Playing economic hero
So “Dr. McDreamy” buys Tully’s out of bankruptcy to be a good guy [“Patrick Dempsey, TV’s ‘McDreamy,’ wins bid to buy Tully’s,” [News, Jan. 3]?

Successful business investments aren't made for feel-good reasons — they're made because there's a sound business reason to invest. This deal is sentimentality and resentment toward Starbuck's.

Instead of selling Tully’s to serious investors who could integrate it into their own operations, a celebrity dilettante (I've never seen “Grey's Anatomy,” so I have no idea who this guy is) engages in an investment lark.

Tully’s never took off — it couldn't compete or be profitable. What happens if its failed business model continues to fail and “Dr. McDreamy” loses his initial $9.15 million and the millions more necessary to staunch the cash-flow hemorrhage?

Failing enterprises can be salvaged. But hard change — closing unprofitable stores and layoffs — must happen. The laws of business and the laws of nature are alike: Just because you don't like what happens when water runs downhill doesn't mean a TV star can make water run uphill.

While he has the right to lose his own money, playing “economic hero” won’t win Patrick Dempsey an Emmy or profits. The market rendered its judgment on Tully’s, and from it there is no appeal.

—Scott St. Clair, Clifton, N.J.