Apple Didn’t Get
There Fast Enough

Sorry to hear you've closed but quality of food & overall cleanliness had been on a steady decline over the past 9 mos. Wish you all well.

I so much enjoyed getting my burrito from these guys. They were great tasting and the staff were always very friendly. Maybe they can open a store in Westville.

Hmmm...

Is Yale once again adjusting its hand of cards? Yale Coop,...,...

Many downtown food business are struggling, even the ones that seem busy are just surviving as the costs of doing business keep going up and the customers are spread thinner. One thing that doesn't get discussed is the proliferation of low-overhead food carts. It should be no surprise that bricks-and-mortar Bulldog Burrito couldn't compete against Franco's Tijuana Taco Company burrito cart. A $200 vendor license and $280 health department fee, plus a cart, is all it takes.

The city should consider raising the permit fees to add revenue and level the playing field for the restaurants that pay much more in property taxes. Empty storefronts don't help the budget.

Right now there are cart farms by the hospital and on Sachem. If more are allowed, you'll be doing more stories like this.

Interesting that they say "at 320 Elm" wonder if they are going to open up somewhere else. Who is the landlord over there?

This town is doomed. Its unattainable for merchants.

Frankly, I thought the food there was pretty bad. Competition is tough...there are so many quality food options downtown. I don't think it's necessarily the faulty of Yale or the cars.

Franco's superior burrito cart finally felled them.

I'm surprised the establishment held out as long as it did against the food-carts -- but that location has always been hard; there's not as much foot traffic. I hope the new joint, Box 63, can make a go of it on the corner across the street. As for me, I used to spend $10-20/per day eating meals downtown (breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner) while working. Now, I only buy food at the grocery and I pack my lunch religiously. I don't even buy sodas anymore. So, that's about $5000 this year that's being sucked out of downtown eateries. I can't imagine I'm the only one.

Can't help but think there's more to this story.
Why are they closing there and opening a new location?
Is Ivy Noodle also having problems?
The landlord is Yale.
No doubt the carts are hurting lunch business, but Bulldog was open at night, until very late...clearly the carts weren't cutting into that business.

The City should NOT raise the fees to open and operate the food carts. Take a walk down Cedar St across from the Yale ER and feel the vibrancy that a thriving food cart location has. The ability to pay very little for a significant amount of food is awesome. Lets not do anything to take that away.

Another stunning success brought to you by Team DeStefano. Yes it's true. Tax them too much and they will go.

That's a shame. But if they're looking for new space in New Haven try Westville center or maybe Grand Avenue.

This story smacks of more Yale University hardball landlording over every business in downtown New Haven. Yale should pay as much attention to educating its students (i.e. customers) as it does to manipulating the city's business landscape.
And then perhaps it could find away to lower tuition and make a Yale education much more equitable to local students.

I can't say I'm affected by BB's closing. I stopped in there twice in the last two years, and both times was very disappointed with the food and cleanliness of the shop.

@Steve, agree with your first two points, but the point about lowering tuition is off-base. Yale has needs-blind admissions--they admit students and then figure out what their financial package will be. Students whose families make less than $60,000
pay NOTHING to go to Yale.
Average scholarship is $35,000. 750 students in incoming class have parents who are paying $0.
http://admissions.yale.edu/financial-aid
If more people knew of this policy, more local kids(and lower income kids from other places) would apply. Of course, they still have to qualify to get in....which is an issue of equity in public education, mostly, not higher ed.