Can anyone be surprised? Another Perkins has closed suddenly on Madison. Last year it was the Kenaston and Fermor locations closing. This year was Henderson, and now Madison locations. Three more Perkins remain on Portage, Regent and McPhillips. Will they be the next to go?
Is the opening of IHOP and a few new Pancake Houses crushing Perkins? Is it Skip the Dishes? By the way, Perkins works with Skip but are people just ordering elsewhere?
The parent company Perkins and Marie Callender is in bankruptcy again. They are closing stores. However, keep in mind the last time they had problems, the Winnipeg owner of Perkins kept things going. She seemed to have the pulse of the city despite whatever woes happened in the U.S.
The new owner is Calgary-based and used to be the president of Smitty’s. I’m assuming the former Winnipeg owner of all the Perkins in the city must be gobsmacked that the locations here are in such trouble considering that Smitty’s continues to be doing okay.
The restaurant business is as tough as they come. For every place that goes on for decades, there are a many who don’t last a year.
Guess everyone will be keeping an eye out on the remaining locations. Never want to write a place off because we have seen some comebacks in both retail and restaurants. However, losing a prominent location, like Polo Park, is huge.
This has been a guest editorial by John Dobbin.
To read more from John, visit his blog Observations, Reservations, Conversations
