Iconic Woodbury Town Center Tenant The Counter will close its doors permanently on February 26th
Another Tenant Lost To Irvine Company Rent Increases
***This post was edited on February 24 with the following changes made: removed reference to Aloha Stacks at Woodbury Town Center not being open. They opened their doors on Dec 30 2022 and their hours of operation are 6:30am-2:30pm. Added photos of the signs The Counter put on display on February 23.***
Last night while dining at The Counter in Woodbury Town Center, one of our family favorite restaurants, we were sad to learn that it will be closing its doors permanently on February 26. The news was delivered to us by one of the waitresses whom we have come to know and adore while we dined there last night. Our waitress said she had some sad news to share as she seated us. She proceeded to tell us The Counter staff had just received notice on February 15th that the restaurant will need to be vacated before the end of the month. According to her, the staff suspected something was up as the owner had told them he had been in negotiations with the landlord, Irvine Company, for over a month as a result of a significant rent increase Irvine Company was asking for. Apparently Irvine Company came out on the winning end of the negotiations. Although The Counter staff knew something was up, they didn’t expect things to happen so fast. Ten day notice that you’re out of a job is sobering- especially for those who rely on the work as their primary source of income. Apparently, Irvine Company has another tenant (presumably a restaurant) willing to pay the higher rent Irvine Company is asking and they are ready to move in ASAP. This seems hard to fathom considering the current economic situation. Then again-Irvine does seem to be a bubble immune to much of the economic carnage other areas are suffering from. Evidence of the Irvine Bubble is the volume of local people that drive high end models of the Tesla. I’m willing to bet Irvine has the highest concentration of Teslas of anywhere in the US!
This new of The Counter’s closing is particularly sad for our family. We are regular patrons of “The Counter” at Woodbury Town Center and have been for the past 11 years as members of our immediate and extended family near and far can attest to. It will always hold a special place in our heart. Over the years, we have come to know most (if not all) the staff, the previous managers and have even had a few brief encounters with the owner Felix. It’s a place that holds many wonderful memories for our family. It’s a place where we’ve dined with family and extended family. It’s a place where we’ve dined with friends. It’s a place where, through pure serendipity, we’ve made new friends. We know the staff by name and have come to learn the life stories of many of them. We have enjoyed keeping up with their milestones such as graduations, engagements, marriages, having children, getting promotions …etc. Over the years, I have been thoroughly impressed by how loyal The Counter staff are. The owner/management team do an exceptional job of retaining their staff. They were even able to retain much of their staff throughout the COVID Pandemic mandates imposed in 2020 which prohibited indoor dining. Staff retention is a testament to good ownership, good management and a place where the staff enjoy working. It’s an entity I’d welcome doing business with- too bad Irvine Company won’t.
While it’s very sad this page in the Irvine history books will soon be closing, I wish The Counter and all their staff the very best. Our family will be left with a sense of emptiness as profound as the emptiness we felt when Soup Plantation went out of business during the Pandemic.
I wish The Woodbury Town Center Counter and its staff nothing but success as they open a new location in Ladera Ranch in April. We will periodically try to make a trip down there in hopes that we’ll see some familiar faces. I hope for The Counter staff’s sake that the landlords in Ladera are more reasonable than here in Irvine. Although there is another The Counter location in Irvine, it isn’t the same. That location lacks the family vibe, parking is terrible and it doesn’t carry white bread which is a deal breaker for our child. To each their own!
In closing, as our family bids The Woodbury Town Counter farewell, I’d like to acknowledge and pay tribute to what The Counter and their staff have done for us over these 11 years…..
To the Woodbury Town Center Counter Team-
Our family thanks you for:
The convenience you have provided
The great setting for meal time conversations
Good food
Tasty milkshakes
Happy Hour specials
The tastiest brussels sprouts I’ve had at a restaurant
A great kids meal for a good value
Many shared experiences with family and friends
Getting to know and having great conversations with all of you
The kindness and great service
Putting up with occasional meltdowns from our daughter
Bringing an abundance of joy to our daughter for all these years
A multitude of meal time memories
Figure 1- The outdoor sign placed on display February 23 in the Woodbury Town Center common area.
Figure 2- The sign The Counter Staff posted throughout the restaurant on February 23
As the saying goes- the best conversations happen over the dinner table! Now seems to be a fitting time to cue up Billy Joel’s “The Piano Man”.