Biz Buzz: Park Restaurant near downtown SLO closes

The upscale eatery�s owners blame the recession for a recent decline in sales

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The Park Restaurant near downtown San Luis Obispo served its last dinners Wednesday night after owners Jeff and Maegen Loring decided last week to close the restaurant permanently.

The upscale restaurant had been in the Railroad Square for more than six years and had about a dozen employees.

The closure is due to declining sales that have been a result of the slumping economy, said chef Maegen Loring.

�In November, things got tough,� Loring said. �We�ve struggled since then.� She declined to cite specific financial figures.

Loring said that fewer people frequented the restaurant and those who did spent less. She said cutting prices and introducing themed evenings such as �burger night� helped but weren�t enough to keep the restaurant afloat.

She plans to focus on her catering business fulltime and is currently looking for a commercial kitchen to rent. Her husband will return to working in the architecture field, after managing the restaurant for the past two years.

Loring said she would like to open another restaurant in San Luis Obispo someday. She hopes to evolve her �burger night� events into a mobile theme where they�ll cater burgers in different parts of the city one night a week in places such as parks or wineries.

�I�m hoping that we�re at the end of this (downturn), and everyone else can hang on in this town,� she said. �We love SLO, and are not going anywhere.�

� Dawn White

Special session of SLO business group

The San Luis Obispo Downtown Association is holding a special session for small businesses so they can learn to use social media to promote themselves.

It will be held at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the association�s conference room, 1108 Garden St., Suite 212. There is no cost to downtown businesses.

Freya Wilkerson, promotions assistant and social networking coordinator for the association, will lead the group.

� Sally Connell

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