Damon’s Owner Files for Bankruptcy

By: Walker

15 Comments

• 

  osulew October 28, 2009 7:12 pm

  Yeck. Damon’s is supergross.
  That’s the place that had that disgusting onion loaf wasn’t it.
  Gag.
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  von October 28, 2009 8:02 pm

  i heard the one in Westerville and Delaware (not sure about the latter) was going to close.  that’s too bad, i worked there right out of college for about a year.  i’ll be crossing my fingers for the employees…
• 

  joev October 28, 2009 8:57 pm

  I thought they were all already closed up. Huh.
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  reelfreak October 28, 2009 9:17 pm

  Damon’s ribs were the best in town, and the sweet potato casserole was awesome! Unfortunately, I hadn’t been in any location within the last five years where I felt the establishment was clean or very well managed. Still, it always makes me a little sad to see a place close up; jobs lost and another empty storefront.
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  mstimple October 29, 2009 10:06 am

  It’s a shame their food wasn’t better.  I still cant find a place anywhere that is set up better for sports watching – all the tables had great sight lines to the multiple big projection screens and every table had it’s own speaker so you could hear the game you wanted and not the one that was being pumped over the p.a. system.
• 

  lizless October 29, 2009 7:04 pm

  Wow, what a week. Both Damon’s and Max & Erma’s are Columbus institutions, I’m so sorry to hear this news.
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  DavidF October 29, 2009 7:28 pm

  What’s your evil agenda this time Ms. Lessner?  I know your post seems innocuous, but I’ve been alerted to your devious ways!

  edit: Okay, just jerking your chain, but after the ridiculous accusation in the other thread, I couldn’t help myself. I for one, really appreciate your involvement on this board.
• 

  ZHC October 29, 2009 8:14 pm

  figured this was coming since it was basically implied in the other article.

  Well hope they are able to restructure their debt so everyone wins.
• 

  lizless October 30, 2009 11:39 am

  @DavidF…ha ha ha

  I’ve been thinking about both places a lot this week. I haven’t eaten at Max & Erma’s or Damons for many years, we cook at home most nights and try to patronize our friends’ places on the times we do go out, those restaurants tend to be local independents.

  I guess the moral of these closings is to remember to patronize your favorite spots, even the institutions, they might not be around forever. If you love them, make them a habit. While I wasn’t a regular of either place, I am sorry to see them struggling, they were both Columbus institutions and have done a lot of great things in Columbus communities and for our restaurant scene. Many of their former leaders still actively volunteer their time to CORA.

  Frank Simonetti (Damon’s) is on the CORA Board and heads up our annual charity bowling tournament. Bonnie Brannigan, Max & Erma’s former Marketing Director devotes many hours to the CORA Board and community. A lot of talent and kindness has come from these places.
• 

  DavidF October 30, 2009 1:20 pm

  I agree entirely. I used to patronize both frequently, and they just lost me after a while. It’s a valuable lesson for independents that are trying to build a brand. Too big, too fast + losing sight of the vision that made you unique in the first place = decline and failure. I’ve seen it happen again and again.

  I think Cameron Mitchell has done it right so far. Like his places or not, I think he has built a good brand and has good control over his growth.

  Liz, I see tons of potential for you and I just hope you never lose sight of the reasons you started this to begin with. As long as the love of the food and the people is foremost, I don’t think you can stumble too badly.  It seems that once quarterly returns and franchise growth become the driving factors, quality and vision inevitably suffer.

  Max and Erma’s and Damons were both once proud local operations. I think the brands still have a lot of value. With a little vision and hard work, I think they can recover.
• 

  lizless October 30, 2009 6:52 pm

  Thanks, DavidF, that’s really nice.

  Restaurateurs are always being recruited, particularly to shopping centers and the suburbs. Every developer is looking for restaurant tenants (especially coffee shops) to lure more businesses into their strip centers.  Attractive lease offers and other incentives can make it seem like a good move to a lot of restaurant chains that are growing.

  I don’t think I’d have much success outside the center city and that’s ok by me.
• 

  Mozzroxx October 31, 2009 12:09 pm

  I got horrible food and worse service the couple times I unfortunately ate here. Good riddance…guess all the the jock douchebags will have to go someplace else to be loud and annoying.
• 

  Walker November 2, 2009 8:02 pm

  Historical Max & Erma’s Closes
  Monday,  November 2, 2009 3:41 PM

  An historic Max & Erma’s restaurant has closed just one week after the company announced it is filing for bankruptcy.

  10TV News has learned that the Brice Road location closed unexpectedly Monday.

  READ MORE
• 

  DavidF November 3, 2009 9:02 am

  Wow. Part of my childhood just died.
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  david3756 November 17, 2009 9:33 am

  Dispatch today, 3 more local Damon’s closed, any left open in the area?