Published: October 13, 2009 09:00 pm      

Tough economy closes Reno's Roadhouse

Burnside — One of Burnside’s most prominent restaurants closed its doors on Tuesday, and its chances for reopening in the future are very much up in the air.

Reno’s Roadhouse is closed, according to Eric Fitzer, president and CEO of Reno’s Roadhouse. The chain itself, with numerous locations in Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, is unaffected, but the restaurant here in Pulaski County found it difficult to make money in a tough economy and a community that’s still getting used to the idea of serving alcoholic beverages, suggested Fitzer.

“It’s a bad time for anyone to have an internal crisis,” said Fitzer. “I never thought I’d close a restaurant that does $1.5 million (in revenue) a year.”

The “internal crisis,” Fitzer told the Commonwealth Journal, had much to do with the work force and the quality of dining experience. “There’s no doubt in my mind we had a lack of service and consistency issues,” said Fitzer.

Fitzer said he’d received numerous complaints about the way the restaurant was managed, almost ever since it opened in 2006. The early days were successful — the opening of the Burnside restaurant was the chain’s most successful ever. However, in February, Fitzer told the Commonwealth Journal that only 70 percent of that initial business had been retained.

He also noted that other restaurant chains may be resistant to move into this area because of the work force — casual dining restaurants like the ones in Richmond or Danville like the presence of a four-year college that provides a high grade of student employees, and that’s something Somerset lacks when chains are looking to open new stores here.

From the sound of it, that lack of quality help may have been a factor in the demise of Reno’s, as Fitzer sees it.

“When I’m there (in the restaurant), everything is fine,” he said. “When I’m not, it’s like a collection of grown-ups becomes ‘Girls Gone Wild.’”

The poor economy has also contributed, said Fitzer, and Reno’s found it difficult to meet overhead costs. Fitzer said his restaurant would have needed to make $3 million annually to comfortably cover its costs, and that wasn’t happening as people found themselves eating out less while expenses went up.

Even new laws have hurt Reno’s. A 75 percent increase in the minimum wage over the last two years cost Reno’s $45,000 annually — steep numbers for a young business already working to establish a foothold.

And then there’s the fact that many in the community are still resistant to alcohol sales, made possible by a 2004 referendum that saw several restaurants such as Reno’s open in its wake. Fitzer hasn’t been shy about his wishes that the public would embrace his restaurant — for which he relocated headquarters to Burnside — but he has continued to encounter resistance.

“I couldn’t help but feel like there was some outside force influencing (personnel and daily business),” said Fitzer. “This is a good town, but there are a lot of challenges you face in running a restaurant here.”

If Reno’s economic picture turns around, it may be possible that it re-opens here, but for now, Fitzer finds himself living in a community where he doesn’t own a restaurant. He plans on resting for a while and spending time with his family before making his next move.

“I lie awake at night wondering what I could have done differently, what else I could have put in place,” said Fitzer. “I may build a different kind of restaurant. I don’t know.”