skippers
Moderator: Groceteria
skippers
I'm visiting the pacific northwest and I found a skippers restaurant and I thought they had gone away. We used to have two skippers locations in Fresno at West & Bullard and Fresno & Gettysburg. Please let me know of other former Skippers restaurants in CA.
- storewanderer
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My local Skippers, in Longview, WA, closed a couple months ago.
This is the second time Skippers has closed. The location originally was a Skippers, then became New York Bagels, then Atomic Burrito, then reopened a second time as Skippers.
I got to thinking...how many Skippers opened as part of indoor mall food courts? The only example of this I have seen was at the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, WA. This one closed many years ago.
This is the second time Skippers has closed. The location originally was a Skippers, then became New York Bagels, then Atomic Burrito, then reopened a second time as Skippers.
I got to thinking...how many Skippers opened as part of indoor mall food courts? The only example of this I have seen was at the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, WA. This one closed many years ago.
Not a food court, but the Roseburg, OR location has (had?) both a mall entry and exterior entry.
Skippers really got shafted when they got bought by National Pizza, a group out of Kansas, which is, as I'm sure everyone is aware, is a hotbed of seafood expertise. They instantly started to devalue the product and run the company into the ground. It's a pity - they were a fairly smart operator with a solid product, and managed to run Arthur Treacher's out of the PacNW and Rocky Mountain regions while avoiding the influx of Long John Silvers.
Eric
Skippers really got shafted when they got bought by National Pizza, a group out of Kansas, which is, as I'm sure everyone is aware, is a hotbed of seafood expertise. They instantly started to devalue the product and run the company into the ground. It's a pity - they were a fairly smart operator with a solid product, and managed to run Arthur Treacher's out of the PacNW and Rocky Mountain regions while avoiding the influx of Long John Silvers.
Eric
Skippers is Liquidating
I just noticed this the other day -- the Skippers chain is being liquidated as a result of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Just over half the restaurants (mostly in Washington state) will be sold off individually and continue to operate using the Skippers branding under license. The rest of the locations will close.
Skippers Chain Plans to Dissolve (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Skippers Closes, Sells Diners (The Spokesman-Review)
Here's some background on the bankruptcy filing from last winter: http://www.komoradio.com/news/business/4915986.html
As admirably as the local ownership group tried to revive Skippers after being run into the ground by the National Pizza Co. (Pizza Hut's biggest franchisee), quality was inconsistent from one location to the next. (It'll really be inconsistent now that the post-bankruptcy remains will be independent restaurants only sharing a name!) Most of the restaurants were in disrepair and rehabilitation didn't amount to more than a fresh coat of paint on the same tired buildings. While NPC had regular TV ad campaigns for Skippers years ago, recent marketing was limited to coupons in the weekly "junk mail" circulars.
I'm actually amazed they've hung around as long as they have, especially with the improvements Ivar's has made to their locations in the past several years. (They seemed to have some problems of their own and closed a few restaurants in the '90s.)
Skippers Chain Plans to Dissolve (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Skippers Closes, Sells Diners (The Spokesman-Review)
Here's some background on the bankruptcy filing from last winter: http://www.komoradio.com/news/business/4915986.html
As admirably as the local ownership group tried to revive Skippers after being run into the ground by the National Pizza Co. (Pizza Hut's biggest franchisee), quality was inconsistent from one location to the next. (It'll really be inconsistent now that the post-bankruptcy remains will be independent restaurants only sharing a name!) Most of the restaurants were in disrepair and rehabilitation didn't amount to more than a fresh coat of paint on the same tired buildings. While NPC had regular TV ad campaigns for Skippers years ago, recent marketing was limited to coupons in the weekly "junk mail" circulars.
I'm actually amazed they've hung around as long as they have, especially with the improvements Ivar's has made to their locations in the past several years. (They seemed to have some problems of their own and closed a few restaurants in the '90s.)
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Skippers stores in Boise close
Here's an article from The Idaho Statesman saying that the two Skippers stores in Boise are closed and the one in Nampa is under new ownership: http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/ ... 01060.html. Typo in the lede aside, it has some good information. It's sad to see this happen. At least in Southern Idaho, Skippers had the fast-food seafood niche mostly to itself.
A Skippers in Boise on State Street closed a few years ago. Also, there is a building on Overland that I am 99 percent sure was a Skippers, but hasn't been for many years.
The Broadway restaruant shares a building with Carl's Jr. The Skippers part started out as a Kenny Rogers Roasters and became a Skippers roughly six years ago. It was interesting to go inside that store, because part of the Kenny Rogers decor was blended with the Skippers decor, making for an interesting look. It worked, it was just a little bit unique.
A Skippers in Boise on State Street closed a few years ago. Also, there is a building on Overland that I am 99 percent sure was a Skippers, but hasn't been for many years.
The Broadway restaruant shares a building with Carl's Jr. The Skippers part started out as a Kenny Rogers Roasters and became a Skippers roughly six years ago. It was interesting to go inside that store, because part of the Kenny Rogers decor was blended with the Skippers decor, making for an interesting look. It worked, it was just a little bit unique.
The Ogden, UT Skipper's is now closed, but the Murray store was still operating as of Friday. I had lunch there. Busy place.
Might wander to the West Valley City and Orem stores later in the week while I'm here, just out of curiosity. Betting Orem is closed and WVC is open (WVC used to be the chain's top revenue store).
(EDIT:) It's official...The Murray store is the last operating Skipper's in Utah. Both WVC and Orem are closed.
The Orem store has hand-written "Closed Permanently" signs in the windows, but they left the sign board reading "NOW HIRING".
(sigh) Poor Skipper's.
Might wander to the West Valley City and Orem stores later in the week while I'm here, just out of curiosity. Betting Orem is closed and WVC is open (WVC used to be the chain's top revenue store).
(EDIT:) It's official...The Murray store is the last operating Skipper's in Utah. Both WVC and Orem are closed.
The Orem store has hand-written "Closed Permanently" signs in the windows, but they left the sign board reading "NOW HIRING".
(sigh) Poor Skipper's.
- storewanderer
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Here are some very good shots of one being auctioned. http://www.murphyauctions.net/skippers.html
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- submariner
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Re: skippers
Tragic what happened to this franchise. All over CA in the 80s, then gone like a thief in the night. My aunt still complains about it to this day. Would love for someone to do a documentary about Skippers someday. Would be very interesting
Re: skippers
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a Skippers in Chehalis, WA that was open. And since I was hungry decided to stop in. This was a typical building, but had a more modern-looking Skippers sign which was an oval shape that I had never seen anywhere else. Upon entering, I noted how "open" the restaurant was, and noticed that the tables and chairs looked like they were taken from another fast food restaurant (but were in very good condition). Photos to the right on the wall showed that this location was involved in a flood around the same time most Skippers locations closed, and it damaged pretty much all of the original interior furnishings. The food was classic Skippers including the chowder, however, a sign showed that they only served coleslaw on request as a cost saving measure, which did not matter to me since I do not like coleslaw. The fish and chowder were good. The restaurant was clean and bright.
My impression is that, if this is what the remaining Skippers are doing, they could be big again someday. They were doing things right and seemed to be using their limited resources as well as they could. Western Washington, with the exception of Ivar's in the Seattle-Tacoma area, really has very little in the way of fast-food style seafood restaurants, and Skippers would be wise to focus on this area if they expand, and pay close attention to quality of their locations. They have a big area that is not well-served, and that restaurants like Long John Silvers are not really interested in.
My impression is that, if this is what the remaining Skippers are doing, they could be big again someday. They were doing things right and seemed to be using their limited resources as well as they could. Western Washington, with the exception of Ivar's in the Seattle-Tacoma area, really has very little in the way of fast-food style seafood restaurants, and Skippers would be wise to focus on this area if they expand, and pay close attention to quality of their locations. They have a big area that is not well-served, and that restaurants like Long John Silvers are not really interested in.
- Brian Lutz
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Re: skippers
I do still make occasional trips to a surviving Skippers in Renton, and it still seems to have the original decor (including one of the "tilted anchor" signs), although it's definitely worn at this point. The food seems to be as usual, and they are still serving coleslaw with their meals by default.
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Re: skippers
Skippers just returned to Longview last week, in a brand new building (part of a building on the site of a relatively new Walmart which has sat vacant since the store opened a few years ago). They returned to the old school logo, and the food was really good. Interior seemed rather bare looking, but I am impressed so far.
As for the Chehalis location, it appears to be closed once again, after a short stint as some kind of independent restaurant.
As for the Chehalis location, it appears to be closed once again, after a short stint as some kind of independent restaurant.