Thread of local businesses that don't survive the coronavirus

[Michael Knight 12985]

i've been supporting big city bagel but I think hes doing ok anyways

[Texas Jeff 1945]

On 5/11/2020 at 11:07 PM, hayden_horn said:

it's not CR. austin isd is getting fucking killed due to recapture. top that off with declining enrollment, and you have essentially a death sentence.

The majority of losses are in the eco-dis population, to charters and suburbs.  Austin ISD's student population is becoming smaller but wealthier.  Not as wealthy as the western suburbs, but it is changing.

Declining enrollment could be managed by school consolidation into modernized schools, but they tried that last fall and backed off after the public complained.  Right now they have too many buildings that are too old and it's politically difficult to change.  Frisco ISD operates about 70 schools for about 60,000 students.  Austin ISD operates 129 schools for about 81,000 students.

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

Sure but their steaks are good, too.  Really more of a "fine dining" type of place that specializes in seafood.
I just looked up their website and they have locations all over the country now.  I had no idea they were that widespread.

They are owned by Darden. same chain that owns seasons 52, Capital Grill, and .....

Olive Garden.

[utee94 15826]

25 minutes ago, Gardner Barnes said:

They are owned by Darden. same chain that owns seasons 52, Capital Grill, and .....

Olive Garden.

Yeah, I guess I had no idea they'd sold from their original local ownership.  I don't go often but I do enjoy it whenever I go.

Or at least I used to, in the BeforeTimes.

[Js1 85372]

49 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Yeah, I guess I had no idea they'd sold from their original local ownership.  I don't go often but I do enjoy it whenever I go.

Or at least I used to, in the BeforeTimes.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

1 hour ago, Texas Jeff said:

The majority of losses are in the eco-dis population, to charters and suburbs.  Austin ISD's student population is becoming smaller but wealthier.  Not as wealthy as the western suburbs, but it is changing.

Declining enrollment could be managed by school consolidation into modernized schools, but they tried that last fall and backed off after the public complained.  Right now they have too many buildings that are too old and it's politically difficult to change.  Frisco ISD operates about 70 schools for about 60,000 students.  Austin ISD operates 129 schools for about 81,000 students.

Not sure where you are getting your info. We are closing Metz, Brooke, Pease, and Sims. 

[Armybrat 40850]

On 5/16/2020 at 8:43 AM, BrazilHorn said:

Went to dinner at Eddie V's in Arboretum with another couple last night. Restaurant did nice job of spacing tables out, no ones was close to us at all. Restaurant was at the 25% capacity. You had to book via reservation (my buddy made the reservation). Bar service is closed, meaning you can't come in prior to your reservation and sit at the bar.

Food was good, all the staff had masks, and I you are willing to eat out during this I'd recommend it (I am not normally a steakhouse guy).

My son & DIL celebrated his 52nd birthday there on the 8th. He said the tables with black tablecloths were closed, the oneswith wih white were open.  /racist. 
So they didn’t have to move any furniture. 

He had a steak, she had the redfish. Both were excellent, as was the service.

Once a week over the past two months he & several of his friends have been meeting in the parking lot next door by Z-Tejas for Happy Hour. They all bring their folding chairs & a table to separate at the proper 6’ distance while the bartender brings out the drinks & appetizers to set on the table.

 

 

[Armybrat 40850]

53 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Not sure where you are getting your info. We are closing Metz, Brooke, Pease, and Sims. 

And the last lege cut the required recapture amount for AISD by about 40% for this school year, IIRC.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

1 hour ago, Armybrat said:

And the last lege cut the required recapture amount for AISD by about 40% for this school year, IIRC.

A lot of that was cuts in the estimated growth in recapture payments. 612.2 million is the current estimate for fy 2020. By far, more than any other district in the state. The total for the state is estimated to be around 1.9 billion, so we are footing about 1/3 of the total bill for the state.

[Armybrat 40850]

That’s a far cry less than the anticipated $793 million AISD thought It was going to have to pay for FY 2020.

But yes, Austin is a cash cow for the poorer districts.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Armybrat

[Somnio 751]

55 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

A lot of that was cuts in the estimated growth in recapture payments. 612.2 million is the current estimate for fy 2020. By far, more than any other district in the state. The total for the state is estimated to be around 1.9 billion, so we are footing about 1/3 of the total bill for the state.

Fucking ridiculous.

[MrBig 5414]

20 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

That’s a far cry less than the anticipated $793 million AISD thought It was going to have to pay for FY 2020.

But yes, Austin is a cash cow for the poorer districts.

Why is the Austin ISD tax rate lower than Del Valle ISD tax rate? Less people in the district? 

[Armybrat 40850]

That is weird because Austin paid to build several new schools (HS, MS, & elementary) for the DV district when the construction of ABIA forced the closure of the old high school & others.

maybe because the property values out there are so low to base it on?

[BrazilHorn 6611]

2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

My son & DIL celebrated his 52nd birthday there on the 8th. He said the tables with black tablecloths were closed, the oneswith wih white were open.  /racist. 
So they didn’t have to move any furniture. 

He had a steak, she had the redfish. Both were excellent, as was the service.

Once a week over the past two months he & several of his friends have been meeting in the parking lot next door by Z-Tejas for Happy Hour. They all bring their folding chairs & a table to separate at the proper 6’ distance while the bartender brings out the drinks & appetizers to set on the table.

 

 

Small world. I may have seen your son Friday night as there were a group of guys in lawn chairs outside Z Tejas

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

31 minutes ago, MrBig said:

Why is the Austin ISD tax rate lower than Del Valle ISD tax rate? Less people in the district? 

Bonds for new construction in a fast growing area. That includes schools and other projects.

[CooterBrown 18014]

Declining enrollment could be managed by school consolidation into modernized schools, but they tried that last fall and backed off after the public complained.  Right now they have too many buildings that are too old and it's politically difficult to change.

I live central and we, like everyone around us, like our neighborhood schools. We don’t want giant suburban style schools. We like that we can walk to both our elementary and middle schools. We like that all 3 campuses are relatively small. We have about 100 per
grade in elementary, 400 in middle, and 400 in HS. All our schools have a great sense of community and are really part or our neighborhood. The idea of having giant regional schools make me sick.

[Armybrat 40850]

10 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Small world. I may have seen your son Friday night as there were a group of guys in lawn chairs outside Z Tejas

Yep, that was them.

[Armybrat 40850]

6 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

 

I live central and we, like everyone around us, like our neighborhood schools. We don’t want giant suburban style schools. We like that we can walk to both our elementary and middle schools. We like that all 3 campuses are relatively small. We have about 100 per
grade in elementary, 400 in middle, and 400 in HS. All our schools have a great sense of community and are really part or our neighborhood. The idea of having giant regional schools make me sick.

 

When AISD closed old Anderson HS on the east side about 45 years ago, that was the beginning of the end of the East Austin African American community. I recall talking with the custodial staff at my school, and they were appalled and extremely sad that the ol’  Yellowjackets were no more.

[BNB 100]

I’ve been supporting Valentina’s and Leroy & Lewis. If the good BBQ places go under...

Yeah these came up as recommended on my YouTube channel recently.
I have been to both since....

[MAUFRAIS 6629]

When AISD closed old Anderson HS on the east side about 45 years ago, that was the beginning of the end of the East Austin African American community. I recall talking with the custodial staff at my school, and they were appalled and extremely sad that the ol’  Yellowjackets were no more.

Or janitor if you want to be a dick about it.

[Armybrat 40850]

Speak for yourself.

The the few teachers  “of color” were afraid to speak out against the closures, plus the blue collar families were more affected emotionally by the changes. Not my observation, but that’s what they told me.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Armybrat

[MAUFRAIS 6629]

Speak for yourself.
The the few teachers  “of color” were afraid to speak out against the closures, plus the blue collar families were more affected emotionally by the changes. Not my observation, but that’s what they told me.

[Armybrat 40850]

No worries. I swamped out a 7/11 store while employed there for a couple of weeks back in the day, and my grandson worked as a Walmart janitor the first semester he attended college.

[BrazilHorn 6611]

AISD hoping to do the double play of push a lot of folks to private school by closing neighborhood schools while at same time raising property taxes. 
It’s an Adler win win

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

Are school districts going out of business?

[Sgt Hulk 13768]

we have basically an entire section  here in my area that half the businesses have signs up thanking everyone but they are gone for good.   1 burger joint just opened a month ago, it still has the sign up on the building " Now Open"  with a sign on the door saying due to economic conditions this site is permanently closed and will not be re-opening  

[Deej 76814]

I've noticed more than a few places with "Coming Soon" signs that have "For Lease" signs in the windows, now. 

[Ollie Slatt 289]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

 

I live central and we, like everyone around us, like our neighborhood schools. We don’t want giant suburban style schools. We like that we can walk to both our elementary and middle schools. We like that all 3 campuses are relatively small. We have about 100 per
grade in elementary, 400 in middle, and 400 in HS. All our schools have a great sense of community and are really part or our neighborhood. The idea of having giant regional schools make me sick.

 

Are central Austin schools the ones being considered for consolidation? Most of them seem to already be over capacity and have large numbers of portables.    But there are likely parts of the east side where hipsters and dinks have moved in and caused student populations to go down.  AISD plans to consolidate those schools probably make sense, but I can see why people in those areas don’t like it. 

[MrBig 5414]

43 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

No worries. I swamped out a 7/11 store while employed there for a couple of weeks back in the day, and my grandson worked as a Walmart janitor the first semester he attended college.

You could have sugar coated it and said “custodial engineer” instead of custodian or janitor, but you know how people react to things like that. My fondest memories in school was shooting the shit with the custodian during the lunch hour. He was 86 and worked there when my Dad, Uncles & Grandfather were students. He was a good man and deserved respect, no matter what color or race he was. These type of staffers don’t get the recognition they deserve. 

 

[LTtxfan 49226]

55 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

AISD hoping to do the double play of push a lot of folks to private school by closing neighborhood schools while at same time raising property taxes. 
It’s an Adler win win

FUCK ADLER...

[Armybrat 40850]

44 minutes ago, Deej said:

I've noticed more than a few places with "Coming Soon" signs that have "For Lease" signs in the windows, now. 

Sounds like RayDog’s harem of lady friends.

[Texas Jeff 1945]

11 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Not sure where you are getting your info. We are closing Metz, Brooke, Pease, and Sims. 

I was referring to the original plan, which was much more of a re-org.  I think maybe 12 schools were involved but I can't remember.  There was push back and the list was cut down to just four schools.  There was a lot of push back against that change.  It is really hard to close a school.

BTW, I totally support the modernization efforts and I will vote for bonds to support improving Austin ISD schools.  They need a lot of work and in many cases, a do-over.  There is an issue of under enrolled schools and a lack of efficiency in keeping a building open with low enrollment, especially when it is old and expensive to maintain.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

4 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

AISD hoping to do the double play of push a lot of folks to private school by closing neighborhood schools while at same time raising property taxes. 
It’s an Adler win win

Not really sure where to begin because this is all wrong.

That would fuck Austin isd even more since revenue is tied to students. Losing students is a big part of the current problem.

The vast majority of students at the schools that are closing are poor. They aren’t going to private schools but charters are competition.

AISD isn’t raising your property taxes and has no current bond plans. If we ever decide to do a bond, it won’t have anything to do with Adler.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

1 minute ago, Texas Jeff said:

I was referring to the original plan, which was much more of a re-org.  I think maybe 12 schools were involved but I can't remember.  There was push back and the list was cut down to just four schools.  There was a lot of push back against that change.  It is really hard to close a school.

BTW, I totally support the modernization efforts and I will vote for bonds to support improving Austin ISD schools.  They need a lot of work and in many cases, a do-over.  There is an issue of under enrolled schools and a lack of efficiency in keeping a building open with low enrollment, especially when it is old and expensive to maintain.

Completely agree with you here. Full, efficient schools that are modernized, is the best path. Many schools can be closed and the students can stay nearby. Less than half a mile in many cases so you really aren’t losing the idea of neighborhood schools. The average school in my vertical team is over 60 years old and needs quite a bit of work.

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

4 hours ago, Ollie Slatt said:

Are central Austin schools the ones being considered for consolidation? Most of them seem to already be over capacity and have large numbers of portables.    But there are likely parts of the east side where hipsters and dinks have moved in and caused student populations to go down.  AISD plans to consolidate those schools probably make sense, but I can see why people in those areas don’t like it. 

With four closing next year, I doubt anything else happens for a while. We will be getting a new superintendent in the next couple of months. Doubt he/she is going to come in and close schools burning all that political capital. It’s a move you make on the way out like cruz did.

[CooterBrown 18014]

AISD should just lower their tax rate to just hit the ceiling before recapture starts. Fuck those poor schools and let the legislature pick up the pieces.

[BrazilHorn 6611]

48 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Not really sure where to begin because this is all wrong.

That would fuck Austin isd even more since revenue is tied to students. Losing students is a big part of the current problem.

The vast majority of students at the schools that are closing are poor. They aren’t going to private schools but charters are competition.

AISD isn’t raising your property taxes and has no current bond plans. If we ever decide to do a bond, it won’t have anything to do with Adler.

. I was going off posts above stating that schools were being consolidated etc. Not sure where the kids at schools being consolidated end up as class sizes are already getting nutty.

The property tax values in Central Austin compared to the physical quality of the schools is a joke. If the PTA's of Casis, Bryker etc didn't pay for art, music, science etc teachers they wouldn't exist. No idea how Robin Hood can make it to where PTAs have to fund all of these teacher's salaries.

Edited May 18, 2020 by BrazilHorn

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

10 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

. I was going off posts above stating that schools were being consolidated etc. Not sure where the kids at schools being consolidated end up as class sizes are already getting nutty.

The property tax values in Central Austin compared to the physical quality of the schools is a joke. If the PTA's of Casis, Bryker etc didn't pay for art, music, science etc teachers they wouldn't exist. No idea how Robin Hood can make it to where PTAs have to fund all of these teacher's salaries.

They end up at nearby schools that are also half full. Class sizes won’t changes too much. Where you save money is only maintaining one building, and going from 2 to 1 on principal, assistant principal, art teacher, music teacher, pe teacher, librarian, etc. 

I work at a school near those you mentioned where the pta funds multiple teaching positions that helps the school function. Robin Hood is a joke. There are schools on the border building water parks with our money while our schools fall apart and our businesses are taxed out of existence.

[LTtxfan 49226]

17 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

They end up at nearby schools that are also half full. Class sizes won’t changes too much. Where you save money is only maintaining one building, and going from 2 to 1 on principal, assistant principal, art teacher, music teacher, pe teacher, librarian, etc. 

I work at a school near those you mentioned where the pta funds multiple teaching positions that helps the school function. Robin Hood is a joke. There are schools on the border building water parks with our money while our schools fall apart and our businesses are taxed out of existence.

The Superintendent (Cruz) that is leaving AISD is a joke.  Lots of teachers left or retired because of his bullshit tactics.  He left AISD to save his ass and I'm pissed that UT hired that clown!!

Quote:  Cruz, who in 2018 earned a base salary of $310,958, took the helm in January 2015 after short-circuiting the district’s national search for a new superintendent. At the time, he was interim superintendent and was not to be considered for the permanent position. However, at the last minute, the board added him to the list of finalists, causing the other two contenders to drop out and making Cruz the shoo-in. He was named to the post shortly after.

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by LTtxfan

[Austinvines 318]

AISD should just lower their tax rate to just hit the ceiling before recapture starts. Fuck those poor schools and let the legislature pick up the pieces.

It doesn’t work that way. The state wants to cut funding for education and the way it does that is to take more and more money from property wealthy districts from the taxpayers in those districts. For the state to equitably fund school districts, it would have to increase other taxes, which is a no go.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

All of this school talk is fascinating.

 

[StruggleBus 3922]

5 minutes ago, Grade of D as in David said:

All of this school talk is fascinating.

 

About as fascinating as sticking my dick in a blender 

[Texas Jeff 1945]

2 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

Not sure where the kids at schools being consolidated end up as class sizes are already getting nutty.

Some elementary schools in Austin are around 200 kids in a school built for maybe 600.  For example, on the east side you have Sanchez (268 kids) and Metz (212 kids) being combined.  Right now all of the kids are at Metz while they build a new Sanchez Elementary from the ground up.  Sanchez and Metz are about seven blocks apart.  After they build the new school, all of the kids will end up at Sanchez with room to spare.  Metz will close, saving maintenance cost on the building.  Zavala Elementary, which is four blocks from Metz, will remain open.

Class sizes K-4 are limited to 22 or fewer kids, so class sizes will not go up until the 5th grade.

[Armybrat 40850]

9 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

They end up at nearby schools that are also half full. Class sizes won’t changes too much. Where you save money is only maintaining one building, and going from 2 to 1 on principal, assistant principal, art teacher, music teacher, pe teacher, librarian, etc. 

I work at a school near those you mentioned where the pta funds multiple teaching positions that helps the school function. Robin Hood is a joke. There are schools on the border building water parks with our money while our schools fall apart and our businesses are taxed out of existence.

I recall when Robin Hood first started, one high school school in the Hill Country renovated their football stadium with their windfall cash.

[HenryJames 66082]

8 hours ago, StruggleBus said:

About as fascinating as sticking my dick in a blender 

Why would you do that?

[Armybrat 40850]

Negged? Really? Lol

Save it for the wastrels.

[MAUFRAIS 6629]

You could have sugar coated it and said “custodial engineer” instead of custodian or janitor, but you know how people react to things like that. My fondest memories in school was shooting the shit with the custodian during the lunch hour. He was 86 and worked there when my Dad, Uncles & Grandfather were students. He was a good man and deserved respect, no matter what color or race he was. These type of staffers don’t get the recognition they deserve. 
 

I was quoting Half Baked.

[Guest Lobo]

"Because Andrew here is very interested in pursuing a career in the 'Custodial Arts'."  

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

2 hours ago, MAUFRAIS said:

 

I was quoting Half Baked.

 

Thanks scientist. 

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

3 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Negged? Really? Lol

Save it for the wastrels.

Take the school talk to another thread