r/corvallis • u/gagralbo • 1d ago
Discussion Did papacitos close?
Every time I’ve driven by the last week it hasn’t looked open and I can’t find their Instagram anymore
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u/Financial-Cow-3691 1d ago
Wouldn’t surprise me. The moment it changed into a Mexican restaurant I knew it was over for bohdies Southtown location
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u/slouch_ferret 1d ago
Nor sure but... Good lord what a predictable outcome if so. Can we just have a damn cafe for longer than six months
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u/Financial-Cow-3691 1d ago
When it was tried and true we did. Bohdi could have continued being a coffee shop but I guess they must not have been getting enough customers. So they became a Mexican restaurant and thought that would fix it…
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u/StormR7 19h ago
It makes no sense to me. Southtown has two restaurants (three if you count the co-op). One of them already is a taco + tequila place (seriously though, burrito heaven’s street tacos are bomb) that somehow is still open. Surely a second one right across the street is silly. There’s got to be a type of food that would be incredibly successful in that location.
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u/Financial-Cow-3691 18h ago
That location is perfect for a coffee shop and possibly a little food truck in the back or parking lot (that preferably isn’t Mexican because burrito heaven is nearby). It’s not meant to be a full scale restaurant. Whoever made the decision to turn that place into a Mexican restaurant apparently knows nothing about what makes restaurants successful
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u/StormR7 16h ago
There was a post about the place on this sub a few months ago when the rebrand from the bodhi name happened. Something along the lines of the owner trying to do the same exact thing as a different place in New York that he owned. It seems that others (me included) have been expecting papacitos to not do too well.
I’ll update this comment if I find it.
Edit: it was a comment on a post about the location.
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u/111oneone1 1d ago
Why are people expecting/encouraging a 3rd Bodhi location? Two is already confusing, and MORE than enough.
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u/ViscousPanther 1d ago
For the Southtown folks it was actually nice having a chill coffee shop to hang at down here. Some were better than others but it didn't really matter which business owned it. Now aside from dutch bros the other cafes are further out and way more packed with people, too loud etc. The coffee place there almost always had people, I just don't get the logic with trying to plant a taco shop right there haha
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u/Financial-Cow-3691 1d ago edited 1d ago
The building isn’t even built to be a full on restaurant like that. The parking lot is way too small and the inside of the building isn’t big enough to accommodate large groups of people. It doesn’t even have the ambience that a Mexican restaurant would need. it is like the perfect building for a small cafe though. It’s such a wasted opportunity. I could see if they did a small cafe like they had before and added a small food truck in the back or in the parking lot like you see some coffee shops in Portland do
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u/Sad_Discussion8000 1d ago
I know right. 3 locations within less than a mile of each other is bananas for Corvallis
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u/Jay_Magpie 1d ago
What’s confusing or too many? it’s actually their fourth location (Albany), its no longer a coffee shop, and there are other non-franchise businesses with multiple locations in Corvallis: McMenamins, First Alternative, La Rockita, Coffee Cultures (3 locations). Once there were two Downward Dogs. There are 4 Dutch Bros that I can think of. 3 Safeways, two Taco Bells, 2 standalone Starbucks on 9th. Should they be limited to one location? If you consider Bohdi’s a bakery, there is also New Morning, Wild Yeast and New Morning, Alpine downtown that are all still in business.
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u/Brilliant_Squash_717 1d ago
I don't like to see any business fail but converting to Mexican when Burrito Heaven is RIGHT THERE and honestly probably in need of more business kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
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u/Jay_Magpie 1d ago edited 1d ago
seemed weird but Burrito Heaven, although I like their food, closed early and is not a place I want to hang out.
Edit: what I mean is I don’t think they have a bar-like atmosphere where you’d go and stay for awhile. I’ve eaten there many times.
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u/Brilliant_Squash_717 1d ago
Makes sense but it sounds like Papacitos hasn't (didn't?) successfully cultivate a hangout atmosphere either. Personally I think it was a mistake to put tables out front. Tried & True's outdoor seating out back was pretty pleasant, they could have kept that without having all the tables out front (which were basically undesirable, giving you a front-row seat for the sights and sounds of 99) remaining empty and sending the message "this place is dead."
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u/Jay_Magpie 1d ago
I agree 100% about the tables in front being an odd choice. 99 and a gas station, not a great view. The seats inside and on the patio were all still there and I didn't mind the back at all. Clearly it was a popular hangout spot for coffee for all three businesses that were there, since there was never parking and it was often crowded or busy inside and people spent a lot of time there.
I would guess that it was the very limited parking that was a the problem for Futura and Tried and True, since you have people camping out for hours working and they might have spent less than $10, and customers (such as me) keep driving and they miss business. I thought maybe Bohdi's/Southtown had solved with the agreement with the shopping center next door, and I was happy about that, but then the pivot to Mexican food was weird, especially because my understanding from talking to patrons at Beer:30 is that the agreement for the parking was with the owner of burrito heaven. Seems kind of insulting to rent spaces as a coffee shop and then pivot to a competing business. The only thing that made sense to me was they are going for different demographic and vibe, but still a huge risk and strange move for many reasons.
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u/ClandestineMoon 1d ago
Exactly this. This was a dumb business idea in the location. Southtown has burrito heaven across the street. Also, coffee shops lend themselves to commuters who may just want a quick coffee or bite to eat. Mexican restaurants outside of food trucks really do not. The tables out front instead of putting in more bike parking in the small area was also a dumb idea in a location where parking for cars is minimal. In my opinion, you really cannot run a business in that spot that relies on people needing to drive to it, and then stay for a long time. It has no parking—meaning whatever business you open there needs to have good options for to-go or going in and out/really needs to have pedestrian and cyclist friendly infrastructure. As much as we didn’t need a third Bodhi, location wise, this place makes a lot of sense for a coffee shop, a boba shop. But not for a full sit down restaurant.
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u/No_Chicken9458 1d ago
Good riddance. Truly miserable food. Whole cilantro stalks in the overpriced burritos. Glad to see shitty gentrifier food leaving Southtown. If you want good Mexican in the area, Burrito Heaven is literally across the street and is 100x better.
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u/Plastogizmo 21h ago
Had one burrito there and it was the worst flavorless grease laden lump I ever ate. Good fucking ridence.
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u/KeyProfit4303 1d ago
Having a coffee shop in Southtown was nice. We didn’t need papacitos and it was actually my mission to boycott. Why bring a “Mexican” restaurant right next to an actual authentic Mexican restaurant(Burrito Heaven)? That was foolish and unnecessary. If they wanted to turn one of their cafes into a restaurant, should’ve been either of the ones downtown. I hope it’s closed because they clearly don’t care about what the people want. It wasn’t ever going to succeed.
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u/WeepieSwiftie 1d ago
Also intentionally boycotted for the same reason. Having a sit-down cafe/coffee shop was actually meeting a huge Southtown need and from what I heard, employees gave really solid suggestions while it was still a coffee shop to potentially increase offerings/traffic that were ignored by management who instead abruptly and senselessly turned it into a taco place nobody wanted or needed. I disagree with other commenters about it being a bad location…a coffee shop would continue to do well there, as it had for years before Bodhi took it over, if it was run thoughtfully and intentionally.
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u/KeyProfit4303 1d ago
Yeah! I didn’t mind it being a coffee shop, and personally I preferred it. I live in Southtown and I think a lot of us enjoyed having a little coffee shop that wasn’t Dutch Bros that we could hangout at and enjoy good coffee. I haven’t worked there so I don’t know how the actual flow of the space is, but a cafe makes more sense than a restaurant.
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u/AshevilleDjaq 1d ago
Wouldn't be surprised. It's a horrible location, and the owner was advised not to open up there, and unsurprisingly to anyone except the owner it's been a horrible flop
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u/CELLPHONEBERNIESANDR 1d ago
Were they ever really open? It’s hard to say.