Northeast Fla.: How Bad Is It?

Robert Sabo Jr. [Photo: Kelly LaDuke]

Restaurants — Out of Business

“My dad and mom started Sabo’s Pizza in 1982. We kept it going 26 years before I had to shut the doors. Business started declining in 2007. Even though we were popular, not as many people were going out to eat any more. Then the food costs went up tremendously. We got hit with increasing fuel costs on deliveries. Taxes up, insurance up, workman’s comp up — it was over $5 a plate before the food ever hit the plate. My propane costs alone went from $250 a week to $500 a week. ... We used every one of our available resources to stay open. I was waiting for the government to give me the bailout, but they didn’t seem to be coming my way. You hear those guys warning that businesses are going to fail? Hey, buddy, look around the country — businesses are already failing.”

— Robert Sabo Jr., owner, Sabo’s Italian-American Restaurant, Keystone Heights (closed in September)

Retail — ‘Pretty Bad’

“We were doing well all year until about July, and then it’s like we fell off a cliff. It’s pretty bad now, especially on the boat side, where we’re off tremendously. Last August, we sold a half-million dollars worth of boats. This August, we sold one boat for $19,000. I was just at our local boat show at the convention center, where we might normally sell 20 to 25 boats. We sold one. ... Motorcycles were good all year until about 60 days ago. We would have made out if we’d had small ones, but all the motorcycle dealers were out of small models. We could have sold hundreds and thousands of them. Motorcycles will come back. We just ordered more for next year. Models that I would have ordered 100 of if I could get them, the dealers allocated me one or two. But the boat business will be a much harder row to hoe. You’ve got both the credit crunch and the fuel costs. I would bet 50% of the boat dealers in Jacksonville will go away this winter. If I was a boat-only dealer, I might have shut down already.”

— Gary Purcell, owner, Purcell’s Motorcycle & Marine World, Jacksonville

Next page:
Charts on Gross Sales, Existing-Home Sales and Unemployment for the Northeast region

Tags: Northeast