Two Columbus restuarants are closing their doors this week.
The Santa Fe Cattle Co. on 18th Avenue North closed Thursday after its parent company filed for bankruptcy in July, and Mississippi Coffeehouse on Main Street is closing today.
David Griffin, owner of Mississippi Coffeehouse, said the business is closing after his wife, Anne, took a job in Geneva, Switzerland, with the United Nations, and the couple could not find a buyer. The coffee shop has been open in downtown since April 2008.
Despite the recession, the business “kept its head above water,” Griffin said this morning. “It”s been two good years. I have no complaints. But in life we always say, ”it”s time to move on.”
Griffin said that he had five potential buyers since he put the business on the market three months ago, but all fell through. “Everyone is afraid right now to invest in something,” he said. “I don”t blame them.”
Griffin said that he had three part-time workers on staff. At the height of the business last year, the business employed eight part-timers, he said.
Santa Fe Cattle Co., based in Brentwood, Tenn., with locations across the Southeast, has been closing stores since July, despite strong sales at some locations. The Columbus store was the tenth to close.
“We hated to close that store,” said Paul Jankowski, chief strategist for Access Brand Strategies, Santa Fe”s branding and public relations firm. “We love that market. We love the people there. It was very difficult to make that decision. We don”t take it lightly.”
A manager at the Columbus location, which reportedly employed 80 workers, declined to comment Thursday.
Jankowski said the Columbus Santa Fe, although a successful location, was unable to renegotiate its lease. He said he was unsure if the Columbus store will reopen at a different address.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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