go out tomorrow for the best Chinese in town... for the last time!
always support local!
imperials closing on Thursday...
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Last: 7 mo ago by 13B
go out tomorrow for the best Chinese in town... for the last time!
always support local!
We now have lost our two best Chinese cuisine restaurants.
Wokamole is hanging on and I think they're pretty damn good. Hope they survive.
R.I.P. Shun de Mom a great loss.
R.I.P. Shun de Mom a great loss.
Hooters can't be far behind. Place is always dead.
went to imperial tonight for the last time.. hooters was completely empty.BCSWguru said:
Hooters can't be far behind. Place is always dead.
I would consider those two spots lethal to any new business because it's on a dead end road and no one wants to go out of their way to go there...
Hooters would be a multimillion $ business IF it was located right next to the Chicken...
imperial should have opened up somewhere on texas avenue... higher rent but they could have raised their prices and more traffic equals more business...
Still deeply saddened by this, as this was my go to place since the day it opened. Convenient, clean, open late hours with a solid menu. Nothing better than to sit down and blow off steam, whilst watching the big screen and chowing down one of their great lunch specials. Haven't been there in a while, unfortunately, as both financial and family issues have put an almost complete kibosh on eating out.
Best of luck to the owners and staff, and thanks for all the great meals over the years.
Best of luck to the owners and staff, and thanks for all the great meals over the years.
We went last week for the last time. My boys are gonna miss it.
What a terrible location.
Space may be the final frontier, but it’s made in a Hollywood basement.
Yep. In general the so-called "Restaurant Row north" is all a terrible location.
How is the "feeder road" between WJB and Old Reliance a dead end road?studioone said:went to imperial tonight for the last time.. hooters was completely empty.BCSWguru said:
Hooters can't be far behind. Place is always dead.
I would consider those two spots lethal to any new business because it's on a dead end road and no one wants to go out of their way to go there...
Hooters would be a multimillion $ business IF it was located right next to the Chicken...
imperial should have opened up somewhere on texas avenue... higher rent but they could have raised their prices and more traffic equals more business...
Do you think maybe they went out of business because we are in an inflationary period with rising costs of everything and people are just not eating out as much? (see Mo's, Mr Hamburger, Casa Rodriguez, etc).
I don't think Hooters would be overly successful anywhere in town (I think their time has come and gone, too many better options).
Its not the location. C&J's is busy all the time
That "dead end" location is fine for restaurants if customers perceive it as a value. Los Cocos is full when we go there. Sodalaks at 21/6 is packed on Fri/Sat. There are 11 other restaurants within 1/4 mile and all appear somewhat successful.woodometer said:
Its not the location. C&J's is busy all the time
Chinese cuisine restaurants tend to come and go regularly in many areas I visit. I guess due to low demand. People just like the traditional foods..wings, steak, CFS, Probably the same reason we can't have a quality seafood restaurant.
I miss the original Shun de mom in the Chinese market.
Hooters National has been on a decline for a number of years and have closed a number of locations. Their Vegas effort failed miserably. Newer and fresher concepts like Twin Peaks has hurt them bad.
woodometer said:
Its not the location. C&J's is busy all the time
Is c&j's anywhere near that road?
It's next to Aggieland credit Union on WJB
studioone said:BCSWguru said:
Hooters can't be far behind. Place is always dead.
imperial should have opened up somewhere on texas avenue... higher rent but they could have raised their prices and more traffic equals more business...
You mean go back to Tx Ave?
Yeah, right across the highway on WJB. Los Cucos and Cotton Patch stay busy on the same side of the highway
so no, its not in the same location...woodometer said:
Yeah, right across the highway on WJB. Los Cucos and Cotton Patch stay busy on the same side of the highway
C&j's is easy to get to.. imperial and hooter are not...
studioone said:
C&j's is easy to get to.. imperial and hooter are not...
Getting to them is as easy as any location. Getting back south is a hassle. I go from Imperial through the theater parking lot to Austin Colony Pkwy and then go to Boonville road and turn right at the light. Not a big deal to me.EliteElectric said:studioone said:
C&j's is easy to get to.. imperial and hooter are not...
For a sit down restaurant it is out of sight and out of mind when considering where to eat. For years I got food there for lunch to go about once a week.
we are pretty lazy as a society if we believe that a place with frontage on a major highway is "hard to get to" it's .3 mi if you go through the Kroger parking lot to Boonville or a mile and a half to go down to MLK and loop back. Los Cucos and Rotten Patch seem to be doing fine and the movie theatre is packed most weekends
I've lived here since 2010 and this thread is the first time I have ever heard/seen Imperial mentioned. Of course, I've noticed it driving past, but I never heard a single person speak of it, no mentions on any social media, etc.
I bet that had a little bit to do with it.
I bet that had a little bit to do with it.
Wasn't there an Italian restaurant or something else there before it was Imperial ?
Then explain Los Cucos and Cotton Patch.studioone said:so no, its not in the same location...woodometer said:
Yeah, right across the highway on WJB. Los Cucos and Cotton Patch stay busy on the same side of the highway
C&j's is easy to get to.. imperial and hooter are not...
If you look at the other chinese places in town they usually don't have a big dining area and I think it's because they do a lot of take out and delivery so the basic concept is to run a lean restaurant. Imperial seemed more of a niche market for those who wanted to dine in and I suppose their take out and delivery demand just could not cover fixed cost at a location that size.
It was an okay restaurant. It was good, not great. One of the better Asian cuisine places but that isn't saying much. For some reason BCS hasn't had a really great, go to, Chinese Food place nor Mexican food place. Some have their favorites but I have not experienced a "I gotta have it" place for either. I like Kluay Kluay for Thai and Lupe's for Mexican but I probably wouldn't be devastated if they went away.MyNameIsJeff said:
I've lived here since 2010 and this thread is the first time I have ever heard/seen Imperial mentioned. Of course, I've noticed it driving past, but I never heard a single person speak of it, no mentions on any social media, etc.
I bet that had a little bit to do with it.
That's not a bad take on it. Makes sense. More so than, "it is hard to get to the location".
I do think there was an Italian place there before.
I do think there was an Italian place there before.
It was a Tony Romas
We quit going after having a fly in my food, buried in the sauce.
I don't understand why an Imperial, Chef Caos, other Asian food places keep the back door of the kitchen open. I guess the AC doesn't work back there, but you're letting in hot air along with tons of flies from the back of the building, which is where the dumpsters are.
Plus, eating Chinese food in New York at a place where the menu was barely English and most of the patrons were Chinese/ Asians ruined most Chinese food here for us.
We occasionally get TGin's, but rarely get Chinese food anymore.
I don't understand why an Imperial, Chef Caos, other Asian food places keep the back door of the kitchen open. I guess the AC doesn't work back there, but you're letting in hot air along with tons of flies from the back of the building, which is where the dumpsters are.
Plus, eating Chinese food in New York at a place where the menu was barely English and most of the patrons were Chinese/ Asians ruined most Chinese food here for us.
We occasionally get TGin's, but rarely get Chinese food anymore.
Agreed. Tjins is right across the parking lot next to Subway and runs a very brisk take out business. Sometimes the dining area is pretty full too, but I would think evening takeout is 75% or more for them.
On about 1/3 of the sqft.
On about 1/3 of the sqft.
Freddys is busy, Double Daves is busy, the Liquor store is busy, Wingstop is busy, Kroger is usually busy, Jack in the Box seems to have a good business, Dutch brothers, Taco Bell, Farmhouse, Chase bank.....ALL on the same piece of concrete....and most of those are farther from the bypass.
There also seems to be a trend since Covid to more takeout and less dining in. Look at the new McAllisters in College Station for instance. A very small building compared to the University location but they will have a pickup window. Seems like you gotta have a drive through window these days. Also Imperial might have chosen to advertise. Hard to survive if no one knows your there.
It's not location. Cotton Patch was busy as i drove by today, so was Freddie's . If you like a place you'll drive there. It just wasn't what people wanted.
I don't necessarily think Imperial is closing due to lack of business.
A few weeks ago the owner said they hadn't taken a day off since they've opened and wanted to go enjoy life for a while.
A few weeks ago the owner said they hadn't taken a day off since they've opened and wanted to go enjoy life for a while.
Broncos said:
I don't necessarily think Imperial is closing due to lack of business.
A few weeks ago the owner said they hadn't taken a day off since they've opened and wanted to go enjoy life for a while.
They told us it was rent related. I'm not sure anyone will even know for sure.
Freddie's, Cotton Patch, Los Cucos cater to a different demographic than chinese food normally does.
So it's not that it is that hard to get to, it's just out of the way for what it is.
There's chinese food places everywhere (i know there is one in that kroger center). And to most Americans there's not a huge difference in the multitude of Chinese food places... when we want chinese we usually want it a cheap as possible and quickly.
I literally have 5-6 chinese options within a 3 mile radius of my home in South College Station and I would pass by about 4 more on the way to Imperial. Maybe it is better food, but it ain't so much better to me that i'm going to head 9 miles away.
And I think Hooter's time has passed. The troglodyte mentality that used to be the majority of men (me included when I was younger) is going away. There's plenty of wing places close by that are better quality and I don't have to feel like a dirty old man going into them.
If they were in a more central location Imperial would probably do better, but as it is, it is likely the farthest chinese restaurant away from College Station, so it halving its potential customer base.
So it's not that it is that hard to get to, it's just out of the way for what it is.
There's chinese food places everywhere (i know there is one in that kroger center). And to most Americans there's not a huge difference in the multitude of Chinese food places... when we want chinese we usually want it a cheap as possible and quickly.
I literally have 5-6 chinese options within a 3 mile radius of my home in South College Station and I would pass by about 4 more on the way to Imperial. Maybe it is better food, but it ain't so much better to me that i'm going to head 9 miles away.
And I think Hooter's time has passed. The troglodyte mentality that used to be the majority of men (me included when I was younger) is going away. There's plenty of wing places close by that are better quality and I don't have to feel like a dirty old man going into them.
If they were in a more central location Imperial would probably do better, but as it is, it is likely the farthest chinese restaurant away from College Station, so it halving its potential customer base.