When I say this, I’m NOT talking about lives. No matter someone’s age, every life matters in this crisis.
I am talking about certain businesses that will ultimately close, and that’s not such a bad thing. I do however feel bad for the people who will lose their jobs permanently due to bad business planning.
The first victims will be small, privately owned restaurants and bars. I will miss a handful of them, but for the most part, some of them I will not. I have often argued that Sioux Falls has 700 restaurants yet not a decent place to eat. Some of these places will not be missed.
The second victims will be small franchise restaurants. A lot of them will close due to national sales and little to do with what is going on locally. Good riddance.
The third victims will be privately owned clothing boutiques, gift shops, etc. Or as I call them, rich doctor’s wives hobby businesses, I know that is not completely accurate, but a lot of them will not be missed either.
I have a feeling that many small telephone booth casinos will close to. Thank GOD! I wish they would all close.
Further down the road many of these smaller, privately owned car dealerships will shut down as the economy begins to spiral out of control. Also will not be missed. When I was looking for a used car a few months ago, I was amazed at all of the crooked crap they tried to pull over on you. I ended up purchasing a car from a trusted, local, larger dealership.
Many realtors will be also out of work when the housing market begins to go sour. This one is hard to predict though, because it could go in the opposite direction with rock bottom interest rates. This sector will be interesting to watch.
Small landlords will also be going bankrupt when renters can’t pay, and they can’t find tenants. This is sad, because they supply housing to many lower income folks, their options will dry up. Affordable housing will go straight out the window. This may have some positive results with the city looking at rent control legislation.
You may see some small national retailers close and some smaller grocery franchises.
I also suspect some major manufacturers will have some big layoffs or closures. Many have already started including a certain ‘ag’ business and a certain ‘energy’ company.
The good part of all this, thrift stores will be booming, I love thrift stores. I rarely buy anything new unless it is a tomato or apple. LOL. But it may be slim pickings for me 🙁
As I told someone last night, once the virus ends, the real sickness comes, the bottom dropping out of our economy locally and nationally. I am hoping we can recover quickly, I really do, but I also remember what 2008’s recovery was like, I still think some sectors are still in recovery from it. I compare this virus to getting a broken leg, it only takes a split second, but the recovery takes a lot longer. Don’t believe what the POTUS says, we won’t bounce back from this in a couple of months.
It’s going to be a rough couple of years. Enjoy the time you may be spending at home, use this time as I have to self reflect on what is important in your life. More and more the answer to me has been very simple; Friends. I miss them more than even Big Macs.
i could be wrong, but the video lottery casinos may be the survivors. they seem to make money with no cars in the parking lot the way it is.
Will Chic-Fil-A be the next Dillard’s? One day the Argus writes that 41st Street has 17% vacancy. Then next, the mayor pushes Chic-Fil-A with a cute developer chick, then the very next day we have a pandemic, the mall closes, then Smithfield, and now a shelter-in-place. I always wondered when “Boom Town” would end. I guess whiskers and sneakers were the omens not taken.
Scott, Trump is destroying us all like he did to his Atlantic City casinos, but the real casinos will survive as they out smart us all.
So, just to make sure I’m reading you correctly: if you don’t like a restaurant, it deserves to close. What a dickhead thing to say.
Not saying that at all. I have worked in the hospitality industry on and off for over 20 years. I would not consider myself an expert. But I know what works, and what does not. I didn’t mean it that way, and I know some may see it that way, but a good restaurant can only survive with two crucial factors, good product and good customer service. When those two factors get squeezed, you have to close. That’s my point.
Say, Unstable Genius, I mean”NIQFNR,” when you don’t like a city council member, do you wish they would lose?
You didn’t mention banks. There can be lots of unsecured loan failure. Credit will get tight.
State lottery casinos will stay for awhile. There’s no other form of entertainment with less than a group of 10 people. The state is hooked on this revenue. The best kind of business is one where you do not provide goods or services and everything is profit.
Chick Fil A will boom in Sioux Falls. No matter what some of you Anti-Christain folks believe, they have a good product and great service. Chick Fil A is not rated #1 Fast Food restaurant year over year by having poor products and bad service. I will put money on their success.
Scott – I think you nailed some good points above. I am saddened by all the small businesses that will go out of business, regardless of what industry it is. My wife started a small business on the side 2 years ago because she was passionate about wanting to work for herself. Its been incredibly hard, long hours, and not worth the money in my opinion. We are fortunate that this was something on the side and did not disrupt her 9-5 but, for many, this is all they have. What amazes me the most about small businesses is how many people buy shit off Amazon instead of supporting a neighbor, friend, family member, or your local community. I will gladly spend another 10 or so percent on a local item vs Amazon or Wallmart. When my wife started this business I was amazed at how many people we knew did not support it yet supported a Large non-local competitor all to save $5 bucks. This kind of stuff is not a Partisan issue its a loyalty issue and I am shocked how loyal people are to the Amazons of the world
Obviously, I disagree with a lot of your posts, but this one has to be the worst you’ve ever done. You hope businesses close? The ones that do “won’t be missed†? Are you serious?! Don’t you think maybe the people that work at these places will miss them? Maybe the people that go there will miss them? Are you honestly hoping businesses close? Holy s***, what a jerk. Hoping for the economy to crash? You’ve sunk to new lows.
“I had a dream the other night that Keg’s Chicken was the only place still open, well, Scarlett’s too, after they got accepted into the PP, I mean Paycheck Protection Program”….
In the post Great Virus world, one of the things that concerns me most is the possibility that the maldistribution and or scarcity of resources, which was caused by this virus, may walk us into hyper inflation, which will make it even harder for us to recover and restore what we once had.
It’s only a matter of time before Ancient Aliens will run an episode claiming extraterrestrials gave us this virus, in order, to slow down global warming and give us an opportunity to make up for the four years lost during the Orange Menace.
Oh, and I don’t buy the bat theory either, because, Batman would never allow it. Unless, it was part of his plot to get rid of Noem with the right-wing members of the media as the true Jokers.
Name in quotes, I’m just pointing out the obvious.
reads like L7 lyrics