Club Grotto up for sale

[Robin Garr]

I just got this listing from The Houston Group. Sad news, and I hope they can find a buyer who will either continue it as is or evolve it into something just as good.

The good news is that the restaurant remains open during the sale ... I'm really glad that they didn't just shut the doors and go away.

Property Description: Club Grotto’s stylish and romantically dim environment add up to a comfortable, familiar Highlands spot that’s worth continuing the name and tradition, set in The Highlands. The outstanding upscale casual restaurant ,with a approximately $20,000 wine cellar, is for sale because of poor health and retirement of Jim McKinney’s family who have run the restaurant since his death.

Club Grotto annual sales of close to one million dollars make it an especially attractive purchase, step right into a positive cash flow business and take it to the next level. This restaurant is open and operating, for a confidential meeting and walk through call Houston for an appointment.

http://listing.loopnet.com/15811945

Yes, it was on craigslist. Westport General Store is on there and on CL too

http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/Mainsite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=15826350&Branding=LoopNet&SourceCode=1lir2t003&Linkcode=17830&

[Robin Garr]

Yes, it was on craigslist. Westport General Store is on there and on CL too

http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/Mainsite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=15826350&Branding=LoopNet&SourceCode=1lir2t003&Linkcode=17830&

Craigslist seems like a funny way to reach the local restaurant industry, but whatever floats their boat, I guess! Yes, the Westport General Store situation has been discussed on forum several times. Will would like to find a buyer, but he's keeping it running in the meantime, and I say good for him.

Robin, folks will sell anything on CL (or try to at least). For one it's free. It works pretty well, I sold a car, computers, household stuff on there. It's free and more traffic than the CJ classified it seems.

I saw someone who had 10 gallons of of 5yr old gas for sale that had been sitting in his garage. He was asking $1.50/gallon.

You can even find a date or girlfriend on CL or even an escort. lol

I often look at the hospitality industry help wanted ads on craigslist. I've also been successful purchasing a vehicle and finding a person to mow my lawn.

[Robin Garr]

Oh, yeah, I know Craigslist gets results. It's just that it struck me funny for a narrowly focused offer like the sale of a restaurant at a six-figure price, where you might expect to find more low-hanging fruit on a forum like this where restaurant-industry people and investors lurk and sometimes even speak up.

As for the CJ, it's just slipping more and more all the time ... with its diminishing readership and respect (and now even diminishing physical size!), I doubt that I'd consider paying for a classified.

Are Craigslist personals as wacky as those in the back pages of LEO?

Robin, folks will sell anything on CL (or try to at least). For one it's free. It works pretty well, I sold a car, computers, household stuff on there. It's free and more traffic than the CJ classified it seems.

I saw someone who had 10 gallons of of 5yr old gas for sale that had been sitting in his garage. He was asking $1.50/gallon.

You can even find a date or girlfriend on CL or even an escort. lol

The personals can be pretty whacky. If you ever are bored and need some cheap entertainment go the home page and click on "best of" craigslist. These are the really whacky ads (of all types) that have been flagged (voted on) by readers. Most of them are pretty funny to say the least.

So, the CJ lists the purchase price as $345,000 plus taking over the roughly $4000 per month lease. Annual revenues around a million. Any guess what sort of value that puts on the goodwill once factoring out "plant and equipment?" I have no judgment about this - just trying to learn a little bit about the single location restaurant business where it's usually pretty difficult to come by information.

Wow, the Westport General Store is for sale?

Wow, the Westport General Store is for sale?

It's been for sale previously, as well, and Will subsequently took it off the market. Not sure how long it has been for sale this time.

So, the CJ lists the purchase price as $345,000 plus taking over the roughly $4000 per month lease. Annual revenues around a million. Any guess what sort of value that puts on the goodwill once factoring out "plant and equipment?" I have no judgment about this - just trying to learn a little bit about the single location restaurant business where it's usually pretty difficult to come by information.

That's a pretty good price considering you are taking over an already successful and established business and location. The lease is high, but not sky-high for the area.

While perusing the Semonin website, I noticed Norma Jean's Trackside listed.

http://www.semonin.com/content/content. ... tID=416778