Although a sign on the door says it is undergoing temporary kitchen maintenance, Panino’s at the U in Stadium Village has closed its doors for good. The owners of the business were evicted last week, John Trautz , one of the buildingâÄôs owners, said. âÄúItâÄôs too bad it didnâÄôt work out because we think PaninoâÄôs has the best wrapped sandwiches in the Twin Cities,âÄù he said. While difficulty finding parking in the area played a role, owner Chet Kurtz attributed the restaurantâÄôs failure largely to money troubles. âÄúIt just has a lot to do with the economy,âÄù he said. âÄúWe hate to do it.âÄù While Trautz wouldnâÄôt say whether PaninoâÄôs failed to make rent, he did say that 99.9 percent of unlawful detainer actions, or evictions, happen because rent is not being paid. âÄúThatâÄôs the reason far and away most of those happen,âÄù he said. Employees were notified a couple weeks prior to the closing and have received their final paychecks, Kurtz said. Having opened in January 2007, the Washington Avenue location was the newest in the PaninoâÄôs chain, Kurtz said. The restaurant chain has two other locations in Minnesota, a stand in TCF Bank Stadium and three in Colorado, all of which will remain unaffected, he said. âÄúI like Chet Kurtz,âÄù Trautz said. âÄúHeâÄôs a good man and it just didnâÄôt work out.âÄù
Panino’s closes its doors
Owner attributes closure to poor economy, parking
by Tara Bannow
Published December 15, 2009
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