Matt Prentice Restaurant Group Shutters Three Restaurants
Matt Prentice Restaurant Group President Matt Prentice announces the closing of three of his units - Morels, an American Bistro and Shiraz, both in Bingham Farms, and Thunder Bay Brewing Company in Auburn Hills.
The following is Prentice's statement regarding the decision.
"The restaurant closings are a result of a lot of long, hard thought. Morels has had a great 17-year run. Shiraz was really starting to come into its own. The Super Bowl and auto show were great for both of them at a time when restaurants are generally slower. The spring is historically a boom time; in fact, the blooming of Morels' atrium is the first sign of spring for many of my customers.
"When construction in the 'mixing bowl' area started, business fell off sharply in the Bingham Farms restaurants. Right now, you can't even get to Telegraph Road from the Lodge -- and you haven't been able to go south on Telegraph and get to the Lodge or I-696 easily for months. Much of the reality is that our catering from Morels, which is very strong, was taking care of the shortfalls the restaurant itself experienced. We've offered great value; our special wine program was really working well, and I will definitely do it again. It just wasn't enough to overcome the construction.
"You can't discount your way out of profitability just for the sake of keeping the doors open. As much pride as I've taken in both restaurants, I don't have that large an ego. What I do have is a commitment to hundreds of staffers who count on me to make the right decisions that keep the company financially sound.
"Thunder Bay has similar problems. When I closed my restaurants at Somerset, my goal was to get out of the mall business. We were running Thunder Bay financially better than we ever have, but the people just weren't coming. And now there are construction issues on I-75.
"We will move all of Morels' and Shiraz' catering to Temple Israel. We are in the process of relocating as many employees as possible."
"The restaurant closings are a result of a lot of long, hard thought. Morels has had a great 17-year run. Shiraz was really starting to come into its own. The Super Bowl and auto show were great for both of them at a time when restaurants are generally slower. The spring is historically a boom time; in fact, the blooming of Morels' atrium is the first sign of spring for many of my customers.
"When construction in the 'mixing bowl' area started, business fell off sharply in the Bingham Farms restaurants. Right now, you can't even get to Telegraph Road from the Lodge -- and you haven't been able to go south on Telegraph and get to the Lodge or I-696 easily for months. Much of the reality is that our catering from Morels, which is very strong, was taking care of the shortfalls the restaurant itself experienced. We've offered great value; our special wine program was really working well, and I will definitely do it again. It just wasn't enough to overcome the construction.
"You can't discount your way out of profitability just for the sake of keeping the doors open. As much pride as I've taken in both restaurants, I don't have that large an ego. What I do have is a commitment to hundreds of staffers who count on me to make the right decisions that keep the company financially sound.
"Thunder Bay has similar problems. When I closed my restaurants at Somerset, my goal was to get out of the mall business. We were running Thunder Bay financially better than we ever have, but the people just weren't coming. And now there are construction issues on I-75.
"We will move all of Morels' and Shiraz' catering to Temple Israel. We are in the process of relocating as many employees as possible."