forcebwithu Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 Sad news. Another great place to have a drink and watch the world go will be no more next month. https://www.acmargarita.com/margarita-station-is-planning-to-close-permanently-in-march-2023/ MARGARITA STATION IS PLANNING TO CLOSE PERMANENTLY IN MARCH 2023 Margarita Station is planning to CLOSE permanently in March 2023. The actual date in March is still TBD. RUMORS: For months there have been lots of rumors on local internet forums about Margarita Station. Most of these rumors would have been rated by hoax websites as “partially true.” We have not responded to these rumors because specific comments could not be made while we are in litigation. Now that we have decided to close down we can provide limited information. THE FACTS: The property where Margarita Station is located was sold in 2022. This is the second time our property has been sold since we opened our doors in 1993. The solid lease we had in the past was changed during COVID because after more than a year of losses there was no relief in sight. Despite all the rumors saying a Korean had bought the property, there were no Korean’s involved in the purchase. The new owner is a Filipina that is unwilling to negotiate terms for a new lease. Fortunately, Filipino laws do protect lessees more than the lessors or we would have been forced to close last summer. We could continue to fight eviction in court for several more years, but it’s a battle we no longer feel is worth fighting. We have looked extensively for a new location that would work for Margarita Station and we really didn’t find anything that came close to our standards, even for a downsized version of our current operation. So, for now, our plan is to warehouse the furniture, equipment and supplies from Margarita Station and to cease operations. We still have people looking for a suitable location to buy or lease for a possible return of Margarita Station in the future. TRANSPORTATION SERVICES: Last year, way before any discussions of closing, the operation and control of our transportation service was passed to Rica. She has done a great job of running this service for years. We are currently setting up an office location for her to be able to have continued internet access. We are confident that Rica will be able to continue all transportation services using our existing contract vehicles and drivers with no interruptions. Any reservations already made for after March 2023 remain confirmed. Our website will remain active and you can still make reservations through the website, or contact Rica direct at [email protected] Please continue to support Rica buy booking transportation through her. The owners of Margarita Station will continue to guarantee all bookings and will respond to any complaints. THANK YOU: We would like to thank all our patrons for making us one of the busiest restaurant/bars in the Angeles City entertainment area for almost 30 year. We will miss serving you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizondave Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 It is sad that it is closing as it is where I used to eat when I first went to Angeles in 1988. For me though I have moved my custom to Kokomos and other restaurants as the menu at Margarita is not exactly what I wish to eat. In fact I was there last August and it really didn't do it for me. Service was slow and the available waitresses seemed really down. Nothing beats my Tequila Lime Chicken in Kokomos or the Chicken Curry on rice in Pacific Breeze (which I believe is open again). It is sad, though, when a recognised focal point closes down. Hopefully they will find another location to open, but not sure where that will be or whether it will command the foot traffic that the present site does. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinoydave Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 It is sad when experienced operators call it a day and the newbie business owners decide they know best……. Eventually they can’t make the businesses succeed and resort to dodgy practices to continue returning to the real world 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiFlyer Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 When I was a regular in Angeles, circa early 2000s, I liked Margarita Station. I have not spent any time in Angeles since 2007. Back in the day, I liked Abruzos (Italian), a creole/bbq place run by an American Black man, much further North on Fields, and a decent creole place (long gone I have heard) South on Fields. Not sure if any of them are still in business. Good restaurants in Angeles were hard to find. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizondave Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 22 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said: When I was a regular in Angeles, circa early 2000s, I liked Margarita Station. I have not spent any time in Angeles since 2007. Back in the day, I liked Abruzos (Italian), a creole/bbq place run by an American Black man, much further North on Fields, and a decent creole place (long gone I have heard) South on Fields. Not sure if any of them are still in business. Good restaurants in Angeles were hard to find. 🙂 Don't remember that one but a lot of these places have changed names over the years. I used to go to C' Italian Dining and Salvatore. The C was fine Italian food while Salvatore was mainly for it's location, upstairs from Roadhouse and Angelwitch. I loved the place and even though it didn't have a great reputation I used to visit often. Had the half carafe of red wine and the 14 inch Napoletana pizza. I was sad when Salvatore closed down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Penevil Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) The property market in AC must be different. Anywhere else in the world landlords would fall over themselves to give a lease to a restaurant that had been in business 30 years. Even stranger that it is so difficult to find new premises. Perhaps it's just because the bar and tourist scene in AC is so limited. Evil Edited February 7, 2023 by Evil Penevil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizondave Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 13 hours ago, Evil Penevil said: The property market in AC must be different. Anywhere else in the world landlords would fall over themselves to give a lease to a restaurant that had been in business 30 years. Even stranger that it is so difficult to find new premises. Perhaps it's just because the bar and tourist scene in AC is so limited. Evil The location of the restaurant has always seen lots of foot traffic, it is near to Checkpoint and the jeepney station. There is very limited scope on finding a similar location. Maybe the owner is looking to sell the land as its location and size would be ideal for development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yesitisdakid Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 Just now, Horizondave said: The location of the restaurant has always seen lots of foot traffic, it is near to Checkpoint and the jeepney station. There is very limited scope on finding a similar location. Maybe the owner is looking to sell the land as its location and size would be ideal for development. If he does find a new location it won't be anywhere near the deal he got for his current location. That was purchased for 10,000 US dollars the land and the building just after Pinatubo erupted he bought a building full of volcanic ash but he could see the upside and it turned out to to be a fantastic deal 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forcebwithu Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 Saw this news posted on another forum. https://www.acmargarita.com/rising-like-a-phoenix/ RISING LIKE A PHOENIX Margarita Station is still planning to close sometime before 1 May 2023. The exact date is still under negotiation with the new Filipina owner of the property where Margarita Station has been located for the last 29+ years. Shortly after we close, almost half of our staff will move to the second floor of Tequila Reef – which has been undergoing renovation since mid-Feb. Our cooks will bring some of our most popular entrees and the additional staff will allow Tequila Reef to do a trial expansion of operation hours to 24/7. We have just signed a lease to take over the old Phoenix Hotel on Perimeter Road. Our plans are for extensive renovations to the front half of the building. We will remove over 1/3 of the old hotel rooms to create a large air-conditioned dining room and a separate air-conditioned, adult-only, bar area. Additionally, we will remove the two small kitchens and replace them with a new, large modern kitchen. We hope to have the new restaurant and bar open for one shift by sometime in June 2023. As soon as we can hire and train enough new staff for both Tequila Reef and Margarita Station 2, we will return to 24-hour operations. Other plans are for Mongolian BBQ to return twice a week on the pool patio area and a tuk-tuk shuttle service four times per hour between the new location and Tequila Reef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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