Never saw that one coming - the $175 burger
From
Crain's New York:
Bankruptcy for NYC eatery selling $175 burgers
The Wall Street Burger Shoppe made international headlines several years ago when it put a $175 burger on its menu. Today, the 112-seat joint in the financial district is closed, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, just three years after opening.
Chef and owner Kevin O'Connell, who launched a number of other notable eateries, including Pop Restaurant, Pop Burger, Pizza Bar and Veranda, did not respond to a request for comment.
His lawyer, Tanya Dwyer, said the restaurant, at 30 Wall St., was not profitable. Mr. O'Connell is the sole owner of Burger Shoppe, having bought out a business partner earlier this year. There were other partners in the restaurant as well, Ms. Dwyer added, but they were “not able to make a go of it,” and pulled out of the business earlier.
A bit more:
The bankruptcy filing for his Burger Shoppe listed liabilities of up to $500,000 and assets of up to $50,000. The restaurant's biggest creditors appear to be its landlord and the New York state Department of Taxation and Finance.
A business like that will have an initial spike of sales -- the novelty of the product but, even though it sounds heavenly, people are not going to line up and spend $175 every day. If they sold it for $40, they would have had a lot better sales and still made a decent profit.
New York State is not the best place to run a business either with burdensome taxes and overarching business regulations. Not only the sales taxes but NY City also has its own Income tax.
Posted by DaveH at July 9, 2011 7:33 PM