Zinburger squashed by the “crisis”
We wrote about the “new” Zinburger restaurant over in Bridgewater, NJ about two years ago.
Mostly a preview and a brief observation as to what that eatery was all about. We never had the chance to visit.
And we will probably never get that opportunity!
As you can see above – they closed about 75% of their locations due to the “crisis.”
They have two locations left – with takeout options only (Clifton, NJ, and Marlboro, NJ).
What? Who would open a new restaurant now?
Apparently, some south Jersey restaurant operation is (planning on) opening Tommy’s Tavern + Tap in this space early next year. They have a couple of locations down by the shore, as well as one in Staten Island.
Maybe they know something the rest of us are not privy to, but who in their right mind would open a brand new restaurant amid this stupid crisis?
Perhaps they got this location for a major steal – and it was worth the risk “just in case” things quickly do a U-turn from the asinine “normal” that it is now. Some people like taking chances. If they called it right, it probably would be a brilliant decision. If not – maybe the bet wasn’t too costly. Who knows.
The booze is where the profit is?
Anyway, Zinburger billed themselves as a “Wine & Burger Bar.”
Putting two and two together – it’s clear that it’s hard to just sell food if you haven’t cracked the code as to how to profit wildly from it. (Why “Tommy’s” thinks they can do better is beyond us.)
Hence why practically no McDonald’s restaurants have shuttered in this area.
I’d guess that the alcohol at Zinburger was what put them into the black. Whipping up burgers on a griddle for a fancy place like that ain’t gonna pay too many bills I suppose.
We wonder how long they can hold out. Presumably, they had some decent capital behind them in order to quickly open up eight locations in short order. Maybe they have reserves that can help them re-open more once the crisis is over. Time will tell.
Just another statistic to munch on because of this global conundrum, right?
