Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Wok Out Walks Out of the Sloop

Upon a recent trip to State street, we realized that Wok Out (823 S. State) has apparently turned off the lights for good. The fast food Chinese restaurant never was particularly busy, so it's not super surprising to see this happen.

We never made it to the restaurant and judging by the Yelp reviews we didn't miss out. They have a measly 2.5 stars out of 5. Not exactly anything to write home about.

While most of the other businesses in this complex appear to be doing relatively well (Lou Malnatti's just expanded and XSport and Jimmy Greens seem to be constantly busy), this is the third restaurant to close up shop at this retail spot.

For those who have been around awhile, you probably remember Ufood (which was a chain associated with Healthy eating and George Foreman). Ufood quickly changed to The Grill which also didn't last very long either. Our guess is that these restaurant concepts were more flawed then the location.

Do you Sloopers have any ideas as to what might succeed in this spot?

17 comments:

BRENDAN said...

a vet?

Anonymous said...

Would be great if we could get a Protein Bar or Freshii...they've expanded downtown

Anonymous said...

Would LOVE a Protein Bar there!

Anonymous said...

A dog grooming business would be sweet! My puppy Wrigley needs to be pampered :)

Anonymous said...

jimmy greens take out. beefs, hot dogs and all that

Anonymous said...

a late night take out place, pizza hotdogs, burgers & fried food. open til 4:00 am

Anonymous said...

Chipotle, 4am-late night food great idea, or in-n-out burger!

Anonymous said...

i think a bakery would be nice...what could be better next to a gym than lou malnati's, a bar, and a bakery?

David said...

Freshii would be awesome there, although pretty pricey for a salad.

Anonymous said...

Why the push for fast food chains? There's practically a subway on every corner down here. We live in the city, not the suburbs. I'd prefer a nice local place regardless of the type of food. Just something different for the area.

Anonymous said...

Maybe a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe, if the space can accommodate either of those two otherwise maybe a Jamba Juice or Protein bar, something along those lines?

Matt said...

Ufood was actually a great concept, but the local franchisee was a moron who apparently didn't understand and the concept. The chain strives to be a healthy quick serve concept - lean meats, low fat cheeses, brown rice, steamed veggies etc... And nothing fried. The owner then went and got into a dispute because he wanted to add polish sausages and Italian beef - things that don't fit in with the menu. So he split from I food, turned it into the grille, but still didn't have regular fries. That was a terrible idea.

As for wok out, if you missed it, you didn't miss out. Aside from being convenient, there wasnt much going for it.

I'd love to see Jimmy greens expand in that space

Robyn (aka Food Girl) said...

Healthy food option would be ideal since the space is sandwiched between Xsport and LA Boxing. The space seems to be suited for a quick service spot and there wouldn't have to be a considerable amount of cost to change it over.

There is a vet AND a dog groomer just two blocks south at 11th and State.

Anonymous said...

Taco Bell.

Anonymous said...

Would love to see a bakery. Of course I'd really love to see one on Dearborn. Hint, hint.... And I'm not talking cupcakes either.

macasoga said...

How about Wow Bao or an intelligentsia!

Anonymous said...

I would like to see them put a traffic light inside there.