Standing in his shuttered New Orleans-themed pub in Boca Raton on a recent Sunday, tables and chairs piled up against the wall, Philipp Hawkins says he tried everything to keep Phil’s Place alive. Change the name and cuisine? Check. Apply for pandemic loans? Check, again.
Add live blues, a legit Louisiana chef, a comedy night and a college drinking promotion? Been there, done that. Nonetheless, on June 18 — after having sold just $220 worth of food two days prior, on Father’s Day — Hawkins took to social media to share what, in recent months, has become a common ritual for closing restaurants: the online goodbye. “I just wanted to officially announce that I have to close the doors,” he said in a video posted on the Phil’s Place Facebook page.
“Can’t afford the place anymore, so sorry, that’s just the God’s honest truth.” From the street corner to social media, South Florida is reeling from a rash of restaurant closings that have toppled legacy mom-and-pops and established chains alike. Every day, it seems, diners are whiplashed by yet another “For Lease” sign or farewell Facebook post.
They take photos of papered-over places or screenshot announcements on their phones and share them online, prompting expressions in comments sections of shocked grief (“heartbroken”; “this one sucks”) and I-told-you-so anger (“This is happening everywhere”). Related Articles So what explains the apparent bust cycle hitting Broward and Palm Beach counties .