Lonnie and I were very disappointed to find that the Melt Shop suddenly closed. Jennifer was extremely friendly, we enjoyed the food, and best of all, we could walk there. Even the decor was original and fun. It wasn’t entirely clear to us why they closed. I think it may have had something to do with the rent being increased, and if that’s true, I suspect that their profit margin may have been too tight to afford it.
Already, another sandwich shop has moved into that spot. (At least I think that’s what it is – it has looked mostly empty each time I’ve gone by) That location is like a revolving door, I’m afraid – many small restaurants right in a row. You have to wonder why they have the notion that they will succeed where so many others have failed, something I’ve written about elsewhere. For instance, no matter how many pizza joints there are all over, and how many have failed, we’ll always see more – it’s a nearly scientific fact. Apart from most people’s unwillingness to do any market research at all, I imagine that having kitchen equipment there is the deciding factor. Maybe the landlord has no choice but to try to find other aspiring sandwich shop owners – other businesses may find the location to be a bad fit.
For anyone trying to start a sandwich shop in Eastwood, you don’t have to be an expert market researcher to notice the 100-ton-gorilla in the room: The Brooklyn Pickle. This enormous, longstanding institution is a formidable sandwich operation, and I would guess that it sucks the life out of any smaller competitor offering similar fare nearby. The Melt Shop offered mostly simple fare like sandwiches. They had some distinctive specials as well. But there are other shops in the area with similar nice offerings, even apart from the Pickle. Although the food was tasty, the reason I would go there was Jennifer. She was so, so friendly and gave such good service that it was a genuine pleasure to go there. That’s the key, really. If you have tough competition, you need something special about your place.
So sorry, but it’s unlikely that I will try the new place – I’m too miffed that Jennifer is gone. Maybe someone else will report in about how the new place is.
I only tried it once, I think I got a french onion soup and a greek salad. They were both pretty awful. That was enough to put me off.
A year or two back when I was looking for a place to locate my roaster I called the landlord and was a bit surprised by the rental price – I think it was $1800 or $2200 per month. That’s a pretty high price for a space that size in that location. Granted… without something unique and consistently good in food offerings it’s tough to keep any place afloat but the high rent couldn’t have helped.
Lonnie:
Thank you so much for the great review. I miss all of my customers very much, it’s amazing the amount of wonderful new friends I had made. The reason we closed was that the lease was up and Jon moved back into the metal business. I still cannot work in the metal industry until October 2010. I’m in a urgent need for a job so if anyone knows of any jobs (there are certainly not very many in this area) available your input would be appreciated. Thank you everyone for all your business it was an excellent experience for me never being in the restaurant business.
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have a very happy new year!
I miss you all
Jennifer – The Melt Shop
jmegnin@hotmail.com
Hi Jennifer,
How nice to hear from you! This is Dave, I actually wrote the post above, although Lonnie definitely misses you as well. Though I’m chagrined that your restaurant isn’t there anymore, it’s good to know what happened. You are missed by more people than us, and your work ethic and awesome interpersonal skills would be a great benefit to any company!