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Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 3:49 PM EDT Apr 1, 2020
Grand Chute’s Solea Mexican Grill is the Fox Cities’ first restaurant casualty of 2020.
But it’s not what you think.
It has nothing to do with the coronavirus outbreak.
“Covid-19 doesn’t push me to do this. Not at all. It was a business decision,” said Eduardo Sanchez, co-owner of the three-restaurant operation with this wife, Alejandra Delfin.
“Yesterday was the end of the lease. I was negotiating the new lease. The rent went up a lot,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about money, but it was about 25 percent. It is true that we were paying the same rent for 10 years without an increase. I understand that it’s fair to raise the rent.”
Solea locations in Neenah and Menasha remain open and offer carry out and delivery. They’ll both reopen completely when the Gov. Tony Evers gives the all-clear sign and lifts restaurant restrictions in the state, he said.
But the Grand Chute branch, which is just west of the Fox River Mall at 1104 Mutual Way, is now closed for good.
“We were there exactly 10 years. It was not the most profitable restaurant, but it had the most traffic. Traffic was always good. It was a good location,” he said.
“But bottom line, with the rate increase, even if we have increased traffic, I’m not going to be there without losing a little bit of money. My wife and I reviewed the numbers and we made that decision.”
He said he’ll be able to offer jobs to two or three of the 22 Grand Chute employees at his other locations.
Right now, the Neenah and Menasha locations are operating with just three employees each plus Sanchez and Delfin.
Business is down about 70 percent, he said, and the carry-out business helps pay a couple of bills.
Going forward, Sanchez says he wants to find another location in the Appleton/Grand Chute area and reopen.
“We want to be back in Appleton for sure. I don’t know where. Maybe not in the mall area, because that’s expensive.”
His goal is to open a new Appleton Solea around May 2021.
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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More: The Buzz: Retail workers are furloughed by the thousands this week
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