Rent Increase Closes Another Small Minnesota Business

We are definitely hearing about businesses closing for whatever reason.  Sometimes the business is in a bankruptcy situation, other times the lack of traffic in the area has caused the closure, people working at home more and more, and some restaurants can't make it when they had lots of foot traffic before COVID.

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And sometimes you hear this being the reason for the closure... RENT TOO HIGH.

This is exactly what happened to a small business/restaurant in Minneapolis.  It is a restaurant that was known for their Chicago-style hot dog place  Chicago's Taste Authority which opened in Minneapolis in 2004 announced on their Facebook page that they would be closing their doors on September 21st.

Yep, it’s true. Our rent soared higher than a foul ball at Wrigley Field!

This restaurant has been around for 20 years.  They said that when they opened in 2004, their rent was $1800.  Now, their landlord wants $6000 a month.  Yes, I realize that it's been 20 years, but that is still a crazy high increase.

From Bring Me the News, the owners had this to say about the increase in rent, and the reason that they are closing.

Brothers Chris and Rob Dubnecay opened the restaurant near 42nd and Hiawatha in South Minneapolis in 2004, with Rob Dubnecay telling Minnesota Monthly at the time that rent was $1,800 a month.

"Now they want over $6,000," he added, a more than 300% increase in 20 years. SmartAsset says that national cumulative inflation since 2004 is about 66%.

When rent hikes up that much, either the Landlord is having financial difficulties themselves, or they just don't want that particular business there anymore.  This is just speculation, but one has got to think something like that has to be going on.

It's unfortunate, and sad.