More bad news for Elk Grove taxpayers - Slow and Low's owner Michael Hargis closing his restaurant Beast + Bounty
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2024/12/more-bad-news-for-elk-grove-taxpayers.html
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| Slow and Low will close on January 1 for "retooling," while another restaurant operated by the same owners will permanently close on January 1. | |
For Elk Grove's Slow and Low restaurant, bad news begot more bad news. That is certainly the case for Michael Hargis, the owner-operator of the Elk Grove taxpayer loan-guaranteed Old Town restaurant Slow and Low.
Yesterday, Slow and Low posted on social media that the much-ballyhooed barbeque restaurant in Old Town Elk Grove would close on January 1 for an indeterminate time. The closure, which was no surprise to many observers, will allow Hargis to bring in a "world-renowned pitmaster and chef" to revive the establishment.
Since its opening in May, the restaurant, a keystone to Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen's master plan to put Old Town-Historic Downtown Elk Grove in the same league as San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, has been teetering. The restaurant has been besieged with lackluster reviews.
Further exasperating the problem, last summer, the Sacramento Business Journal reported that two of Hargis' other establishments, LowBrau Bier Garten LLC and Beast + Bounty, were in default on bank loans.
This morning, Hargin posted on social media that Beast + Bounty would permanently close effective January 1. The statement attributed the closure to a failure to renegotiate their lease without mentioning the loan defaults reported last summer.
As for Slow and Low, it seems implausible that a "world-renowned pitmaster and chef" would join the enterprise in any other role than as a new owner. One restaurant management person we spoke to said the wording of yesterday's statement telegraphed the owners are trying to sell the business.
What that means for Elk Grove taxpayers who guaranteed the $500,000 loan is unclear. If the business does fail, Mayor Singh-Allen, her city council, and economic development director Darrell Doan will have some explaining to do about their failure to protect taxpayers' interests.
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If the mayor and her city hall crew screwed the pooch on this deal, I can hardly wait to see how much a foul-up the zoo will become!
You said it!! This zoo will bankrupt this city and no one’s paying attention.
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