July brings wave of restaurant closures to Lubbock

LUBBOCK, Texas — The beginning of July brought heartbreak to the hospitality industry in Lubbock as both nostalgic and relatively new restaurants in the city shut their doors.

The Fresh American, Hooter’s, Joe’s Crab Shack and Arby’s in the 5200 block of Slide Road are among the most recent closures in Lubbock.

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The closure of the Fresh American, which opened about a year ago, particularly shocked many. Its location at 114th Street and Memphis Avenue was recently listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Google, and its website is no longer available.

In lieu of this, a handful of Lubbock restaurants — Harrigan’s Prime Grill , Chez Sami , Jimenez Tortilleria y Taqueria and The Co-Op Public House — are honoring gift cards from The Fresh American at 50 percent of their face value (after gratuity) in an effort to support the Lubbock hospitality industry.

According to Shane Blum, associate professor of Hospitality and Retail Management at Texas Tech University and owner of The Lantern and The Gas Light restaurants, eateries fail for a number of reasons that pile up on each other, starting with staffing issues.

“It was a little tricky before COVID getting people to work and it became increasingly tougher after,” said Blum. “Many employed at restaurants got out of it because restaurants had to close and they found someplace else to go because of better hours and better pay.”

“Another thing that happens in Lubbock is when new places open, a lot of good staff will move from an old place to a new place,” Blum added.

The second factor was location, which Blum recognized as an issue in the industry, especially for The Fresh American, due to 114th Street undergoing construction shortly after the restaurant opened, making it more difficult to get to.

Another factor is money, Blum said.

“Very few banks are willing to fund new restaurants… There’s not much for them to gain if you don’t succeed.”

Blum continued to explain that prices went through the roof, and restaurants had to pass those costs on to consumers. As a result, consumers are growing tired of high prices.

“Hooter’s and Joe’s Crab Shack are huge chains that have been around for decades and they cant make it,” Blum said, emphasizing that this is a nationwide issue.

Competition in the restaurant business also has a significant impact on Lubbock, according to Blum.

“Lubbock loves to eat out. It’s a good thing but also a bad thing. There is a lot of competition in a real tight area,” Blum said, explaining that corporate restaurants have a little more to sustain themselves, but many franchises open multiple locations in Lubbock, sometimes unnecessarily, and even they don’t work out.

Restaurants that didn’t close due to the pandemic weren’t in great shape, Blum said; they were just trying to stay open.

“But after a while you just can’t economically justify staying open,” which is why some are failing now, Blum explained.

In addition, some Lubbock restaurants close during the summer due to the absence of students, which means they have no workers. They also lose faculty and staff to vacations. Many restaurants in Lubbock make money from September to May, “but during June, July and August, it’s a ghost town,” Blum said.

Blum’s advice for prospective restaurant owners?

“For new restaurants you kinda need to know what you’re doing,” said Blum.

While it sounds oversimplified, Blum said a lot of people get into the restaurant industry thinking its easy, but “there are so many different variables.”

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