some friends with very little food service operating experience have opened a place... service is poor, food is about a 4 on a scale of 10...they've invested their life savings on making this place work.. my g/f an I ate there today, and left very disappointed... I hope they make a go of it, as its in a rural west texas town...main problem is finding waitstaff...I told them i'd try them again, but g/f shrugged her shoulders which prolly means I won't...thanks, jim

Question:
how long should I wait to try again???

Choices:
never
1 week
1 month
3 months

 

Sounds like if you wait very long they will be closed.

It's too bad that it appears that your friends may lose their investment. Way too many people think they can run a restaurant. Some can, most can't.

I hope you told them what you wrote, because they really need honest feedback quickly if they're going to survive. Waitstaff? They need to do it themselves as much as possible until and unless the business is so big they can afford to hire people, but if the food ain't good, they are dead ducks. People can overlook lots of stuff if the food is exceptionally good, but if it ain't then other things just add to the poor experience.

Critique their food and service. Present it as a customer, not a friend.

Is the food under-seasoned? Not cooked properly? Not served at the correct temperature?

George

critique::: I ordered a bacon cheeseburger... menu states that it will be served well-done... and it was... about an hour before it was served... g/f ordered a chef's salad... about 20 minutes after we had ordered our food, I saw 1 of the kitchen help loading a plate at the salad bar with lettuce and salad stuff... I joked that this was gonna be her salad.... and sure enough it was....there are 2 main problems that these new owners face...first is that they are a lesbian married couple (in New York State, where they're from)... and they are in Robert Lee TX...I don't care what their sexual politics are, but in small town TX, they are a novelty... second, they are terribly understaffed, there's just not enough people willing to be waitstaff...and they're 30 miles from San Angelo, a town of about 90,000...1 of their cooks quit after a weeks'work... he'd been there thru the previous 3 owners...and disagreed with the new owners...and 3 of the 8 waitresses walked out also...For what our meal cost, we could have eaten better on the san antonio riverwalk....I think they have too many menu items, and need to adjust their business hours to 2 meals...both of these suggestions would cut down on labor force and they can always add more hours later...like a Friday nigh catfish special...

It sounds to me like they think they know more than their clientele and that right there will do them in. Don't bother giving advice, they're done.

As an aside, there is one of the more successful small town restaurants in our town, considering the size of the town. Front Street Junction in DeKalb, Tx (pop. under 2k) for over 30 years has, and continues to pack them in. They know their customers, know their price points and serve both well. It's not great food, but is usually consistently decent food with enough variety to cover just about anyone's taste. If anyone is driving by on 82 or 259, I'd recommend they stop by.

I wouldn't angst about it too much. They're done. Even without having been there, I can make a reasonable guess about what all is wrong. One, their sexual orientation may not matter to you but through your neck of the woods, and mine, there are a whole lots of people to whom it would. Secondly, if the food isn't very good, few people are gonna come back in hopes that it will get better. Same deal with the wait staff. No matter how good the food is, I will not tolerate rude or poor service. Thirdly, you said their menu was too great. They would be much better off, concentrating on doing a few things well. Preferably, something that might be a bit different to your area, instead of another (yawn) steak house or whatever. Lastly, intro to business tells us that it is much harder to revive or reopen a business on the same site on which a similar business has failed. And FWIW, I've dealt with people all of my life (so far) and it is a rare event when a yankee, especially one from NYC, doesn't pick up an attitude when they cross the Mason Dixon line.

I second the idea that some locations just don't work as a restaurant. Usually in a small town that's not a factor, but may be in this case. I don't think the sexual orientation matters much unless they are putting that on the sign out front. I think old maids, and confirmed bachelors have been around forever. As long as they don't shove their sexual preference in people's faces, most people don't care.

Odessa, Texas had a great prime rib restaurant called The Oilpatch years ago. It was a huge oil storage tank outfitted great inside. It was very popular until the "new" wore off. It then ran through about six different names and styles of cuisine and failed every time. They finally tore it down. The location seemed great, but wasn't.

The reverse of that was Jack Jordon's Bar-B-Q. For 20+ years it was on a major intersection leading west, out of town. His place was probably one of the two most popular restaurants in Odessa during all that time. (The other being The Barn Door.) During the '78-'81 boom Jack was making money hand over fist and decided to move to the new mall across town. That was Mistake #1. Mistake #2 was that he rented his old place to one of his minor BBQ competitors.

The "new" Jack Jordon's Bar-B-Q lasted less than a year before turning belly-up. His customers didn't move with him. They stayed and his competitor became the top dog BBQ place in Odessa. When I left Odessa in 1990 Jack was toast, and his son had opened-up a tiny BBQ take-out place in a strip mall called Sarge's.

You couldn't pay me to get into the restaurant business.

It's all about the clientele. In any oil patch town, it needs to be quick, familiar and hot. If you want something nice- ya need to go to town (the city for the non Tejanos).

When I first joined our CC they had a young rising chef- and I mean presentation, taste and innovation- top notch, not a goddamned fry cook. Well he didn't last long cause (Slingblade voice) we want our chicken fried steaks, green beans n' marsh-taters. And they hired a former contractor to head the fry brigade. Yes the people that have actually been on an airplane appreciated the food. The Luby crowd didn't.

Oh and since when did Pappacitos decide that they're a fine dining restaurant? Who the fuck do they think they are? I mean it's good food, but it's just a Pappacitos for the love of Christ....It's fkn Tex-Mex........I ain't wasting a bottle of wine/3 beer drive into Houston for $30 Fajitas.....WTF!!!

having quite a bit of experience in the food service b usiness i'll venture an opinion. a good place to eat thas two things. good food and good service. without both it is doomed to failure. having neither is just hastening its demise. i know of several small town places that are sought out because of their cusine so that in itself is not a criteria, but what yu describe would make me run not walk away

Small towns used to have some of the best eating.

Sweetwater, Texas had Mrs. Allen's. If you were within an hour radius of Sweetwater around noon you headed there for lunch.

Most of us planned our day so by 11:00 we were within an hour radius of Sweetwater.

It was family style. The service was that the food kept coming. The food quality was great, fried chicken was the main draw, and the price matched the food.

small town places like Buddy's in Andrews. TX... a huge plateful of steak fingers... we'd fly in, borrow a junk car at the airport.. go eat, put $5 gas in the car.. fly home....

It's a good question and I have a similar one,but it is how quickly a GOOD retuarant will close. I have found an exceptional restuarant in Tucson, 'Pappy's' that has a good menu,large portions,well prepared,sufficient waitresses and cooks and above all is reasonably priced. One example is a short stack - it consists of ONE pancake which is served on a LARGE pizza pan and completely fills it. A meatloaf sandwich was on a hoagy roll with a slice of meatloaf 1" thick with grilled onions and a huge grilled red pepper. My son (who is a paraplegic from a bike accident),his caregiver and I eat there Tuesdays and Fridays. We are all wondering how long it can last. Tucson is very fickle about restuarants and this one is just too good to be true. Scrambled eggs (looks like at least 3 eggs) toast,homefries,grits,hashbrowns and a small ham steak is $4.99. Too much of a good thing? Or do they know something I don't. On top of everthing else it's clean and well furnished.

It's not just Tucson. I think Americans are fickle. I've seen some fine restaurants in the Dallas area fail. I can just blame it on location I guess. They open, you can't get in because of the long lines. Six months later it's a ghost town. Nothing changed. The food, service, and price are still good, but people have just moved on to the next big deal.

I'm still trying to figure out why the In-N-Out Burger chain has made a big splash. Yeah, the vegetables are fresh....and that is about the end of the story. No options, average burger. We went once, couldn't figure out what the big deal was, and won't ever go back.

There is such a thing as locations that are just plain jinxed.

There's one on a corner that's hard to see until you're already past it and over 20 yrs I've watched multiple businesses fail there including the last one, a local burger franchise. It's all boarded up now with a "for sale" sign.

..didn't help any that the same street already has two McD's, a Wendy's, a BK, a Krystal, a donut shop, an Arby's, 2 breakfast shops, 4 BBQ joints, 6 Mex places, 2 dellies, 4 oriental shops, 2 Exxon's w/ hot food, a popular lunch grill place, an upscale sit-down, etc. And some company thought this was a good spot to put their money down on another one.

Sometimes it seems like everybody that can cook thinks they are a restauranteur. It just ain't so. Restaurants are the single most likely to fail type of business in the US. Construction services are a distant second.

Halfway between Memphis and holly springs ms there is a cross roads with a general store. You walk past the horse collars and roofing tacks and rolls of chicken wire and in the back is a big cook stove behind a counter that seats 6 and nearby are three table that seat 4. Over the stove is a big blackboard with the day's menu written on it. People drive down from Memphis, up from oxford and all around to stand in line behind one of the counter stools to eat there. If there is two of you sitting at a table, don't be surprised if another couple or two singles sit down with you. The place --it doesn't have a name, only the hardware stores name--has been written up in the culinary section of the Memphis commercial appeal and the food is worth the wait and the hassle of getting there. It's as good as any airline food I've eaten. No linen napkins nor crystal wine glasses but they do serve a mean, quart-sized glass of sweet ice tea.

Good info. I just bought a boat near Oxford, maybe I'll have the chance to check it out.

quote:

Halfway between Memphis and holly springs ms there is a cross roads with a general store.

I live in this area and am real familiar with Hy 78 that runs from Memphis to HS, and Hy 7 from HS to Oxford. And we have property in that area. But I have never heard of this eating place.

What cross roads is that? I could take a look.

There are a lot of other interesting small places in that region. And btw, for Oxford itself the usual spot we hit is the Beacon. Been going there since the '60s.

I can't remember. It was a long time ago. We would stop there when we were going to the upper end of Sardis. (no, not Wyatt's crossing) Maybe on the way to Graham Lake.

Have no idea where this place is but Oxford has one of the absolute best BarBeQue places I have ever eaten at. Am looking forward to September when I stop off there to visit my brother who is a retired prof from Ole Miss (whatever that is - I graduated from State). I can't describe how good the BarBeQue is. I never go to Memphis from Oxford,but always go to Holly Springs and on to Jackson,Tn on my way to Nashville to my daughters so can't exactly figure out where the place is they are talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Have no idea where this place is but Oxford has one of the absolute best BarBeQue places I have ever eaten at. Am looking forward to September when I stop off there to visit my brother who is a retired prof from Ole Miss (whatever that is - I graduated from State). I can't describe how good the BarBeQue is. I never go to Memphis from Oxford,but always go to Holly Springs and on to Jackson,Tn on my way to Nashville to my daughters so can't exactly figure out where the place is they are talking about.

What is the name of Q place?