More Woes for Rubio's: Bankruptcy

After fast-casual Mexican food chain Rubio's abruptly closed dozens of restaurants around California last week the other shoe dropped yesterday: the chain declared bankruptcy. Again. Example coverage: article at NBC 7 News (San Diego), Patch News article.

This news furthers my disappointment in the loss of this restaurant chain I've eaten at regularly over the past several years. This bankruptcy doesn't mean Rubio's is totally gone; it's Chapter 11, a reorganization, and the company will likely be sold soon. But all their local restaurants closed last week, and it now seems less likely they'll ever come back.

Driving Past Gas Stations More Often

Lately I've been driving past gas stations more often. Without stopping. That fact struck me today as I engaged in a little habit of taking a slight detour on the way home from lunch to swing past a few gas stations and observe what their prices are.

"Wait, why do I care what the prices are?" I asked myself. Of course I like to know so I can buy the cheapest gas... but neither of our cars need gas right now, and likely neither will for upwards of two weeks. We just aren't burning that much gas anymore.

What's the change? No, we didn't buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. The change is that we're driving our current vehicles a lot fewer miles. And the big change there is Hawk being out of work.

Dropping a commute means a lot fewer miles traveled each week. Along with me working remotely (as I have for the past many years) it means our two cars are used mostly just for quick trips around town during the week. So now, unless we happen to drive somewhere further away on the weekend, one of our cars can go weeks between fill-ups. And it just feels... weird... not to fill a gas tank (or battery) for 2-3 weeks at a time. It's, like, un-American or something! 🤣