McKinnon's says "There is no truth to the rumor that McKinnon's is closing"

[ron_newman]

They say this both in their latest weekly ad and on a sign in their window (signed by "Jim McKinnon").

This contradicts koshmom's post of last Saturday and may be a response to that post.

Comments

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Yeah I was hoping for something more authoritative than "the guy behind the deli counter told me..."

It's really sad when people who are uninformed start spreading rumors like this.

[irilyth]

On the other hand, the other post got a whole bunch of comments, and might have brought the place to the attention of people who didn't know about it. No such thing as bad publicity?

[clauclauclaudia]

I'm sure he did, and I'm sure Karyn meant only to inform.

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the update Ron. This is great to hear.

[smk0307.livejournal.com]

Great to hear. After I read and posting a response about this I checked in with "a (obviously different) guy at the deli counter" who said I was the 9th or 10th person who mentioned that they were closing and he didn't know anything about it. I told him where I heard about it and he said he'd check with the owner. This is the second unfounded rumor about local businesses in just a few weeks on Davis Square Journal. Makes me hesitant to believe what I read here, which is a shame. Rather than stating things as facts -- arson at Peppe Bocca -- McKinnon's closing -- perhaps asking if anybody had heard about these things or knew if it was true would be a better approach.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

If a customer walks into an establishment that has declared Chapter 11 and in a discussion with a long-term employee about the situation is told that the store is closing, the customer can be expected to spread that information to others. It is the fault of the employee who should have known better than to spread falsehoods. The owner/manager should have told all employees what to say to customers who are naturally curious about what the future is for their bankrupt company.

I really want them to stay open. I love shopping there.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

This. And we also don't know if the sign is truthful either.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Since I can't +1 or like/heart Koshmom on her statement on the information she received - she ( or he ) was only relaying info they had received in good faith and had assumed the, inside for that matter, source made sense.

The Chapter 11 filing is very much real so regardless of whatever is happening there is a bit of a financial situation.

[ron_newman]

I understand, but I felt it was also important to report McKinnon's official denial, hence this post.

[clauclauclaudia]

Agreed, and thank you!

But there's no need to castigate the original poster.

[ron_newman]

I did not intend to "castigate" the original poster, and I apologize if what I wrote came across that way.

[clauclauclaudia]

Oh, not you! Sorry, I'm not being coherent. I'll let it rest.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

Looks like Edgar Allen Poe had the right of it: “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
(Meta: The internet would have you believe that Poe, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and various musicians all said some version of this, but the version I quoted was actually in a Poe short story (https://www.poemuseum.org/blog/did-poe-really-say-that/).)

The long-time employee who was the source of the rumor may have had some kind of grievance against the owners.

I'm really glad they're not closing.

McKinnon's

[mary388.livejournal.com]

I thought there was a message from someone saying they had seen the actual bankruptcy filing. Was this for one of the other McKinnon stores?

Re: McKinnon's

[ron_newman]

A bankruptcy filing does not necessarily mean the store is closing.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Especially chapter 11, which is intended to be used for restructuring.

[ron_newman]

Although it's also worth noting that Borders Books and City Sports both filed for Chapter 11, and still ended up liquidating and closing.

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

I would gladly pay 10%-20% more if it helps them stay open!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

This is very good news for the neighborhood. I look forward to more shopping there!

[lb-lee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that sign Tuesday and was delighted.

And then bought a bunch of crap from them because NEED MY SUN-DRIED TOMATOES!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Oh, good news! Maybe I'll still swing by there this weekend, though...

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

On top of all the usual difficulties with news and rumors, the truth may change on a day-to-day basis as well. This is especially true if a business is working through significant financial difficulties. Even if they see no reason they can't stay open today, that doesn't mean that they knew of some way to stay open a week ago.

More depressingly, it doesn't mean that they know how to stay open next year, either. I suspect an underlying problem is the continuing gentrification of Davis Square, which is probably driving rents up. Grocery stores are generally low-profit-margin operations, and at some point, having a small footprint in a place with high rent becomes non-viable.