+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Wall to wall - Ladyfisher - July 04,2011

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Bothell, WA, USA
    Posts
    2,122
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Wall to wall - Ladyfisher - July 04,2011

    WALL TO WALL

    Our second night on the road returning to Montana from spending the winter in Tucson Arizona put us in Idaho Falls, ID. We knew there was a fly tying show going on there and that some of our FAOL folks were involved with the show, but we just weren't able to be there when the folks were tying - only missed it by a couple of hours.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Woodland, CA USA
    Posts
    1,513

    Default

    "In Tucson, where we spent the winter, the two largest, very fancy expensive hotels have filed for bankruptcy. The newspaper said they probably won't actually be foreclosed because "too much money is involved." So a negotiated settlement will be made with 'new' owners and the beat goes on. The small business up the street isn't so fortunate, he does close, people lose jobs and the people holding the paper foreclose."

    AHHH. Good old, "Too Big To Fail". That one ranks right up there with the "Let Us Renegotiate the Mortgage We Never Should Have Purchased Because We Couldn't Afford It". Sometimes I wonder what happened to Capitalism and the Free Market, where failure makes the market stronger.
    ‎"Trust, but verify" - Russian Proverb, as used by Ronald Reagan

  3. #3

    Default

    I think it is called GREED. We sure have seen a ton of examples the last couple of years, unfortunately we all pay for it in the end.

  4. Default

    It is no different up here in BC. I'm glad I wasn't raised that way.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho
    Posts
    1,145

    Default

    On the banks of the Snake River, next to the Broadway bridge in Idaho Falls, stands a monstrous impressive edifice, about 3/4 completed. They ran out of funding most of the way through, and it stands there waiting for investors to complete, without ever having housed a guest. The area along the river to the south of this building is so overbuilt, that I shudder to think what will happen to it if the economy doesn't bounce. These buildings are all beautiful, and expensive, and desireable to tenants, but I doubt they are sustainable in the present economy. As for Smitty's Pancake House, it has been a staple of the area for many years. The problem is that most of the building in the town is taking place on the east side rather than the west, which is declining somewhat. Besides that, there are more eating establishments in this town than you could frequent in a year, never eating in the same place twice. Maybe two years. Competiton is steep. Hope some relief to the economy comes soon, and that elected officials have more intelligence than tree stumps.
    They're just fish, right? Right?

  6. Default In a perfect world...

    Nobody wants Smitty's to go out of business, but they must have gotten complacent during the good years and didn't reinvest enough and adapt to the changing economy. Sorry, but it's tough-love right now. Having experience on the banking and investing side of real estate & hospitalities, I can say that most people don't want to stay in old run-down hotels. Idaho Falls is a growing city and the new hotels satisfied a demand and are perfoming much better than other areas hit harder by the recession (i.e. AZ). It bugs me when people draw incorrect conclusions from uneducated theories and point fingers without offering a better solution. It's easy to call the investor who buys a distressed note or REO from a bank evil, but what is the alternative? The borrower signed up for the responsibity to service it's debt. Selling a non-performing asset is the best option a bank has. Don't blame your local bank and investors for the problem that INVESTMENT banks and SUBPRIME lenders and irresponsible borrowers put us in. The unfinished hotel in Idaho Falls had issues unrelated to that particular project and had offers to help complete it, but out of pride refused.
    Sorry about the rant.
    The fly tying expo was great again this year. It's always a great chance to share knowledge and support local vendors.
    By the way, a DVD of the featured tyers is available at Jimmy's Fly All Season Angler in downtown Idaho Falls. There are some very well recognized tyers with a good mix of old and new flies.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    NE Gwinnett Co., GA
    Posts
    5,933

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Lew View Post
    As for Smitty's Pancake House, it has been a staple of the area for many years. The problem is that most of the building in the town is taking place on the east side rather than the west, which is declining somewhat. Besides that, there are more eating establishments in this town than you could frequent in a year, never eating in the same place twice. Maybe two years. Competiton is steep. Hope some relief to the economy comes soon, and that elected officials have more intelligence than tree stumps.
    I hope Smitty's is able to continue to survive profitably but they sound like a phemenom I have seen in Memphis, New Orleans, Atlanta, Tupelo, demographic shift over years. What was the place to go becomes the places you go only when necessary. Hotels and restaurants that survive off the transit suffer greatly, those that make their living off local trade tend to survive. Maybe the younger generation will open Smitty's II in the area of the new hotels once the "Recovery" is complete.

    I have worked with hotels for the last 25 years. There is never just enough hotels. There are either not quite enough or too many. The owners set up each hotel as a separate corporation, if they get into financial trouble where they have to file bankruptcy, they basically rework the financing and most people never know anything happened. They have to pay their suppliers because the continue to consume the supplies which must be replenished, probably the people who suffer the most are staff who don't get any pay increases or bonuses for several years.
    Want to hear God laugh? Tell him Your plans!!!

+ Reply to Thread

Similar Threads

  1. DOG GONE - Ladyfisher - July 18, 2011
    By rtidd in forum Readers Voice
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-18-2011, 06:21 PM
  2. GOING AROUND AGAIN - Ladyfisher - July 26, 2010
    By rtidd in forum Readers Voice
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 08-02-2010, 01:02 PM
  3. A CHALLENGE COURSE? - Ladyfisher - July 19, 2010
    By rtidd in forum Readers Voice
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-29-2010, 06:05 PM
  4. MEMORIES? - Ladyfisher - July 5, 2010
    By rtidd in forum Readers Voice
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-05-2010, 03:27 AM
  5. Nothing Like Family - Ladyfisher - July 13, 2009
    By rtidd in forum Readers Voice
    Replies: 52
    Last Post: 07-20-2009, 04:09 AM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts