The original Vinny T’s of Boston restaurant has closed its doors in Brookline near Cleveland Circle.
Vinny T’s of Boston has served its last plate of fettucine carbonara in Brookline.
The locally based chain has shuttered its original location at 1700 Beacon St. near Cleveland Circle, a neighborhood landmark for 15 years, after it failed to renew the lease. The action comes on the heels of the company’s closing of its locations in Manchester, Conn., and South Portland, Maine.
Maria Feicht, senior vice president of marketing for Northborough-based Bertucci’s, which owns Vinny T’s, did not return a call seeking comment. She told The Hartford Courant that the Manchester location closed “for unfortunate business reasons.” And she is quoted in The Brookline Tab as saying, “Unfortunately, our lease ran out.”
But the Brookline landlord, Charles Evangelakos, told Banker & Tradesman that Vinny T’s chose not to renew its 15-year lease set to expire in March. “Vinny’s had an option on the space for another five years, but they decided not to renew and shut down the store and a few others instead,” he said.
Vinny T’s is not the only establishment feeling the pinch of slumping sales. While fine-dining restaurants such as the Capital Grill and quick eateries including Panera Bread and Baja Fresh Mexican Grill are doing well, the casual dining segment is ailing.
“Middle-of-the-road restaurants such as Vinny’s, Applebee’s, Bennigan’s and Outback Steakhouse have been hammered,” said Charles Perkins, president of the Boston Restaurant Group, a commercial real estate brokerage. “The stock market is tanking, gas prices are through the roof and people don’t feel very confident now. Sales at the Outback, once the darling of the industry, have been flat for three years and same-store sales at Applebee’s are down.”
While Evangelakos declined to name prospective tenants for the Vinny’s spot, he said four restaurants have looked at the space with their construction crews. Three of the four possible tenants are local while the fourth is a chain, he said. Brokers say it is unlikely a chain would take the 4,000-square-foot space because it lacks parking and daytime crowds.
“There’s been quite a lot of interest, but a deal has not been signed yet,” said Evangelakos. “We’ve had four restaurateurs looking at it. It’s time for new blood, but I also want to make sure I pick the right tenant.”
The space next to Vinny T’s – also owned by Evangelakos – has been empty since last year, when Beacon Kosher ended a 16-year run following the death of its owner. Since then, the landlord has been unable to reach an agreement with another potential tenant who would continue to use the space as a kosher market.
“I was asked by the Hasidic community if we could keep a glatt kosher market,” said Evangelakos, referring to the type of kosher store that processes its products according to a strict standard of Jewish dietary law. “We were in negotiations with several, but none of them ever came to fruition.”
Instead, the 2,500-square-foot market will be divided. In its place, a 1,000-square foot gourmet shop that will feature prepared foods, as well as beer and wine, is expected to open later this year. The remaining 1,500-square-foot space is being made available, Evangelakos said.
‘Sheer Arrogance’
In 1993, Martin Bloom opened the first Vinny T’s of Boston, then called Vinny Testa’s, in Brookline. He paid $275,000 for the Beacon Street location that once housed Walter’s Restaurant, according to Perkins. Bloom invested $100,000 in the bistro, which would go on to earn $2 million annually. He eventually would build a nine-unit Vinny’s T’s chain before he sold it to Minneapolis-based Buca Inc. in 2002 for $18.5 million.
Buca, a publicly traded company that operates 93 Buca di Beppo restaurants in 25 states and the District of Columbia, believed the addition of Vinny’s to its portfolio gave the company an entrée into New England.
But Buca was unable to keep the local chain profitable, according to Bloom.
“If there’s a villain in this, it’s Buca,” he said. “They took a popular concept and, because of sheer arrogance and a failure to understand the Vinny’s brand, they made wholesale changes to a concept that had been very successful.”
Under Buca’s management, customers saw portion sizes dwindle, prices rise and from-scratch cooking replaced with frozen products, Bloom said
Buca has had other troubles. The Securities and Exchange Commission settled a lawsuit last year alleging that the company’s accounting practices violated securities laws. The firm said it paid a fine in connection with the settlement but did not admit any wrongdoing.
In 2006, Bertucci’s bought 11 Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants for $6.8 million. Bloom is convinced that if anyone can save Vinny T’s, it is Bertucci’s.
“The first rule when you buy a company, like the oath a doctor takes, is ‘do no harm,'” said Bloom. “It takes no time to lose money and a long time to make the money back that you lost. The customer is fickle; once the word hits the street that the game has changed, they will not be back.”
Still, Bloom said he is convinced that Bertucci’s can make Vinny T’s a success again.
“I see Bertucci’s as a white knight,” he noted. “Vinny’s will survive because Bertucci’s has financial resources that many people don’t. They have deep pockets and they’re smart.”
