Drew's Eatery Closes Following Groupon Offer

Drew's Eatery, an intimate fast-casual spot focusing on organic, vegetarian and vegan cuisine, has closed, citing a Groupon deal as doing them in. Owner Drew Baker posted a statement to the restaurant's website saying he felt he had to indulge in the daily deal offers to keep up with competition, but that, "We soon realized that these deals are not what they seem, but yet are silent killers and only build false hope."

Baker accepts full responsibility for making the decision to offer a Groupon or other deals ("no one forced us into Groupon") and that when he decided in October to stop offering future deals, "it was too late."

To thank the restaurant's loyal customers, Baker will open his doors for one last hurrah this Saturday, Dec. 10. He'll offer complimentary food and drinks between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., will have a silent auction for the restaurant's furniture and equipment, will sell raffle tickets for the Drew's Wienermobile and will also accept donations to help pay off Drew's Eatery's debts.

"Thank you goes out to all of our valued customers that continued to come in again and again," Baker wrote. "So many of you became more than customers but became more like family ... my only regret is that I was not able to ?nancially make it work."
· Drew's Closing Statement [PDF]
· Drew's Eatery Closing for Good on Saturday [CSJ]

[Photo: Postgrad.Apartements]