Banjo's: new sandwich shop at old KFC/Taco Bell site

[ron_newman]

After many months of unexplained delays, Banjo's finally opened yesterday in the old KFC/Taco Bell building at Mass. Ave. and Walden Street. It's a fast-food sandwich shop featuring roast beef, hamburgers, and deli sandwiches. I'd link to their website, but I can't find one.

I hope they have better luck here than they did in Weymouth and Brockton.

Comments

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

mmm... no/low brand, little foot traffic or lunch trade to speak of, I wager $50/6 months and out. Any takers?

[ron_newman]

Actually seemed pretty busy when I stopped in last night.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

That's good. Just seems like a hard location that isn't a "destination." (gee.. let's go to Banjo's...)

[ron_newman]

They have KFC's old parking lot (minus the drive-through window), which may help.

KFC closed when the Walden Street bridge was closed for construction, which apparently seriously cut down their patronage.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

that's a rather busy intersection actually, for both cars and people. there's also a TON of lunch business around there--all those buildings in that area are companies (used to live nearby)

[ron_newman]

Looks like you won the bet (if anyone took it).

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

Oh cool! I was worried the recession made them give up entirely. I'll have to try them out in the near future - thanks for the update :).

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I went there for lunch today. My BBQ beef sandwich was decidedly mediocre. However, since it was their second day open, I definitely plan to give them another try.

[versonic.livejournal.com]

Oh thank God. Something within reasonable walking distance that is fast. Can't wait to give it a try!

[gandalfgreyhame.livejournal.com]

I grabbed a burger there today since I was passing by. Staff were super-friendly and the food came decently quickly. As for the food itself, it was competently prepared but not a new high water mark in the art of cooking a burger.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

They were planning to be open 8a-10p Mon-Sat, 8a-8p Sun, according to http://groups.google.com/group/ncsc-meeting-notices/web/banjos-restaurant-info-2072-mass-ave .

That site also summarizes the various conditions Banjo's agreed to, as a result of the concerns of the NCSC, a neighborhood group. It looks like they're going out of their way to be a good neighbor.

[ron_newman]

Although the posted menu includes breakfast items that are to be served before 11 am, they are not yet open for breakfast. The sign outside says "OPEN for Lunch and Dinner", and has another word (presumably "Breakfast") covered over.

[jcconnor1.livejournal.com]

The NCSC letter references a William Martin as the manager. Apparently this is the same guy who owned the stores in Brockton and Weymouth. In Brockton, he didn't pay rent and the stores closed with no notice to the employees. Niiiice.

[ethanfield.livejournal.com]

I work (literally) across the street in the Henderson Carriage Building. If they go out of business in 6 months, that will only be a small fraction of the time they've owned it! It's been empty for multiple years, and had the Banjo's logo in the window for over a year.

As for the KFC / Taco Bell: A Taco bell in a college town that closes at 9:30 PM makes no human sense whatsoever, and is destined for failure.

[ron_newman]

A Taco Bell here makes no sense anyway when there are two locations of Anna's within a short walk (plus a Chipotle and a Qdoba). This was originally just a KFC, only later a Taco Bell too.