Downtown dining owners question market

Running a restaurant anywhere can be difficult, but downtown Springfield eateries seem to be going through a tumultuous period.

“There’s an over-saturation (of restaurants), period, down there,” said Mark Cotner, owner of Rasta Grill, 319 W. Walnut St., which is closed because it is under contract to be sold.

There are 37 restaurants downtown, according to Urban Districts Alliance, all vying for dining dollars.

“At times, business just wasn’t that good downtown. I can’t live for (First Friday) Art Walks,” said Cotner, who actually turned a profit after sales of $750,000 last year. “If people want to support this downtown thing, they better get down there and support the businesses.”

The restaurant owners, including Cotner, say small weeknight dinner crowds are killing them.

“You need the people who are working downtown to stay downtown, not rush home at night,” said Mark Williams, owner of Marco’s Pizzeria, 301 Park Central West.

“There has to be something else downtown to attract people,” he said. “I’m looking out my window at night, and I don’t see anybody.”

Restaurant bankruptcy

Small dinner crowds led Eric Zackrison to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Agrario LLC and Bodega LLC on Jan. 23.

Zackrison owns four dining establishments, all on South Patton Avenue: Agrario restaurant and Bodega Bar under the Agrario LLC banner, Patton Alley Pub under the Bodega LLC banner and Hickok’s Steakhouse & Brewery Inc., co-owned with Scott Tillman. Since opening Agrario in 2002, Zackrision has amassed at least $200,000 in debt, according to the bankruptcy filings.

Patton Alley Pub, a casual place for burgers and beer, does great business, Zackrison said. It’s included in the bankruptcy filing because it’s been financially supporting Agrario.

Agrario, a fine-dining establishment where a dinner guest spends $35 on average, is struggling because people who can afford to eat there regularly don’t come downtown on weeknights. Instead, Zackrison said, they eat at restaurants closer to their homes on the south and east sides of town.

So, he plans to move Agrario to the south or east part of Springfield by the year’s end, keeping his other establishments downtown.

“It’s looking really positive for both Agrario and (Patton Alley Pub) to pull through Chapter 11 really successfully,” he said.

Zackrison has until May 23 to file his reorganization plan.

Marco’s Pizzeria owner Williams may move south, too. He wants to stay downtown, but he’s considering moving south to the Gallery Eleven, 1111 E. Republic Road.

“Whatever the plan is, it’s not working,” he said about downtown revitalization.

Hanging on

UDA Executive Director Rusty Worley believes the completion of the College Station and Heer’s projects will help downtown restaurants. Attractions such as College Station’s planned 14-screen movie theater should generate traffic for existing center city businesses, he said.

But College Station isn’t scheduled to open until spring 2008, and the city is still seeking a developer for Heer’s. Delays on both projects have irritated some restaurant owners. College Station, for example, was slated to open in fall 2006.

“You know, just get the stuff built,” said Rasta Grill’s Cotner. “It takes forever and a day for anything to get done down there.”

Still, proprietors believe in the projects and are hanging their livelihoods on them.

“I have high hopes,” said Donna O’Connell, whose O’Connell’s Center City Grocery, 212 W. McDaniel, hasn’t turned a profit since opening more than three years ago. In fact, she and co-owner husband Kevin had to slash inventory in half to stay open.

Steve Bingham also believes in College Station’s value, even though in November he closed ice cream parlor Emack & Bolio’s, 216 E. Walnut St., and moved it to 2925 E. Battlefield Road.

Bingham plans to add another Emack & Bolio’s in College Station to capitalize on anticipated foot traffic.

Success stories

The downtown dining scene isn’t all doom-and-gloom.

“We’re still recognized as the fine dining center of not just the city but the region,” UDA’s Worley said.

In the last six months, more restaurants and food-service businesses have opened downtown than have closed, according to UDA. Seven new eateries have opened, including Big Whiskey’s, Quizno’s and Ophelia’s Tapas & Wine Bar.

Nonna’s Italian American Café, 306 South Ave., has experienced revenue increases in eight of the last nine months, according to co-owner Tim Caldwell.

One restaurant has been so successful that it’s opening locations in other cities.

On Jan. 22, Trolley’s Downtown Bar and Grille, 107 Park Central Square, opened in Overland Park, Kan., and plans are in place for expansions to other Midwestern cities, said kitchen manager Brian Price.[[In-content Ad]]