Started By
Message
Gumbys
Posted on 10/13/23 at 11:41 pm
Posted on 10/13/23 at 11:41 pm
How did this place ever go out of business? I’m interested in the story if anyone knows. Was easy walk from Russell
9
Posted on 10/14/23 at 12:33 am to ugasickem
Pokey sticks and ranch
Posted on 10/14/23 at 1:28 am to ugasickem
Same reason every old school place in Athens went out of business. 4.99 xtra large pizza and 25 cent beers cant pay the rent.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 1:43 am to deeprig9
Economics 101. Gotcha
Posted on 10/14/23 at 4:04 am to deeprig9
Got a burger at 5 guys today, while truck was getting new shocks and struts. Only ate there one time before, was it always expensive as frick? Because that burger was $16. Bacon and cheese added. Understand now, why the place was empty of customers. Just because they have awards all over the wall and you can eat peanuts before you get your burger 20 minutes after you order, it’s a “restaurant”. Not fast food, they need rebranding
Posted on 10/14/23 at 6:01 am to ugasickem
In my mind, the Big Gumby pizza was about 4’ across.
That pizza could wake the drunk/dead @ 3:00am.
Edit: Apparently still like 10 of them out there..mostly on college campuses.
16” pizza now $18
That pizza could wake the drunk/dead @ 3:00am.
Edit: Apparently still like 10 of them out there..mostly on college campuses.
16” pizza now $18
This post was edited on 10/14/23 at 6:08 am
Posted on 10/14/23 at 6:30 am to RealDawg
Food was cheap at most places in Athens in the 80s and earlier. Peking lunch special was like $3.50 and you could get 2 meals out of it. T Stand you could get a giant borrito or nacho plate for $3. Herbies under $5. Pitchers of beer were in the $3 range. You could live well in Athens on min wage back then,
Posted on 10/14/23 at 7:01 am to Peter Buck
Won 2 meals at Charlie Williams freshman year, thought I won the lottery (that didn’t exist yet). Looking back it might have only been $12 or so all you can eat with steak.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 9:25 am to RealDawg
That was a staple after home games with my parents or friends parents.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 9:52 am to ugasickem
I loved the pepperoni rolls there, but two straight trips resulted in my spending quantity time in a bathroom. I never went back. I know of similar stories.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 9:57 am to ugasickem
If I remember correctly, they had a kitchen fire and couldn’t afford to rebuild.
Pokey sticks kept me from alive at 3:00 on many a night.
Pokey sticks kept me from alive at 3:00 on many a night.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 11:37 am to RealDawg
quote:
Won 2 meals at Charlie Williams freshman year,
In 1990 we used to save up and starve all day so we could hit Charlie Williams for dinner. I’ve eaten so much there I could barely make it up that concrete ramp back to the car.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 12:38 pm to ugasickem
Didn’t the owner get busted with a bunch of weed and coke in the back of the restaurant? That was the rumor, at least.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 4:29 pm to crispyUGA
At one point Little Italy was a front for a major drug dealer to launder money. But i havent heard anything nefarious about gumby's.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 4:30 pm to deeprig9
So was El Azreca according to my friend who worked there.
Posted on 10/14/23 at 10:45 pm to SquatchDawg
Same. We won those two free buffets at Charlie Williams and of course didn't eat breakfast. We went late lunch and stayed until early dinner. Ate until I thought I would puke.
We got back to the dorms (fresh year) and somebody had organized a softball game against the basketball team for our intermural squad. Told them I had to play first today.
We got back to the dorms (fresh year) and somebody had organized a softball game against the basketball team for our intermural squad. Told them I had to play first today.
Posted on 10/16/23 at 8:02 pm to ugasickem
quote:
How did this place ever go out of business? I’m interested in the story if anyone knows. Was easy walk from Russell
I used to work at the one on Broad back in the day.
Not sure how they went out of business...back then their business was gangbusters.
Posted on 10/16/23 at 8:19 pm to ugasickem
quote:
Gumby’s, a popular pizza chain, has also closed its Athens location at the top of Baxter Hill. The pizza joint boasted its famous pokey stix and late, late hours. Nearly half the restaurant’s sales were made between midnight and closing at 3:30 a.m., a general manager once told The Red & Black.
2010
Posted on 10/16/23 at 8:22 pm to RealDawg
quote:
I worked there the last 4 or 5 years it was open, AMA. Gumby’s continued to be profitable long after they stopped serving alcohol. The manager claimed it had been enough time that we could have applied to get it back (no idea if that was true; I’ve never seen a restaurant get theirs back and he also claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland) but we didn’t want to because so much crazier shite happened when we served booze (that part I can vouch for). What happened was the owners got a little strapped for cash and thought they would sell off some franchises. Athens was second only to the flagship restaurant in Gainesville, FL, so one of their employees decided to “buy” it, and he and his wife moved north to run the place. I put “buy” in quotes because, while I don’t know all the particulars, the deal was complicated and constantly contested. The original owners in Florida (Chance and…I want to say Jeff?) still received all the deposits in their account and would cut the new owners (Rich and Kelly) checks for their take, but the checks were always short. So when R&K couldn’t get their money the legit way (and I assume even when they could), they started skimming. Now I’m not judging about the skimming. That was how Gumby’s worked. We all did it. We helped ourselves to food and since there were about a dozen ways to ring up any menu item, we would quote the high price, ring in the low one, and pocket the difference. But Kelly in particular liked her pills and they took the skimming up a notch. And EVEN THAT was fine until summer came and they didn’t slow down. It was just too much for the business to absorb during the lean months, and they shut the doors when they couldn’t make payroll. And that’s how it happened. Ben Bone is a cool guy who had nothing to do with it.
Posted on 10/16/23 at 8:23 pm to RealDawg
quote:
Former GM of Gumby's Athens here. A long time former employee told me awhile back that the money issues in Gainesville were related to embezzlement from one of the O'Brian brothers due to gambling debts. Athens was one of many locations that had to close because of financial impropriety. I can attest to the lack of character of those folks, and it doesn't surprise me that they wrecked the company. At one time, the Athens store was number 3 for profit in the chain of over 48 stores. Long live the Big arse Gumby.
Page 1 of 2
Latest Georgia News
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News