BY EMILY LINCKE & LIZZY SPANGLER
Zooming in
What’s next
Business closures in 2023 The establishments listed below were identified through a Community Impact analysis of local businesses. This list is not comprehensive.
Despite the challenges, Ruiz said Cowboy Tacos and Burgers plans to expand into a new trailer with a larger kitchen and offer new menu options. “By having a big trailer, we will cut down on the wait times, hopefully by 50%,” Ruiz said. “And that’s another way we’re going to tackle the issues we’ve had this year. … One of the biggest reasons we may lose business is because we do take a while to make the food, being that it’s fresh.” In Montgomery, the Hodge Podge Lodge closed its restaurant at the end of 2023. Owner Jeff Angelo said food and labor costs were factors, and the business plans to focus on experiences by adding two more bed-and-breakfast rooms and special experiences like chef’s tables. “[The business is] going to actually become more profitable,” Angelo said. “We’ll do less rev- enue, but we’ll become more profitable because we’re only purchasing talent, which is labor talent, as well as food just for the events that we’re producing for. So we won’t have a lot of waste.”
Jankowski said although the economy is expected to be slower in 2024, this is relative since 2021 and 2022 were strong years for economic growth after stagnation during the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. Meanwhile, after fighting for two years to ease inflation by increasing federal interest rates, the Federal Reserve’s board of governors decided not to raise them in mid-December, according to a Dec. 13 news release from the board. However, it’s unknown whether interest rates will decline in 2024. Lower interest rates would be especially beneficial to small businesses, which have slimmer operating margins, Jankowski said in a Dec. 18 email. “If the Federal Reserve does lower interest rates in 2024, that should provide some relief to local businesses and help them to stay viable,” Jankowski said in the email.
Closed permanently
219 Social House
Closed summer
MoCo Food Hall
Closed summer
Tasting Point Liquors Wines and Food
Closed Dec. 31
Voodoo Grille
Closed late July
Wister’s Bar and Grill
Closed early November
Scaled-back operations
Almost August Hodge Podge Lodge Majkszak’s Meat Market
Closed storefront late 2023
Closed restaurant in December
Changed to pickup-only in November
Closed temporarily in late 2023
The Shout House
SOURCE: LOCAL BUSINESSES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
from the
(936) 245-8080 Sales@RockroseRanchTX.com www.rockroseranchtx.com CONTACT US
All Age & Gated 55+ Lifestyle Community
*Terms and conditions apply. Pricing is subject to change. Please see community representative for full details.*
25
CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook