremely convient for my wife and I, and another burger place is gonna be a hard sell.

Another (local) take on chains: LouisvilleMojo.com on chains

Another (local) take on chains: LouisvilleMojo.com on chains

Wow! Taking a stand with chains on Cheddars, Steve needs help.

You mean because he's siding with chains; even when it's Cheddars?

He's really not taking on chains. Or, at least from the way I read the article:

But, I'm not anti-chain—ever. I typically don't visit them because I find them predictable and undistinguished, too safe—which is what draws millions to their doors every day. If you're among the food snobs who look down on chain fans, then you're a drag. It's a free freakin' country, and those who go there have every right to.

In what way is he taking a stand?

Not so much in that their food is great, but how great they are for the economy.

employs more than 100 people in each of his stores, which, on average, generate $5 million a year in sales, which generates a heck of a lot of tax revenue to pay down the debt on all that stimulus money spewing from Washington, D.C.)

cut a deal with an independent to buy his restaurant company and then turned it into an industry powerhouse. I'd venture to say that buyer alone did more to boost the incomes millions of families than do 99.9 percent of independent restaurateurs any of us know.