show’s over: lime cafe closed indefinitely
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Is three months enough time to judge the success of a new business?
Most of the time the answer is definitely not, though in the case of Lime Cafe, the “not totally authentic” Mexican grill’s travails were particularly well documented. After only twelve weeks, first-time restaurateur Michael Franz has shuttered the operation in the Security Building, telling angelenic that there simply was not enough capital left in the business.
So what went wrong?
Slow service riled some, and others disliked the music. Surely, closing for nearly a month couldn’t have helped cash flow.
But in the end, I believe it was the combination of a lack of promotion and not enough time to let things work that did it in. Most new businesses are money losers for quite some time before ever turning a profit, so it’s up to owners to prepare for that beforehand.
Research shows that on average, 23% of new restaurants fail within a year of opening. With stats like that, it can be easy to get discouraged about Downtown’s progress as a dining destination.
Still, the neighborhood has come a long way, and the closure of one restaurant makes less of an impact now than if Pete’s Cafe had closed in, say, 2003. Restaurant turnover is par for the course in established urban markets, and it’s bound to get more dicey over the next year for newcomers.
Which is to say, a great vision, community input and goodwill need to be followed up with solid implementation, continued enthusiasm and the resources to weather rough spots before being considered a success.
Lime Cafe may be gone for good, but the neighborhood still has a workable space for someone to execute their own vision. Good luck!
-Top 5 Reasons Most Restaurants Fail (Associated Content)
-On the Market (Sort Of) (Eater LA)
Thoughts and opinions on Lime? Suggestions for the next owner? Let us know in the comments!
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22 comments
No thoughts because I didn’t have a chance to get over there…
Though I did make a point of going to “Mode” while that was open for a few seconds…
it looks like cafe royal (aka the main street grill) gave up the ghost recently, too.
it’s too bad that lime didn’t have the time to build its business like i think it could have.
what ever happened to mode?
too bad indeed…I liked Lime.
^ The better question is what -didn’t- happen to Mode. What a joke!
That’s too bad. I really wanted to see it work out!
Let’s call the guy who runs The Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada on Hillhurst and see if we can get him to open a second location there. MMM!
What about Baja Fresh in that space?
baja fresh=gross.
just go to grand central market for some good tacos.
Seriously, Baja Fresh? I honestly don’t understand how downtown would benefit from a bad fast food restaurant. How about it stays unoccupied instead, and you move out of the area? Deal?
Ryan, I bet you’re a catch.
The perfect tenant may be only … days… away.
When I first heard of Lime, I was excited, and that evening they had with free Mojitos certainly endeared them to me. However, three subsequent times my partner and I tried to eat there, we were foiled. First, they were closed on Mondays; then, they were closed for kitchen remodeling; the last time we tried, they were closed getting new art in. I never even got to try their food—looking at their early menu that one time we made it through the doors, they struck me as an independent Chipotle with booze. That can’t have been a bad thing.
Lime just wasn’t very good for the most part. The location didn’t help either.
My wife and I went to the lime cafe at least 3 times and although she liked it, I never was thrilled about their vegetarian dishes, but I do give them credit for trying and I also wish they had given it more time. But I also realize these are exceptional, difficult times.
I agree totally with #13 that the location was less than ideal. Still somewhat gritty; not a location I would want to go late at night.
^ I cannot see location being a bad thing. If Weenez is doing alright, then why would location be the problem?
I think it was the unannounced closings that did it for me. I tried going a few times and it was always closed. And, I went at random times (Saturday, Thursday evening, Tuesday for lunch). Geez….
i tried to go during the last art walk but was met with a ton of people hanging around drinking, loud music and no wait staff to be found. i tried to flag someone down near the food counter/bar area but it was just madness and confusion. i ended up going to weenez instead.
It always seemed to me that Mr. Franz was carrying coal to Newcastle by trying to open a Mexican style restaurant in a neighborhood already filled with really good Mexican food. From the numerous stands in the Grand Central Market to nighttime, sit down service at the neighboring Mariscos Ensenada, I think a restauranteur is really going to have to bring his “A” game to open another successful Mexican restaurant and compete in this part of Downtown. Not to say it can’t be done but obviously tacos filled with brown rice and margaritas made with soju in the place of tequila was not the right recipe for success in the Historic Core.
^ I totally agree with #17. In any type of busniess you cant be in the “middle”. You have to be on the low or high end.
Lime cafe was the “Jan Brady” of restaurants.
But you really need to have plenty of money to get you through the first year. I personally look forward to trying the Nickel, and i aint no investor..lol I heard really good things from 2 close friends already.
a lack of advertising and inconsistency did this place in…too bad! best of luck michael!
loveandhatela: you will love nickel diner! although the pozole was not quite authentic, it was decent. the “smac n cheese” is good too, the nickel burger is a must, and the blt is fantastic! enjoy!
Margaritas made with soju, dumb, just plain dumb.
You can’t open an “ethnic” restaurant and blow every basis of the culture out the window and expect to get repeat business.
Consistency is key. Once you’re open, you need to stay open or people will never know you opened in the first place. That’s the same problem Mode had. Sometimes they were 24-hours, others they were closed completely, then they’d open on a random Tuesday from 4-7 and expect people to just know and show up. Businesses need to have the capital to sustain themselves past opening day until word gets out… Staffing, food, rent, etc are all very expensive. But if you have a mediocre offering and limit your opportunities to get people in the door, word will never spread. Why is this such a difficult concept for new restaurant owners?
A close friend of mine opened a restaurant (Alchemy) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, about a year ago. He finally started turning a good profit ONE YEAR after opening, and now they are doing very well.
Restaurants take time for people to get used to them, and to spread the word. If you run out of capitol in 12 weeks, then maybe a miscalculation was made.
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