Only eight months after opening, Romo's Pizza closed its doors for the last time in the Village.
In March, Oswaldo and Lemia Romo opened the restaurant at the corner of University and McKinley avenues. This was one of two restaurants the couple owned. The other is located in an Anderson mall.
"We were doing good the first week," Tony Trigoso, the Romos' son, said. "It was not like we expected it to be."
The restaurant was not making enough to pay employees or bills so it closed about two months ago, Trigoso said.
Mark Sturgis, an agent for ADM commercial real estate, said the property owner was asking for about $3,300 a month in rent.
The owner of the property, T.K. Puttaswamy, is considering splitting the building for two businesses, Sturgis said.
A couple of companies in the food industry expressed interest in the property, Sturgis said.
Romo's Pizza is the second business to vacate the space in two years. The Village Grill, which closed in April 2004, closed because it could not financially maintain the business.
"[$3,300 is] below what the market rate is," Sturgis said.
Rich Reece, the owner of TJ's Burgers, said he pays about $600 a week for rent.
"Food courts on campus is what hurts the Village," Reece said.
Carolyn Stellwag, one of the owners of Elements Alternative Gifts, said her rent was $765 a month.
"Our rent is pretty reasonable," she said.
Stellwag and her husband intended to rent space across the street from their current location at the corner of Martin Street and University Avenue, but the rent was more than $2,000 a month, she said.
"If we had to pay that much, we wouldn't have lasted six months," she said.
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