Saw a storefront in Boise with a lease sign taped to the door 4 months in, and the inside told the whole story
Walked past it last Thursday, brand new espresso machine still sitting there, shelves half built, and a handwritten note on the window saying "closed, sorry." The owner had sunk what looked like $30k into a spot on a block with two other coffee shops, and I don't think anyone ever told him to test the idea first. Anyone else see new owners go all in on a storefront before they've sold a single thing?
That "closed, sorry" note on the window is the kind of thing that gets passed around online because it makes a good story, but is it really that big a deal? People toss money at dumb ideas all the time, that is kind of how small business has always worked, and for every sad espresso machine there are a few folks who took the same gamble and made it. Two other coffee shops on the block does sound like a rough spot to pick, sure, but maybe he had a plan we cannot see from the sidewalk, like a niche or a wholesale thing going on the side. $30k stings for him, no doubt, but one guy's bad call in Boise is not some sign of a broken system, it is just Tuesday.