You’re placing your bets on the possibility that times would not turn around AND that your next tenant will make a go of it. 

There usually is at least a few months lapse with no income for the landlord between tenants unless like in Junior’s case… the next tenant is the exact same business.

On Ventura Boulevard where my store sat the For Lease signs were in the windows for many months to over a year or more.

I always joked that the business to be in was the one that printed For Lease signs.

That’s exactly right. It’s what being a landlord means, getting as much for your property as possible when it is rented to a good tenant. Not letting a bad tenant tell you what your property is worth. Realizing that over your span of ownership there will be times the building will be empty.