And that’s a bad thing.

I’m mourning the close of another mom-and-pop local business here in Austin. I was in the mood for a Black & Blue Burger from Gabbi’s Burgers and Dogs (MoPac at Duval) here in Austin.

But when I pulled up to their tucked-away location near my office, I was saddened to see this sign on a darkened store front:

A sad day in burger land

I’m not sure what doomed Gabbi’s or why they had to shut their doors after 3 years in business.

I don’t know if they’re just one more victim of a failing economy. But it’s not like they were selling high-end luxury goods. They were selling really tasty, over-sized burgers at a fair price.

I don’t know if they went under because of a poor location. They were in the same strip mall as Taco Deli and Mangia Pizza — both of which are always exceptionally busy. Though, Gabbi’s was around the corner from these two popular eateries, and most people I talked to in my office (which is only a block away) had no idea Gabbi’s even existed — despite being frequent visitors to Taco Deli (which, by the way, has some of the very best tacos in all of Austin).

I don’t know if they went out of business because of bad business practices.

I do know that they did not fail because of bad dogs and burgers, though. In fact, I’ve told many people that I thought they made the best burger in all of Austin. They’re reviews on Yelp seem to agree.

I don know that there never really seemed to be that much business the handful of times I ate there over the last couple of years. It was one of those places that always seemed like it should be busier than it was. It deserved to be busier.

It just goes to show that sometimes you can work really, really hard trying to sell something that is really, really good — and still fail.

You won’t see their “out of business” story in today’s Austin American-Statesman, and you won’t ready about it in the Austin Business Journal, either.

So, I just wanted to take a moment today to note that another small local business has quietly disappeared. I wish Jeff and Gabbi success and luck in their next venture.