Is J. Alexander's Next Restaurant Row Business to Close?

Details: Published on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 10:50; Written by Scott Joseph

Update 4/2/13: Yep. It was all true, even though the restaurant and its management had no comment right up until the end. And why did it close? Part of the reason may have had to do with its sky-high rent, which one of my sources said was more than $50,000 monthly. Also, this was the poorest performing J. Alexander's in the chain, which has locations in 13 states. With the myriad options of restaurants along the Sand Lake Road Restaurant Row corridor, J. Alex ultimately couldn't compete.

What will go in there next? I hope it's a good restaurant owned by someone who can negotiate a more favorable lease agreement.

Is J. Alexander’s closing?

It’s a good question. In fact, the people who work at the Sand Lake Road restaurant would like to know the answer, too.

“We’ve been hearing that for a couple of years,” one staffer told me when I called to find out. I was alerted by Flog regular Joe Sarrubbo, who had seen a note from a diner on J. Alexander’s Urbanspoon listing that the Restaurant Row eatery would close April 3. Repeated calls to the restaurant’s corporate office in Nashville have gone unreturned.

J. Alexander’s opened September of 2008 in the then-new Rialto strip that now also holds Ocean Prime and Bar Louie. My review in October of that year noted that J. Alexander’s was apparently another in a long line of restaurants that wanted to out-Houston Houston’s (which, at least locally, is now called Hillstone). And, as I noted, it came pretty darned close. There were several things I liked about J. Alexander’s, not the least of which was its very good and very affordable food. (It served -- serves? -- a wonderful prime rib for $21; at least that was the price a few years ago. The website doesn’t list a full menu or the prices of the food.)

So did -- or do -- a lot of other people. The person at the Orlando store with whom I spoke said that business has been steadily growing in the past 5 years. But even the regional manager, I was told, was being evasive about a closing when staffers (including, apparently, the restaurant’s general manager) asked about the rumors.

Timpano, another longtime Restaurant Row eatery, closed recently and will be razed to make way for an Eddie V.'s, a new Darden acquisition.

So, what have you heard? Is J. Alexander’s closing? Do you care? Leave a comment below.

Comments

0 #10 Debbie Churchill 2013-04-09 10:59

I ate there for the first (and what will now be the only) time last November. I had the steak burger and recall saying it was possibly the best burger I'd ever tasted. To be fair, that's by no means the first time I've made such a declaration and I'm confident in saying it won't be the last, but it was succulent and cooked perfectly medium rare as I'd requested (why is it that so many restaurants find that too difficult an order to fill?). The NYO (Not Your Ordinary) Mac 'n' Cheese lived up to its billing, too.

Disappointed of Gloucester

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-1 #9 SB 2013-04-03 16:26

Here is an article about Press 101...saw it was closed today, ironically enough, after reading this post!

http://www.theledger.com/article/20111103/NEWS/111109773

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0 #8 james 2013-04-02 15:06

sad, press 101 was the best place in dr.phillips

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0 #7 james 2013-04-02 15:03

Quoting Don Cuniff:

Press101 is closed with a leasing sign in the window.

Sad, that was the best place in that area.

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0 #6 james 2013-04-02 14:44

The problem there is the rent is insane, this is he not Manhattan. You cannot generate enough revenue vs. rental rates. I looked at Pizza Fusion, 10k a month*&^%, you cannot make a profit unless you are open 24 hrs, 7 days a week and have an amazing system of generating high profit items( coffee, pizza, beer, wine)that people line up for.

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-1 #5 Mike 2013-04-02 14:14

I liked JA--I ate there during Magical Dining and had a good experience. Unfortunately I think I only went back once because there are other places on Sand Lake that I liked just a little more.

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0 #4 Beth 2013-03-15 20:33

I so hope that is is not true! My husband and I have been patrons of J's for years and find the food to be excellent, consistent and fairly priced in a sea of over priced and mediocre fare restaurants on restaurant row. The service at j's is top rated and very friendly. Although this is a small chain, they make you feel like its a local restaurant and agree with Scott that this rivaled Houston's!

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0 #3 Ricky 2013-03-13 23:41

Restaurant row is experiencing quite the turnover lately, but I must say not all of it is unwarranted...c an't seem to see too many that stands out in a sea of chains...the independents seem to fare better

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0 #2 Don Cuniff 2013-03-13 17:05

Press101 is closed with a leasing sign in the window.

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0 #1 Local Yokel 2013-03-13 16:33

Never been there and strongly dislike restaurants that don't include prices on their online menus. They say, "Oh, that's because they may not be kept up to date." Hey, guys, it's your website; make them up to date. The real reason is, of course, the prices are probably too high. My only comment is I hope something good will go in there. P.S. I heard that Press 101 in that area has closed. True or not? Now that was a good restaurant. That one I care about.

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