Papa Roux Closing

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  • Hammer

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Jan 24, 2009
    1,523
    38
    On the lake
    For those members that remember Art at Papa Roux had a armed robbery and he extended a discount to everyone with a LTCH. He was talked about for a few years here and now he is closing up shop on October 13th and actually got national attention for his kind gesture in hiring a kid that was walking to a job interview. He has had a run of bad luck with the city of Indianapolis and building owners that make it not worth fighting and keeping the place going. If you are around 10th and post in the next few weeks, drop in and get one of the last poboys to be made at the Roux.

    http://papa.roux.online/Closing_Remarks.pdf

    EVERY NEW BEGINNING COMES FROM SOME OTHER BEGINNING’S END


    So here’s the thing: Saturday dinners aren’t coming back.
    I know it’s probably not what you want to hear. Heck, I don’t want to have to admit it myself, but there’s absolutely no way to bring back Saturday dinners. We tried. We reallytried. But it’s not meant to be.
    And more than that, Saturday lunches will be going away after Saturday October 13. We don’t have a good way to keep those going either, I’m afraid.
    And I would say to get your butt in on Friday for lunch or dinner, but... I’m afraid that won’t be possible either after October 13.
    Oh and we won’t have a dining room after October 13. There’s no way around it. No more dine-in table service.
    But hey, we started in 2007 with no dining room, so it’s just kind of come full circle if you think about it. We’re back where we started.
    So... no more dine in, and no Fridays or Saturdays after October 13. We would love to see you on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays!
    Except... that won’t be possible, either.
    WHY THIS IS HAPPENING TO US, AND TO YOU
    Everything takes its toll eventually. You may remember we asked the universe for a sign about a month ago, and then 30 minutes later we pulled up to find the sidewalk got itself all stolen.
    And then came the issues with Code Enforcement and the problems and costs to comply. And compliance meant the return of the problems with super giant windows in the dining room, causing our guests to fight with the elements again. Nobody likes to be uncomfortable while dining. And yet the signs we asked for STILL kept coming. Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.
    Employees who quit but tell their corrections officer that they were fired, and then show up and call the police. Bread deliveries that don’t arrive on time. Brand new point of sale system “upgrades” being forced upon us but introducing major bugs and costing us considerable lost time and money.
    Our primary vendor being out of progressively more and more of the products that we need to operate. And our onlyrealistic option for dry beans notified us over a month ago that they will no longer carry the beans we’ve been purchasing since we opened in 2007. Then the repeated major equipment failures with repair costs of multiple thousands of dollars.




    Repeated full day closures from everything from not enough available staff to not enough available product. Increased taxes and fees just to operate. We even started having to pay out of pocket for fire inspections, even with the increased taxes and fees. It certainly feels like the town is suddenly hostile to small business in every possible way.
    Eventually we needed to admit that we were ignoring the very signs we asked for.
    Mama and I tried to weather it all, we really did. We banded together, three years post-divorce, to try to help each other keep going. In the end, a single straw broke the proverbial camel’s back. A few days ago, when the final blow hit, I called Mama and told her I had a plan to make it still work, a way to stay in the ring and keep fighting. Mama said she was tired and going to bed early. Mama doesn’t go to bed early, so I knew something was very very wrong.
    I called her back two minutes later and told her I was actually too tired to keep fighting. The landscape in this town has changed drastically over the past eleven years. With that, plus a run of bad luck and bad circumstances, Mama and I have admitted that it’s finally time. We simply don’t have the energy to keep going. Saturday October 13 will be our final day of operation.
    WHAT WE’RE ALL FEELING TONIGHT
    We love you, Indy. We really do. All of you. You are all so near and dear to us, it’s going to hurt to not see you all every day. Some of you literally every day.
    The biggest going away present you could possibly give us is a record-breaking final two weeks. We have a very short time to see every face one last time, and your visits will be the thing that keeps us going in this weird and emotionally draining time.
    Come say goodbye to me, come say goodbye to The Roux Croux. Come say goodbye to your favorite Po-Boy.
    More than anything, say goodbye to Mama Roux (you always liked her better anyway lol). Truth is, I’m worried for Mama. I’ve asked you to support her emotionally, but couldn’t say why. Now, you know why. Reach out to her and let her know how much you’ll miss her. Get in and see her. Shout to her if she’s on stove. Hug her when she’s in the dining room. Mama’s a hugger. She’ll love it.
    I remember our first day. I remember unlocking the door and turning on an OPENsign. I remember our first customer. I remember being shell shocked. And I remember locking the door at the end of the day, going home for the first time, and falling apart in tears the way people do when a wedding they’ve planned for months is finally over. I cried like a baby, but they were good tears.
    Now, it’s impossible to not cry as we think about Saturday October 13. Unlocking the door for the last time. Serving the last customer. Saying goodbye to the last customer, locking the door, saying goodbye to our employees as we all cry and sing kumbaya. In my mind, the final minutes will look like the ending of Cheers.




    WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
    Each time an independent closes, I say the same thing: this stuff ruins lives. Nobody believes it when they start down this path, but closing can ruin everything. People lose houses. People lose any hope of recouping the life savings invested to open.
    Closing the business is expensive. For us, closing is actually more expensive than operating. Not only has Mama already lost the life savings, but The Roux has substantial business loans that still need to be paid back -- loans that fall squarely on Mama once the business closes. She didn’t ask for this, but it’s how it will play out.
    I’m trying to look out for Mama as best I can, but the truth is it’s going to be a tough time for both of us. She could very well lose the house. My children live there and so does she. She’s been looking for employment for a while now, but it’s difficult when it needs to be done in secret. At least now she can look more openly. I’ll be asking for your help with that; you’ve all got connections we don’t have, and she needs to move quickly to find new employment if she’s to not become homeless.
    WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
    For now, we ask for your understanding, for your compassion, and for your farewell visits as often as you can in our final two weeks. Even if it helps with only the tip of the iceberg she’s about to run into, knocking the tip off may be enough to not sink her. She’s the mother of my children. I love her, and I’ll walk through hellfire to help her and protect her during this time.
    There’s no way Mama would ever tell you these things, which is why I’m doing it for her instead. You know how she is. Stubborn. You know... Irish to the end. Insert smiley face.
    IT’S BEEN REAL. IT’S BEEN FUN. AND IN THIS CASE, IT HASBEEN REAL FUN.It’s been a good run. And a long one.
    We’ve enjoyed it, even when we hated it. We’ve laughed even while crying. And we’ve watched you laugh with us and cry with us, and what we want more than anything right now is for you to love us as we love you, while we close the final chapter in a very surreal book. Two weeks from now Mama and I don’t start a new chapter; we each begin entirely new books.
    Thanks for the memories. I’m so glad we had this time together. Say goodnight, Gracie.



     

    jsharmon7

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    119   0   0
    Nov 24, 2008
    7,822
    113
    Freedonia
    I used to love that place and would take people there to show it off. Then it started going downhill. The food changed, the service changed, and none of it was for the better. The last few times I was on that side of town, I didn’t even bother to stop in.
     

    Mounty09

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    18   0   0
    Dec 12, 2010
    839
    63
    Noblesville
    One of my go to places when I'm down on that side of town. Yeah I've had bad service but I've always dealt with is as I see the staff working their butts off. The food changed a couple of times but always wanted to go back for more. Sad to see a a small local place like this go under. My wife and I were there Friday and I'm sure we will be back a couple more times before they close.
     

    two70

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    19   0   0
    Feb 5, 2016
    3,725
    113
    Johnson
    I used to love that place and would take people there to show it off. Then it started going downhill. The food changed, the service changed, and none of it was for the better. The last few times I was on that side of town, I didn’t even bother to stop in.

    This. The last time I went it took over an hour to get my order and the food wasn't nearly as good as it had been.
     

    CampingJosh

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    18   0   0
    Dec 16, 2010
    3,298
    99
    management or ownership? I can’t tell. Is papa out of the picture?

    I believe that they divorced. I was in there the last day they were open, and Papa shared that he was moving on to become the head of food for a healthcare facility of some kind (IIRC, of course).
     
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