Daily Deal Sites Blamed For Driving Restaurant Out Of Business
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Popular daily deal sites are blamed for driving a hot dog diner into debt.
As WBBM Newsradio's Julie Mann reports, this was the final week of business for vegan hot dog restaurant owner Drew Baker.
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He closed his 16-seat Lincoln Square eatery, Drew's Eatery at 2207 W. Montrose Ave., after daily deal offers didn't produce the customers and the revenue he anticipated, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
He tells the newspaper he turned to several daily deal companies – among them Groupon Now and Living Social – to offer discounts. But customers who cashed in on the deal never returned to spend full price on a meal, the Sun-Times reported.
He tells the paper he lost $20,000 in his final offer with Living Social, in which customers paid for $10 to $20 worth of food at his restaurant.
Baker tells the paper he has only himself to blame. He says he didn't calculate his risk in offering daily deals.
He tells the Sun-Times he will open one last time on Saturday before liquidating his restaurant and calling it a day.
