Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide

CRedskinsRule · 06-09-2010, 03:28 PM

twitter report

Larry Weisman LarryWeisman

Disney closing ESPN Zone restaurants nation-wide, including DC and Baltimore. Citing bad economy. 12 minutes ago via TweetDeck

saden1 · 06-09-2010, 03:50 PM

No big loss for sports fans especially if there's a Buffalo Wild Wings near you...man, that place is paradise.

MTK · 06-09-2010, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saden1

No big loss for sports fans especially if there's a Buffalo Wild Wings near you...man, that place is paradise.

So are the wings there legit?

We've got one opening in my area this summer.

SmootSmack · 06-09-2010, 03:54 PM

Closing June 16 in DC and Baltimore for those wondering

BWW wings are redonkulous!

saden1 · 06-09-2010, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattyk

So are the wings there legit?

We've got one opening in my area this summer.

If bones were edible I would.

We don't have one in Seattle area yet but apparently getting a franchise open is super hard.

mredskins · 06-09-2010, 04:08 PM

Damn where will I buy stadium price beers at a non-stadium now! Huge loss!

BDBohnzie · 06-09-2010, 04:28 PM

BWW is awesome. They may not beat your best local place's wing, but they are a good wing. 15 flavors to choose from (my fave: Mango Habanero), and Wing Specials weekly. Plus I think the closest one to me has at least 20 beers on tap, plus coolers full of bottles. Aside from the wings, think sports bar fried foods for the most part, but I haven't had anything there I didn't like.

As far as the Zones closing, I haven't been to a Zone in at least 5 years, so no big loss. What will be interesting in Baltimore and DC is to see what will take over their respective spaces.

firstdown · 06-09-2010, 04:32 PM

I like how they blame the bad economy and not their bad food and prices. If it was the economy then how come other chain stores are not closing their doors? A bad economy just weeds out the bad places faster.

BDBohnzie · 06-09-2010, 04:37 PM

I would imagine the overhead to run those places is astronomical, between the restaurant, bar and game rooms, and the people to staff those areas. If they were any one of those 3, they'd be fine. Combining all 3 under one roof is much harder to maintain in a weaken economy.

SmootSmack · 06-09-2010, 04:50 PM

This has been developing for a while. The Atlanta and Denver Zones were closed last year to less fanfare. The economy definitely hurts, it's hurting the restaurant business overall as fewer people are opting for sit-down eat-out restaurants. And leasing the space in some of these markets (such as NYC) is an astronomical hit. Plus the novelty has really worn off, especially as more and more households have their own home theater systems to watch sports.

firstdown · 06-09-2010, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

This has been developing for a while. The Atlanta and Denver Zones were closed last year to less fanfare. The economy definitely hurts, it's hurting the restaurant business overall as fewer people are opting for sit-down eat-out restaurants. And leasing the space in some of these markets (such as NYC) is an astronomical hit. Plus the novelty has really worn off, especially as more and more households have their own home theater systems to watch sports.

All I know if I go by our local mall area with all the restaurants the parking lots are full. I know the economy hurts some but you could never tell by their parking lots. I'm talking chain rest. and localy owned places. Last Thursday night we went out to a restaurant and the place was packed from the time we entered to the time we left. I'm talking about a rest. that you cannot get out of for anything less then $100 and we dropped $200 that night. It would be intresting to hear what SS33 can add sense he is in the business.

tryfuhl · 06-09-2010, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saden1

If bones were edible I would.

We don't have one in Seattle area yet but apparently getting a franchise open is super hard.

I have a friend that bites through the bone and sucks out some of the marrow. I do it on occasion.

tryfuhl · 06-09-2010, 05:17 PM

I went to ESPN Zone once and found no reason to return. It reminded me of TGI Fridays but with bathroom TVs. Talking about the one in NYC.

firstdown · 06-09-2010, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

I have a friend that bites through the bone and sucks out some of the marrow. I do it on occasion.

I would not go around telling people that you will sometimes suck a bone.

TheMalcolmConnection · 06-09-2010, 05:36 PM

I LOVE Buffalo Wild Wings. Basically it's like your favorite home-town dive sports bar but it's a chain. Daily drink specials, video trivia, contests, pretty good wings and I do love me some Asian Zing and Mango Habanero, my two favorites. Especially in college towns, the beer and liquor specials are insane. When my wife was working at Virginia Tech we got to know the bartenders at the Blacksburg BWW and they always gave us some swag when we watched VT or Redskins games. GREAT bar and restaurant.

06-09-2010, 03:28 PM	#1
CRedskinsRule Living Legend Join Date: Aug 2008 Age: 58 Posts: 21,698	Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide twitter report Larry Weisman LarryWeisman Disney closing ESPN Zone restaurants nation-wide, including DC and Baltimore. Citing bad economy. 12 minutes ago via TweetDeck

06-09-2010, 03:50 PM	#2
saden1 MVP Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Seattle Age: 46 Posts: 10,069	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide No big loss for sports fans especially if there's a Buffalo Wild Wings near you...man, that place is paradise. __________________ "The Redskins have always suffered from chronic organizational deformities under Snyder." -Jenkins

06-09-2010, 03:54 PM	#4
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide Closing June 16 in DC and Baltimore for those wondering BWW wings are redonkulous! __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

06-09-2010, 04:08 PM	#6
mredskins Gamebreaker Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 13,007	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide Damn where will I buy stadium price beers at a non-stadium now! Huge loss! __________________ When life gives you paper jams, turn them into paper footballs!

06-09-2010, 04:28 PM	#7
BDBohnzie Playmaker Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Frederick, MD Age: 46 Posts: 4,628	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide BWW is awesome. They may not beat your best local place's wing, but they are a good wing. 15 flavors to choose from (my fave: Mango Habanero), and Wing Specials weekly. Plus I think the closest one to me has at least 20 beers on tap, plus coolers full of bottles. Aside from the wings, think sports bar fried foods for the most part, but I haven't had anything there I didn't like. As far as the Zones closing, I haven't been to a Zone in at least 5 years, so no big loss. What will be interesting in Baltimore and DC is to see what will take over their respective spaces. __________________ Bad Things man, I mean bad things... “WE TOOK HIM IN THE SIXTH ROUND SO WE'RE NOT SMART EITHER.” - Shanny on what the Skins saw in Alfred Morris

06-09-2010, 04:32 PM	#8
firstdown Living Legend Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: chesapeake, va Age: 61 Posts: 15,817	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide I like how they blame the bad economy and not their bad food and prices. If it was the economy then how come other chain stores are not closing their doors? A bad economy just weeds out the bad places faster.

06-09-2010, 04:37 PM	#9
BDBohnzie Playmaker Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Frederick, MD Age: 46 Posts: 4,628	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide I would imagine the overhead to run those places is astronomical, between the restaurant, bar and game rooms, and the people to staff those areas. If they were any one of those 3, they'd be fine. Combining all 3 under one roof is much harder to maintain in a weaken economy. __________________ Bad Things man, I mean bad things... “WE TOOK HIM IN THE SIXTH ROUND SO WE'RE NOT SMART EITHER.” - Shanny on what the Skins saw in Alfred Morris

06-09-2010, 04:50 PM	#10
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide This has been developing for a while. The Atlanta and Denver Zones were closed last year to less fanfare. The economy definitely hurts, it's hurting the restaurant business overall as fewer people are opting for sit-down eat-out restaurants. And leasing the space in some of these markets (such as NYC) is an astronomical hit. Plus the novelty has really worn off, especially as more and more households have their own home theater systems to watch sports. __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

06-09-2010, 05:17 PM	#13
tryfuhl Gamebreaker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Waldorf, MD Age: 42 Posts: 12,514	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide I went to ESPN Zone once and found no reason to return. It reminded me of TGI Fridays but with bathroom TVs. Talking about the one in NYC.

06-09-2010, 05:36 PM	#15
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,264	Re: Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide I LOVE Buffalo Wild Wings. Basically it's like your favorite home-town dive sports bar but it's a chain. Daily drink specials, video trivia, contests, pretty good wings and I do love me some Asian Zing and Mango Habanero, my two favorites. Especially in college towns, the beer and liquor specials are insane. When my wife was working at Virginia Tech we got to know the bartenders at the Blacksburg BWW and they always gave us some swag when we watched VT or Redskins games. GREAT bar and restaurant. __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

Disney closing ESPN Zones nationwide

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