That is the same number the rest association lady used last week. Said that the number of closures in this part of Florida was unprecedented. This just is not making a lot of sense if traffic and tourism and bed tax collections are remaining higher than last year. The grocery stores must be doing really well this round.
People continued to take vacations, but I can tell you that the Dec rental numbers will likely be way off, as I didn't see any tourists until the week after Christmas. Usually, people come down for at least the weekends in Dec. That didn't seem to happen this year.
I think this past summer, rentals were up, because the financial mess had not been hit so hard. Gas prices were crazy, but people still came to the beach, and found other ways to save, like your mention of buying groceries and eating out less often. Look at Pulblix, opening store number four in a 20 mile stretch, in a very small town.
Going back to my earlier reference of the restaurant in front of Office Max which closed, it was Ruby Tuesday's. A quick news search on the web indicates that Ruby Tuesdays will be closing 70 store locations over time. I think 30 were immediate, and 40 closing soon.
