reprint or license Print E-Mail

tool name close tool goes here

Josie's Grab & Go restaurant to close

By Scott Sloan ssloan@herald-leader.com

Josie's Grab & Go, a gourmet carry-out store in Chevy Chase, will close Saturday after a little more than a year in business.

The restaurant — owned by Bobby Murray, who also runs Murrays' and the Merrick Inn — was a victim of the recession, Murray said.

"When I started the project in May of last year, the economy was going south, but I had no idea it was going to be like it is today," Murray said.

With people traveling this summer, business has slowed considerably. He said it's down about 30 percent since the public schools let out.

"I think maybe if we had more time and more capital, if we had gotten through to the holiday season, we probably would have made it," Murray said.

He said he had "borrowed what I was going to borrow" and has decided "it just didn't work out."

Murray and his family, who had focused on Josie's in recent months while letting the staffs at Murrays' and Merrick run those, plan to again concentrate their time at those restaurants.

Murrays' has been the victim of some confusion lately. Murray put the restaurant up for sale earlier this year, although he has continued to operate it, saying he wasn't really die-hard about selling but would if someone made a good offer. He said Monday that many people have mistakenly thought Murrays' had closed. But that's not the case.

"We're really excited about going back there and concentrating our efforts," he said.

Murray is working to place some of the Josie's staffers at Murrays' and Merrick Inn.

Murray said he had thought Lexington was in need of a place like Josie's, where families could come in and pick up gourmet, ready-to-eat offerings. "You can go to big market areas like Atlanta and Dallas, and there are places like this," he said. "I think a lot of people just didn't know about us."