I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We opened a new restaurant this week.

The hate has been stron on social media.

Tonight I came across a post that called Chef a moron for changing the concept.

The person continued to comment on posts about decor, pricing, the menus, the concept.

I could hold my tongue no more.

I posted the following:

John if you hate the Chef and the concept so much why have you applied multiple times to work there. And please refrain from comments till you’ve tried it. You have no idea what it looks like. You haven’t been in.

Yes the memorabilia is gone. As are the rodents that resided in the walls. The raccoon that lived in the dining room. And the three years of filth.

And you loved the previous restaurant. They charged 12 bucks for an Allagash. Their prices were higher and the quality wasn’t there.

The Ramp we all know and loved ceased to exist when Pete and Kate sold. We all loved it as well.

The restaurant was for sale for two years. You had every chance to purchase it turn it into a museum and honor the history. You chose not to.

Chef German is a brilliant chef. He’s a kind man. And he’s been great for the community.

Things change. For good. For worse. They change.

But I don’t understand the people who wish for this venture to fail. Who won’t give it a chance. The prices aren’t set to take advantage as the last owners did. They are based on a need to cover labor, food, and a mortgage. Yes. There are people who will find the prices expensive. But the quality, talent and decor support the cost of each item.

Now a big shout out to everyone who made our first weekend a success. We looking forward to hosting all of you this summer as we continue to strive to be the best we can be.

Seriously.

Anyone could have purchased the property. It WAS for sell for two years.

To my knowledge there was one offer and they backed out. And they’d have changed it as well.

PS. It’s a beautiful space.

PSS. The food is delicious.

PSSS. The rats and the raccoon are gone.

And most importantly my feet no longer stick to the floor.

Come see for yourself. You’ll love it.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

As I said we opened the doors quietly on Friday.

We were very quiet.

On Friday we posted that we were open on social media.

95% of the responses were overwhelmingly positive.

The other 5% were horrible.

The building Chef bought has has a restaurant in it since 1927.

However, for the past 20 years or so it’s been called Pier77 and The Ramp.

Upstairs fine dining was Pier 77.

Downstairs was a pub called The Ramp. It was covered in sports memorabilia, political posters and stickers. The walls were covered in signatures.

It has been a iconic bar and beloved spot to grab a burger and a beer for forever.

The original owners sold in 2016.

The folks who bought it were only interested in making money. The restaurant has a million dollar view and they charged for it. 12 dollar Allagash Beers.

They weren’t interest in the upkeep of the building. Or quality. Just revenue.

The restaurant was for sale for more than 2 years when Chef bought it.

It was listed at 3.5 million originally.

They started dropping the price last summer, until it was a reasonable price.

Chef bought it.

And since December, the building has gone through a complete renovation. Not because we wanted to but because we had to.

Nothing was up to code. Things were falling apart.

My feet stuck to the floor as I walked through the kitchen and dining room.

The floors hadn’t been swept in forever.

As the renovation started their was much discussion of what to do with the pub. Keep it as is. Removal. Rediscover.

However, two days before Xmas we had a huge nor’easter. During high tide. Around a foot of water collected in the pub.

This sealed the deal. The memorabilia had to go.

And now, you’d think we committed the crime of the century.

The locals as they refer to themselves hate us. No respect for history. Taking advantage. Outsiders.

Here’s the thing.

The new space is beautiful.

The prices are less than 2 years ago.

And yes we got rid of the memorabilia although it’s in storage as Chef looks for a buyer.

But we also got rid of the dirt. The grime.

When the kitchen walls were opened they were filled with dead rats. The construction team found rats and mice everywhere. The ceilings were filled with droppings.

There was a live raccoon that lived under the dining room floor.

Yes the pub was remodeled but now it’s safe to eat there.

And it’s sad because we don’t respond because we don’t want the fight.

Someone actually told Chef to go suck an egg.

Meanwhile the new space is stunning. It’s still a bar. The food is amazing. The service is great.

Its an improvement.

And based on Saturday and Sunday it will be very successful.

But if you wanted to go to our Facebook and instagram page and lift us up I wouldn’t say no.

PS. No. Proofreading.

It’s 3:40.

I worked 65 hours in 5 days.

I’m going to bed.

Don’t call because I won’t be up till 4:00.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

The first real shift at the new restaurant went great.

As for the rest of my day.

We fielded at least ten calls today asking us about gift cards.

For the previous restaurant.

Plus several emails.

Plus a hand written letter from a week ago.

No one seems to understand we didn’t buy the business. We bought the real estate.

We aren’t honoring the old gift cards.

And I can’t tell you how to get your money back.

And I’m sad that you have a $150 gift card.

But there’s nothing I can do.

However perhaps drinking a beer on our patio will help.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We opened the doors at 4:50 tonight.

Like any other night.

Jennifer unlocked the doors and went in to the parking lot to let people know we were open.

60 seconds later our first guests of the evening appeared.

We welcomed them.

The wife said thank you for the escort.

Her husband said, but we like our Toyota at the same time I said, she hasn’t done that in years.

Both. Dad. Jokes.

We both started laughing.

They were sat.

We went on with our evening.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We opened to the public today.

It was quiet.

We had hoped it would be.

We wanted the day to work through the kinks.

In that regard it was a success.

At the end of the day we announced on social media that we were open.

There was overwhelming excitement.

Except.

For the naysayer.

For example the lady who got mad over a year ago because she wasn’t told the price of a special had nothing nice to say.

Many people were upset that we are closing at 5:30.

No congratulations just anger.

Then a lot of people were upset that we said the restaurant sat on a river. Not a harbor.

I wrote that text.

I didn’t know it was a harbor. I thought it was the River my old restaurant sat on.

I aspire to be so perfect.

Meanwhile, the restaurant is beautiful. The team has worked hard. The food is amazing.

And I’m now the GM of three restaurants.

I’m tired.

I keep getting manager applications but they either don’t get back to me if I’m interested. Or they don’t show up for their interview.

Or they show up 30 minutes early for their interview. Spend 20 minutes in the restroom. Finally come out, and sit across from me chewing gum, while being surly. He talked for 30 minutes and finally said, I suppose I should give you a chance to talk.

I knew 30 seconds in I wouldn’t hire him.

Then there are the applicants who have amazing resumes. You look them up and they have puppies on their Facebook page. They are quite handsome, and when you reach out turns out they have already been snatched up by another company and you spend the day crying into your coffee. You know who you are!

However.

I’m having fun.

It’s exciting.

And the staff at our old restaurant has been very helpful. And making my life manageable.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes.

I’d like to speak to the manager!

I have a new host who started last week.

He’s doing great.

But he’s new.

After pre-shift he comes to me and says that there’s a man on hold who’s angry.

He wanted a reservation for three people at the bar, but one of them is a minor.

And he’s upset.

I go to the phone.

He’s already hung up.

The phone rings, it’s him again.

The other host answers.

Hands the phone to me.

He’s upset.

That he was put on hold.

That he left a message this morning but we are just calling back.

That the host told him we don’t take reservations for three at the bar.

(This is true, but we say we are booked, not that we don’t do it).

He keeps complaining about my host.

He changed tactics and tells me that he lives down the street. We are his favorite restaurant.

This never matters to me. But I also know he’s not a regular as he doesn’t know me.

I tell him I can make a reservation for him.

And I do.

Ably to discover he is looking for Saturday. Not today.

He is upset. Telling me 12 times he left a message. I should have known it was tomorrow.

I don’t tell him that I had 25 messages. They all run together.

He keeps on getting more and more upset.

Now he is yelling at me.

He yells at me that I should be better and that this is ridiculous.

I reply.

We’ll now you’re yelling at me.

So I’m sorry. We are booked Saturday. I wish you luck finding some place yo eat but you won’t be dining with us.

Have a good night.

And I hung up the phone.

I explained to my host that we never say we don’t do something. We are just booked. We don’t availability.

I assured him he was not in trouble. He’s knew.

Ignore them.

The man did not call back.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I’ve mentioned that my chef bought a new building with two restaurants. An osteria downstairs. A more upscale restaurant upstairs.

It’s been under construction for 5 months. Top to bottom. New everything.

After many long hours over the past couple of weeks we hosted friends and family tonight in the lower restaurant.

Adam compared it to producing a show.

There’s lots of planning.

There’s a bit of rehearsal.

There’s a moment that feels like complete chaos.

Then the curtain goes up and the show is open.

We are open.

Tomorrow we are opening quietly to the public.

No press. No fan fair. No advertising. No social media posts.

Quietly unlock the doors and see what happens.

I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile tonight, at 5:15, fifteen minutes before we opened, I gathered Chef, the two chefs in the kitchen and a friend and we toasted to the opening.

I’ve had a bottle of 10 year Old Rip Van Winkle that I brought from home. I’d need saving it for a special occasion.

I poured a hefty shot for each of us and congratulated all of us on a lot of hard word.

The night went well.

The POS was a mess but will be fixed by tomorrow.

Everyone loved the food, the renovations.

It’s a beautiful space.

I’ll keep you posted on the coming weeks.

The sunset is the view from the patio. It’s a million dollar view.

Wish us luck when the public shows up tomorrow.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

There.

That’s out of my system.

On the drive home tonight, I realized  that the summer people are arriving.  

Not the summer residents.

These are the summer people who come for one week a year.  

And the summer people who come from Omaha to experience Maine for one time in their life.  

I was on the door tonight and it was difficult.  

Here’s why:

1.  If you let your wife be rude to me two weeks ago, by insisting that I host an event in a space that isn’t even open yet.  And two days later, you show up with more people than you’ve told you can have, then don’t be surprised when I don’t take your phone call, when it’s after 5:00 on the busiest Saturday we’ve had since December.  Continuing to call every 6 minutes for the next 90 minutes isn’t helping your cause.  And when you finally left a message, it was for tomorrow night anyway. You own a business.  You have to know how an answering machine works.  

•  Don’t come in 30 minutes early for your reservation, and insist I give you a private room that seats 8 for your party of 4.  And no, the host did not tell you that you could have it.  And it doesn’t matter that you called a month ago.  I’m not going to turn away a 6-top for that.  Yes, I CAN give you a booth, but you are going to have to wait 30 minutes to be seated.  And you can’t have a drink while you wait.  

•  Hi, yes, you have a reservation for 8 in three weeks and you want the Chef’s table?  I’m sorry but we don’t pull the Chef’s tables together.  I do have a lovely table for you. She replied, you used to. I have been employed here for 2 years, and we’ve done it three times.  Every time for close friends.  Never, for someone we didn’t know.  

•  Hi, welcome friends.  Do you have a reservation?  Yes, the Smiths party of 4.  We’ll get you seated in just a few minutes. I look up and all 4 of them are still standing right in front of me.  I continue to study the I-pad to make things work.  I look up and they are still standing there.  Finally, I say, it will be just a few minutes if you want to wait over there.  

•  Do not make a reservation for 8:30, then arrive at 6:30 to see if you can be seated early.  It will seriously be 8:30 before I will have an opening.    

• Yes, you can make a reservation for 2 at the bar at 7:30.  No you cannot come in early to have a drink at the bar, while you wait to be seated at the bar.  

• I’m terribly sorry that you did not like your table in our atrium Gallery area.  I personally think it’s quaint out there, but I can understand why you might not like it.  However, in our defense, you called at 5:30 tonight for a reservation and we didn’t give you an option as it was the only option we had.  

•  Do not order your salmon well done…and then be surprised that it’s dry.  The Chef recommends medium.  Your salmon was well done, that might be why it was dry.   

• Do not sit at the bar for3 hours when for the last hour you had nothing in front of you.  Not water, not a beer, not dessert.  Just you and your wife looking at your phones individually for 45 minutes.  

1.  And last but not least.  Asking the same question multiple times will NOT result in a different answer.  You showed up 30 minutes early for your reservation for 6 people.  I explained that it would be closer to 8:00, your time, before I could get you seated.  You asked me 4 times, if I was sure, you couldn’t get a drink at the bar while you waited.  The last time you followed me in to the dining room, pointing at all the space you could wait in, and got angry when I said not for the fourth time.  And then you asked me if we would be seating you on time.  Ma’am, it’s 7:35.  Your reservation is 25 minutes from now.  I believe that I will indeed seat you on time.  

But most of all, I’d like to thank the two couples at the barm, I sat late, for being willing to be patient and kind and lovely, as I explained that your stools were occupied by people who had paid their checks 30 minutes ago, and we were just waiting on to leave.  I so appreciate your presence tonight, especially considering I sat you both 30 minutes behind schedule.  

PS.  I did offer them a table, they chose to wait for the bar. 

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Tonight. 

May 4, 2023.

I had one of the strangest, most uncomfortable experiences, as a restaurant employee, that I have ever had.  

Stranger than having a steak waved in my face.

Stranger than having a woman puke on my table.  

Stranger than being told that I suck, over and over and over.  

The back story.

The man who I am going to discuss, came into the restaurant for the first time about a month ago.  

He arrived without a reservation, was put off by the fact that we took reservations and was far from kind or nice.  

He came back about a week later and behaved the same way.  

I was at the door both times and he basically dismissed me each time.

Fast forward to two weeks ago.  

He arrives, this time with a reservation, with his wife in tow.  

Once again, I was at the door and once again he treated me like the lowest of the lowest.  

I kill him with kindness, as he’s not the first to do this, and will definitely NOT be the last.  

The difference this time, is that he was sitting behind me at the bar, once I finished up and sat down at the Chef’s table.  

At the end of my shift, once all the food is out and the kitchen turns off the heat lamps, I sit down at F-5, one of two Chef’s tables.

I bring my computer and sometimes I actually get work done.  

Sometime, I chat with the guests or the staff.  

And sometimes, I just sit there staring in to space.  

I was working at my computer on the night in question, chatting with Chef.  

I hear someone behind me ask if I’m the owner.  I turn and it’s the grumpy man from the door.

I say, no, this is the chef/owner.  

He goes on to tell Chef how much he’s enjoyed his visits and that he’d brought his wife, and they both loved it.  He goes on and on about how well the restaurant is run, pointing his compliments to Chef.

Chef, eventually points to me and says I couldn’t do it with him.  

I introduce myself and for the first time, he acknowledges me.

He tells us that they just started coming up here, and that he’s been in the same business for 35 years selling widgets.  He knows how hard his business is, and he’s truly impressed with how well we run ours.  He goes on to tell us that he just retired after selling his business, selling widgets for 80 million dollars.  He explains, what the widgets are, how hard they are to come by and how important the widgets are.  

He asks about reservations at the bar, and I give him my speech about calling, leaving a message, and that I’ll usually call back within a couple of hours.

I give him my card.  

After what seems like forever, he goes back to his stool, and leaves a few minutes later.  

The next day I get an email, asking if it’s okay to call the number on the card to make reservations.  

I reply saying of course.

The number on the card is the business number.  

It’s on Google.  

A week later, this scenario repeats itself.  

A flurry of compliments.  How much he loves our business model.  How successful we must be.  How impressed he is.  That he’s been in business for 35 years.   That he sells widgets.  The widgets are hard to come by but are very important.  And that he just retired after selling his company for 80 million dollars.  

Chef and I thank him for the compliments and he finally leaves.  

Fast forward to tonight. 

Chef is doing a wine tasting to finish selecting the wines for the new restaurants.

He is at F-, the other Chef’s table.  I am standing next to him, discussing tonight’s service, the schedule for the new restaurant, etc. when a voice says, Hi Jeff.  I look up, seeing who it was, not remembering his name, and as I was in the office all night, and had not known he was dining with us.  

He prompts me that his name is Tim.  

I shake his hand and he asks, if we meet after every shift, as he’s seen us together every time he has come in.

I say, we absolutely do. We discuss the service, any issues, any special needs for the next day etc.  I explain that in other restaurants we had a nightly email, but as we are the only two management people, we just do it in person, before Chef leaves for the night.

He begins his compliment.  He loves our business mode.  As tough as it is to run his business, he’s become intrigued with the restaurant business.  He lets us know that our marketing plan is working.

I explain that there is NO marketing plan.  It’s 95% word of mouth.  And 5% ads in the local school newspaper.

He replies, I didn’t market my business either, and launches into the selling of widgets.  How hard they were to come by.  How important they were.  How he just retired after selling his widget business for 80 million dollars.  And how glad that they can dine with us. 

He eventually excuses himself, goes back to his stool, I grab my computer and sit at F-5, Chef starts his wine tasting, it’s a typical night.

Then.  

About 30 minutes later, I hear my name.  He’s calling me over to his stool and says he needs to ask me a question.

He goes on to say, that he has asked the bartender a question, that has made the bartender squirm, and uncomfortable, and was told that the bartender didn’t know the answer to the question.

He asked the bartender if he should address his question to the people upstairs, he was told yes, and has called me over.  

He goes on to say, that at their favorite restaurant in Connecticut, it’s customary at the end of a meal for the bartender to give their guests complimentary shots as a thank you for coming in.  

He goes on to say, that it’s a great business strategy.  That it keeps the customers coming back and that we should start the same policy.  

Especially for regulars.

Like them.

Never.  Have I ever.  Had someone suggest, that I owe them free anything, let alone booze, just for dining with us.  

He continues, by saying that it’s usually a shot of Jameson, or something that won’t break the bank.  The guests all love it.  It’s really great marketing.  

I take a deep breath, not knowing where this is going to go, and say, that I have never done this as a manager.  And that in fact, in the state of Maine, it is illegal to give alcohol away for free.  I explain that even bartenders doing buy backs for a guest who tips well, or giving drinks away for guest recovery is illegal.  And that since I’ve become a GM, it’s never been a practice of mine. I say that it happened all the time when I lived in New York, but it’s not been done at any restaurant that I’ve managed.

He replies.  Hmmm.  I’ve never heard that before.  It’s illegal to give away free drinks?

I assure him that yes, it is.  

He pushes the issues, clearly wanting me to give them shots.  

He says, so you won’t give away free drinks.  

I assure him, I’ve never done it, nor will I ever.

Then he says, well, I’m going to go home and research this, and if I find out you are just saying this to not give me a drink, I’m not going to be happy.  He continues that this should a practice for regulars like him and his wife.  

I fear that the entire encounter is slipping in to angry guest mode.  

I tell him to feel free to do so, but unfortunately, it’s not something that we do as a practice.  

He then turns back to why the bartender was so upset over the question.

I explain, that if I’d seen him give the couple a drink, and discovered that it wasn’t on their check, the bartender would be unemployed tomorrow as even if we did give free drinks, it’s not his alcohol to give away.  I continue, that he made the right decision by deferring to me.  

The conversation wraps up.

I sit down.

And I think to myself, that a man who has told me multiple times that he just sold his 80-million-dollar business, just asked me for a 10-dollar drink.  

If he’s that hard up, he should have just asked for 10 dollars and I’d loan in to him.  

Also, dude.  You’ve been in my restaurant at most 5 times.  You are not a regular.  

Tim and Kristen are regulars, they dine with us every Sunday.  

Mark and Stacy are regulars, they dine with us 4 nights a week.    

Emily and Sam are regulars, and you know how I know?

They’ve come in enough to know that I drink bourbon, what brand I like and brought me two bottles last summer.

Never, have I ever had someone seriously ask for free booze, just because they are customers.  

I’ve had teenagers ask to be hooked up when they are underaged. 

I’ve had people ask for a birthday dessert.

I’ve had people ask for a free dinner when they hated their meal, and even they didn’t get it.  

You are rich.  You don’t need free booze.  

You aren’t a regular.

And here’s a thought…

I didn’t go to business school.

I learned to be a manager by being mentored by my good friend David.  

I also learned to calculate exactly how much a 1.5 oz pour of liquor cost in order to determine the cost and how much to charge.

If I calculate a regular as someone who dines at my restaurant, five times or more, then about 75% of our clientele is a regular.  

We hosted over 50,000 people last year at our restaurant.  Real numbers.    

If we say conservatively, 20% are regulars that’s 10,000 guests who get a shot of Jameson at the end of their meal.  

If you do 10,000 1.5 oz pours of Jamo, from a 1.75ltr, that’s 250 bottles.    Times $60 bucks a bottle you are around $15,000 give or take.

Just to purchase the booze.’

How much did it cost, to get the booze to us, into your glass, and in front of you.

If instead of giving away 250 bottles of Jameson, I actually charged for it, that’s about 100k gross at the end of the year.

Like I said, I’m not business major.  

But that’s a fucking whole lot of money.

PS.  And 20% is conservative.  

So.  Even if it weren’t illegal.

We still wouldn’t do it. 

And it’s embarrassing that you put us all in this situation.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Large parties are the a pain right now.  

Seriously.  

Why you ask?  Because everyone, and I mean everyone pushes back when they are given the parameters we use.  

To book a party over 8 you have to email me.  

I’m getting 2 or 3 requests on a slow day, sometime upwards of 10 emails a day.  

I cut and paste a form letter, that I customize based on the request they are making.  

The one thing that is consistent for everyone is that they must use a pre-set pre-fixe menu.  

It is served family style. 

It’s sort of like a Medieval feast that comes out on big boards meant to feed a small army.  It is super impressive as the boards come out of the kitchen and are taken to the table.  

I’ve experienced this as a guest, and it is so much fun.  

I’ve never had anyone who has booked a large party with us, with the pre-fixe menu, not be impressed at the end of the meal.  

It’s spectacular.

That being said, it is not inexpensive.  We are an upscale restaurant.  Serving Prime Beef.  It’s not inexpensive to have dinner with us off the menu.  

We also do not take advantage, and have priced out the meal so it’s the actual cost of ordering each thing off the menu, ala carte.

Another fun fact, is that there are NOT a lot of restaurants in town that can handle a large party  that is not a hotel space.  This is the reason for the large number of requests.  Not even 30 minutes north in Portland can you find a lot of places that can take 20 people seated together.  Especially if you want quality food.  

Without it truly becoming an event situation, that requires a planner, and lots of back and forth, I can do 1 person or I can do 40 people.  With little to no planning.  And with only four emails.  

However, there are a lot of people who balk at the need for a pre-fixe menu.  The person, who is causing this post today, cursed at me on the phone, explaining that she’d spend a lot of money, and that it was ridiculous that I couldn’t just book the reservation, without the menu.  

I’m pretty sure she said it was fucking stupid.  

Now.  

If you are still reading. 

I had a guest in tonight, who comes often that I absolutely love, love, love.  

He and his girlfriend come in throughout the year.  

Make no mistake about age though, as he just retired and she is a few years behind him.  

They are fun, a little gregarious, and make all of us laugh.  

They too, had careers in a different service industry, so we often trade stories.  

At the end of the night, he came over to say good night and asked about tables in the summer.  I don’t know how it came up, but I explained we could accommodate anything from a single person to 40 people without it being an event.  

We continued to chat, and I explained that for parties over 8 we use a pre-fixe menu.  He was being curious and asked what was on the menu, and why we did that.  

And thus, the second half of my story.  

When I started at the restaurant, we said NO to any party over 10.  

A hard no.  It was non-negotiable.  Party of 11.  No can do. 

And the reason:

If a party of 10 comes in and happens, just happens to order 10 steaks, it’s going to bury the chef for a bit as he cooks for just one table.  This isn’t a rarity.  I’ve seen it happen.  And it’s not a big deal.  It’s what we do.  Except that at the same time, he’s cooking steaks for 20 other tables.  And it starts to bog down the kitchen.  

So.  When a menu is planned.  Whether a pre-fixe menu or your favorite menu at your favorite restaurant. Great care is taken to make sure that food items come from different stations in the kitchen.

If there are 25 things on the menu.  

5 things will come from sauté.

5 things will come from fry.

5 things will come from the oven.

5 things will come from the grill.  

5 things will come from the salad station.  

Now, when guests order, most of the time, their orders will be spread out over the kitchen, allowing it to function smoothly, without burying one area.  

Thus, the reason for our pre-fixe menu.

If we host a 40 top reservation, and even 15 of them order individual steaks at different temperatures it’s going to slow down the food coming out of the kitchen for everyone else.    

But if we use the pre-fix menu, there are only 8 large format steaks cooked for a 40 top.  2 for a 10 top.  The rest of the menu comes from the other stations.  Ovens left, ovens right, fry, salad, etc.  

We can actually feed 40 people on a busy August night, without ever slowing down the rest of the service.  We don’t even really pay attention to the times.  It gets put in just like all the other orders and like magic 15 minutes later, it lands on the table.  

It is truly a feat to watch.  And Chef has perfected it, since last summer, and it’s like clockwork now to do a 10, 20, 30, 40 top.  

So.

We are not being mean when we say you have to use a pre-fixe menu.

We are not price gouging when we say you have to use a pre-fixe menu.  

We are not turning away business, when we say you have to use a pre-fixe menu.  

In truth, we hope you book.  We hope you have a great time.  We know you’ll the food.  We know you’ll love the experience.  

PS.  If you booked our dining room for 40 people at 90% of the other places in a 45 mile radius, there would be a food and beverage minimum, there would be a room charge, there would be rentals, there would be a 100% non-refundable deposit due long before you sit down to eat.   

PSS.  It’s for the same reason, that we won’t separate your table and seat you at a 6 and an 8 top for 14.  You won’t all sit down. You’ll bounce back and forth from table to table.  You’ll put all the kids at one table, which is not fun for the server.  You won’t leave until you are all done.  And if you come at the same time, you’ll order at the same time and we might as well have booked a 14 top.  So, no.  We won’t make two reservations for you. 

We really do just want you to trust us and just come have a delicious meal and a great time.