THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
GOOD EATS
New downtown eateries saturate market
Failed restaurants are making way for start-ups eager to cash in on niche cuisines
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Global Café
ccondron@kansan.com
BY COURTNEY CONDRON
Date Opened: July 2007
Location: 820 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Black Eyed Susan
Price Range: $2.50 to $2.50
**Description:** Global Café has breakfast, sandwiches, soups and salads. The Café also offers arepas, which are South American stuffed corn cakes, and pinchos, a Spanish kabob served with yellow rice and black beans. The Café has Wi-Fi for customers.
**Best-selling items:** Owner Kate Gonzalez said best-sellers were the Cuban sandwich, arepas, Havana chicken sandwich and the breakfast scramble.
Since June, five restaurants have opened on Massachusetts Street, replacing some long-time Lawrence restaurants and some that just didn't survive.
Jane Pennington, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., said that this year had been an unusual year as far as turnover rates.
"There are so many restaurants available downtown, it's hard for newcomers to get a hold and be successful," Pennington said.
This past summer, Global Cafe, Ingredient and Genovese opened, and this fall Encore Cafe and Southern Cuisine opened.
Bob Shumm, owner of Buffalo Bob's Smokehouse, 719 Massachusetts St., and previous owner of Mass. Street Deli, which was open for 34 years and closed in February 2007, said the restaurant market was fully saturated in the city- and that the customer market was currently down from previous years.
"Dining out is a discretionary act, and when people run out of money, it's easy to say I'm not going to eat out anymore," Shumm said.
Despite restaurant closings, open spaces
on Massachusetts Street sell quickly. When Summm closed Mass. Street Deli, Genovese was ready to start moving in almost immediately. Pennington said that Ingredient rented Qdoba's space almost immediately as well.
Nick Wysong, general manager of ingredient, said the turnover rate in Lawrence was always high and would continue to be high.
"The reason it's so high is because the people that own them don't want to work them," Wysong said. "They put someone else in charge, and then other restaurants start to steal from you."
Pennington said the restaurant market was difficult if owners didn't understand the market and how much competition and customer loyalty to other restaurants played a part.
Shumm said it was important for restaurant owners to have their debt under control for when the market was down.
"You have got to have a unique product and be determined to stay with it through the ups and downs," Shumm said. "Through the years there have been plenty of ups and downs, and you have to invest a lot of money in it."
Edited by Jeff Briscoe
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Encore Café
Date Opened: October 2007
Location: 1007 Massachusetts St
Date Opened: October 2007
Previously: Vacant
**Price Range:** You can get a full meal with a drink for less than $20.
**Description:** Encore offers oriental-inspired food, along with Thai and curry dishes and smoothies and other drinks. Waitress Michelle Wilson said, "We have a pretty young atmosphere. We watch MTV here and serve great food."
**Best-selling items:** Wilson said customers enjoyed the Pad Thai with chicken, chicken teriyaki and popcorn chicken.
Genovese
Date Opened: June 2007
Location: 941 Massachusetts St.
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
**Previously:** Mass. Street Deli
**Price range:** Appetizers start at $4, and entrees cost as much as $24.
**Description:** Genovese is a two-story restaurant owned by the same owners, Subarna Battachan and Alejandro Lule, as La Parrilla and Zen Zero. The restaurant offers authentic Italian food, such as spaghetti, linguini and pizzas.
**Best-selling item:** General manager Jack Donham said that the ravioli was the best selling pasta dish and that the pasta tasting dish also sold well.
Southern Cuisine
Date Opened: November 2007
Location: 1008 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Olé Tapas
Price Range: Everything is either $6.99 or $9.95.
Description: Southern Cuisine offers down-home southern cooking, with everything made from scratch.
Best-selling items: The most popular items are the fried chicken and meatloaf.
Ingredient
Ingredient
Date Opened: June 2007
Location: 945 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Qodoba
Price range: Everything costs less than $11.
Description: Ingredient offers make-your own salads, pizzas and sandwiches and will soon serve breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. Customers order at the register then servers bring the food to their table. General Manager Nick Wysong said he thought students enjoyed Ingredient because, "It's quick, great food with fresh ingredients"
Best-selling items: Wysong said the top-selling items were the spindip pizza, the peppercorn steak sandwich and the sweet leaf salad.
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
What do you think?
BY DANNY NORDSTROM
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW RESTAURANTS ON MASSACHUSETTS STREET?
JAY HOLLAND
Oswego, N.Y., junior
"I won't eat at Ingredient because I don't like their sign. I think its arrogant to assume that I can't read it myself. They have to sound out the syllables for you."
IAN WEAVER
Lawrence sophomore
"I know Ingredient took over the building where Qdoba used to be. I've never been a huge fan of health foods. You could pay three bucks and get a decent meal at McDonald's, or you could pay five bucks for a salad."
JOE ZLATNIK Rossville iunior
"The only one I've been to it ingredient, and it was good. I liked it."
CAITLIN ALVAREZ
Rossville sophomore
"I think it's great because it brings variety and it brings change to Lawrence."
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© 2007 The University Daily Kansan
》 DOLE INSTITUTE
— Sasha Roe
Speaker Pelosi forced to cancel KU visit
The Dole Institute said Pelozi was called to session for the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the New York Times, President Bush's emergency war spending request is being reviewed by Congress today,
The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics announced Thursday that a visit from U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) has been postponed indefinitely. Pelosi was originally scheduled to speak at 11:30 a.m. today.
and Pelosi is proposing tying in troop reduction requirements and only giving $50 billion of Bush's $196 billion request.
Murphy Hall celebrates 50 years
CAMPUS
The departments of theatre and film and music and dance will play host to a celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of Murphy Hall. In addition to a banquet and rededication of the building, the departments will perform "The Music Man."
Charla Jenkins, public relations director of the University Theatre, said that she thought the musical was an American classic and fit in with this weekend because it was also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
VOLUNTEER
Group to clean site of early Civil War battle
KU students will take to the battlefield Saturday to help clean Black Jack, the site of the first significant fight over slavery.
The Center for Community Outreach is taking KU students to Baldwin City to help with routine maintenance of the battlefield, including cutting stumps and cleaning brush. Kelli Stout, co-director of the Center for Community Outreach, said the group was looking for KU students to help with the clean-up.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A