Restaurant merry-go-round

Posted on by Irene Corey

Black Mountain is a restaurant merry-go-round.

In the short year that I have lived here, I have seen H.T. Papa's restaurant close; it is now a Chinese place. A coffee house on the edge of town closed — the lady who ran it left and opened her place in Old Fort (now I hear it is closed there too, and she moved to Charlotte). The Oak House closed and re-opened, and is not the same as before. Just two weeks ago, Camino's Mexican restaurant closed.

The Watershed was the first one to go, and after that it seems there was a domino effect. I don't eat out often, but when I do, it is disappointing when you get used to a place and they are soon gone.

What's going on in this town? Are the rent rates too high to stay open? I'm confused.

— Irene Corey
Black Mountain

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2 thoughts on “Restaurant merry-go-round”

  2. bill smith

    People often start restaurants without any real business plan or understanding of the market.

    What confounds me is how they continue to get funding for these ill-fated, nary-researched businesses.

    The restaurant game is tough, with a VERY low profit margin. It’s a cliche to want to open your own quaint little coffee shop, but understanding good business is different than having an ill-thought-out dream.

    Although I hear the Republican tax cuts for the largest corporations around the world is going to turn the economy around any day now.

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