a dying restaurant
Have you ever worked at a restaurant that is dying? In the throes of not making it? For whatever reason?
Its like one of those gruesome tales from Kitchen Confidential or something. Where the owners just throw money down the drain...or the staff has no clue...or where no one cares...
I have been working for a friend of mine...until last week. He has been one of the best bosses I have ever had and I have worked for him at 4 different restaurants in various capacities. So when I had not gotten a job by the time we moved here, I looked him up thinking I could wait tables or something. He has recently left the company he has worked for the last 8 years, and been enticed into an ownership/managership position with another small company from Colorado...which has one restaurant in Austin. He offered me a cook gig because he said they needed someone good, and he threw a large chunk of hourly wage my way as enticement. So thats where I first worked...and had been working up until last week. But even after the first day, I knew it was not for me...but I have felt obligated to help out while I could.
It seems the restaurant has never made money in the three years it has been open. And this is why my friend was brought on board...to turn it around. But I think he is up against some insurmountable odds...
Its Tex Mex...and its ok. From scratch...real simple food with a wood fired grill for fajitas. And for Colorado its probably good...which is why there is 8 or 9 of these restaurants there.
But...
its going into the home of Tex Mex...the capital of Tex Mex...the city of which there are more Tex Mex restaurants than any other maybe save for the capital of northern mexico. So it faces some pretty steep competition. Namely every other place in town...and the food is not good enough to stand up to even the mediocre when it comes to local Tex Mex...I mean Chuy's packs em in night after night...so why doesn't this place?
Secondly, it is near the convention center...not the hippest area for restaurants...unless your backed by Roy Yamaguchi or PF Changs or Chago de Fao...but really it should be packing in the lunch crowds and getting the hip dinner crowds...but it has the streets to contend with...one ways the wrong ways etc...
Lastly the staff...not very passionate kitchen staff, not very educated FOH...i.e. I only know yellow or white cheese...what is keso fresko? (queso fresco)
So what to do?
Well I jumped ship.
But not because I see it dying, but because it was always a temporary stop on the way to something better...and that has happened. And because I don't like it there and have never really fit in.
And so I had to go...and they understand...how can you compete when on my first day of work at the night gig I cut up a 300# pig...while at lunch at the day gig I had done 30 covers...
But I wish them the best and I hope they survive.
Its like one of those gruesome tales from Kitchen Confidential or something. Where the owners just throw money down the drain...or the staff has no clue...or where no one cares...
I have been working for a friend of mine...until last week. He has been one of the best bosses I have ever had and I have worked for him at 4 different restaurants in various capacities. So when I had not gotten a job by the time we moved here, I looked him up thinking I could wait tables or something. He has recently left the company he has worked for the last 8 years, and been enticed into an ownership/managership position with another small company from Colorado...which has one restaurant in Austin. He offered me a cook gig because he said they needed someone good, and he threw a large chunk of hourly wage my way as enticement. So thats where I first worked...and had been working up until last week. But even after the first day, I knew it was not for me...but I have felt obligated to help out while I could.
It seems the restaurant has never made money in the three years it has been open. And this is why my friend was brought on board...to turn it around. But I think he is up against some insurmountable odds...
Its Tex Mex...and its ok. From scratch...real simple food with a wood fired grill for fajitas. And for Colorado its probably good...which is why there is 8 or 9 of these restaurants there.
But...
its going into the home of Tex Mex...the capital of Tex Mex...the city of which there are more Tex Mex restaurants than any other maybe save for the capital of northern mexico. So it faces some pretty steep competition. Namely every other place in town...and the food is not good enough to stand up to even the mediocre when it comes to local Tex Mex...I mean Chuy's packs em in night after night...so why doesn't this place?
Secondly, it is near the convention center...not the hippest area for restaurants...unless your backed by Roy Yamaguchi or PF Changs or Chago de Fao...but really it should be packing in the lunch crowds and getting the hip dinner crowds...but it has the streets to contend with...one ways the wrong ways etc...
Lastly the staff...not very passionate kitchen staff, not very educated FOH...i.e. I only know yellow or white cheese...what is keso fresko? (queso fresco)
So what to do?
Well I jumped ship.
But not because I see it dying, but because it was always a temporary stop on the way to something better...and that has happened. And because I don't like it there and have never really fit in.
And so I had to go...and they understand...how can you compete when on my first day of work at the night gig I cut up a 300# pig...while at lunch at the day gig I had done 30 covers...
But I wish them the best and I hope they survive.
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