25A: The Route of Broken Dreams

I drive home along Long Island's route 25A, a historic road that meanders along the fabled North Shore of Long Island. On my 7.6 mile drive home I pass nice homes, busy restaurants and bars, and thriving businesses. I also pass failing businesses. Route 25A has served as a good reminder of how lucky I am just to be in business 2 years after opening my doors. Here's the list of failures of my kindred spirit businesses: those that started around the time I did but have since closed.

• A bagel place closed after 3 months.

• A seafood restaurant has closed, after having been open for only 8 weeks.

• A Mexican restaurant across from my sushi place closed after several weeks.

• A "Hooka Lounge" bar just opened, though I've never seen a single car in the lot and I think it'll no doubt close soon enough.

• A coffee shop in Kings Park went under after 6 months.
  

• A cellphone storefront lasted 1 month before going under.
• A printer cartridge retail store in Smithtown lasted 1 year.
• A law office closed and an alarm store took its place. The alarm store closed 2 months later and has been replaced by a real estate agent, all in under 1 year.

That makes 9 failed start-ups in less than 8 miles. . .in an affluent area. Yes the economy is not well and in these times having a job or a business that is simply surviving might have to suffice.

Depressing, yet true.

Good luck out there.

The IU.