Get out!

Last night Brassy and I went to Michelangelo's for dinner (yes - seeing as we get, at most, 15 kids at the door we ditched Halloween. . . THIS year). We had the one of the specials (they called it "Scampi", we called it "heaven") and a shrimp cocktail. The portions were perfect, hot & delicious. The owner/chef actualyl made the rounds as folks finished up and we commented on the number of folks he had in the place coonsidering it was Trick-R-Treat night. Well, he wasn't happy....

His business is down 60% Re-read that - 60%. It was interesting to get his take on the state of things. First - he thinks there are simply too many places to eat in the general area. Well, think about that - We have four little centers right within striking distance of Southern Walk - I'll refer to them as "Giant" (Claibourne), "Giant 2" (Despot), "Safeway" & "Teeter." Now, going off memory we have 3 Japanese places, two Italian places, 2 sports bars, 3 chinese places, 3 thai places (granted - two are fine dining one is fast pho), 3 Starbucks, 2 mediterannian, 1 BBQ, 1 chain mexican, two burger joints (in the same freaking center!!!!), 3? pizza places, and a couple of chain variety places (I'm thinking Bonefish here). That's 27 eateries within "walking distance" of the nature center!!!!

Oh, wait - forget the 5 fast food places and two smoothie joints. What did I miss?

His second point was kind of like stereotyping. Do you HAVE to go to a sports bar to watch the 'Skins? Is Red Robin that much more "Kid Friendly" than Samurai Sushi?

Is it any wonder these one-man-shows like Michelangelo's are barely scraping by? Forget "The Economy"!!!! There aren't enough tummies to go around! Now, let's throw out the high & the low. I really don't care if the big chains like Bonefish, Chipotle, Red Robin & Stabucks see their traffic down. If the Mother Ship thinks it's a good venture, they'll pump in some cash. Same with the fast-food places.

It's the Michelangelo's, the Anothais, the Callaloos, the New York Delis () that I care about. Is it our "duty" to patronize them and keep them afloat? No, not really. Is it the right thing to do to choose them over the chain gangs? That's your personal choice, but I think you know the answer. I know times may be tough, but do you think we can all get out every other week and try to prop up the little guys? Michelangelo's has a big screen TV for the Redskins Game. The breakfast at Amvrosia is nummy. Alot of these places have "Kids Eat Free" nights. If the purse strings are tight, have a cocktail before you go and just have iced tea or water with your meal (shouldn't be drinkin' and drivin' anyway).

A while back - we had a pub crawl. What about an eatery crawl? Appitizers at place one, salad at place B, entree at place III.... you get the picture.

I dunno - just my rambleings for the morning waiting for Ozgood to show up and claim his CAT 5.

 

MAKE THAT 2 BBQ'S
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I sometimes wonder if the owners of these places ever conduct a "market research" study to determine the probability that their joint will be successful.

 

I didn't support a local restaurant when we ate at Cici's in Leesburg for lunch today but since it's owned by Broadlanders I supported Ashburn.

Our 5 year old likes Cafe Opera so even though it isn't a "kiddie" restaurant, it works well for us because the staff is so nice and they serve food my kid will eat. Plus she likes what they show on the video projector.

Village Grill (non smoking, by the way) has the NFL Sunday Ticket and I think Bluz Brothers BBQ does too. Those are both locally owned and operated and might be good for watching sports.

 

The owner of Michealangelo's was on of the first stores in the shopping center. Van Metre has done a lot to help bring in business. We think that this restaurant is at the top of the local italian eateries. the flavors of the food are so much more above the other places, where quite frankly, what we get is not as good as my spaghetti and lasgana that I make at home.

I tihink something that would greatly help that center is to have another entrance of Claiborne betweem where Fishbones and Starbucks...there is the space.

 

Kaos- you described my LIFE'S WORK. i am becoming a huge advocate for moms and pops of all kinds. i would love to see more groups meeting in some of these local places as one way to support them. you don't have to spend a lot of money to enjoy an evening in these places.

we get an appetizer and split a plate, have dessert and wine... lots of ways to stay within your budget and still keep our neighborhood full of thriving high quality services!

thanks for posting Kaos.

 

Saul was working on a right-in, right-out off of Claiborne. Don't know what became of the request.
They asked the HOA Board to endorse it. I got outvoted on that one.
I was ready to endorse it. Oh well. Probably a good thing we didn't....might have been sued over it.

 

Maybe the restaurants, etc, will be able to renegotiate their lease agreements so they can in turn lower prices of their products -- I'm assuming that the lease price is what drives a lot of the "Cashburn" gouging.

 

Thanks, Kaos. This is exactly why T8ertot and I bypassed Starbucks and went to Cafe Rumi for our post-flu shot morning coffee this week. And they were glad to see us. And it wasn't to difficult to make the left out of the hotel entrance back on to Waxpool.

 

find out about more local businesses you can support on www.aphioni.com
there are great reviews and AWESOME coupons. go now!!
we walked to callaloo with the kids and the dog last night and had dinner outside. it was incredible. my husband wanted to go to glory days- but he always wants to go to glory days. so last night, i won- and ultimately so did he. he loved his lamb chops and the kids loved running around outside and checking out the water fountain. my kids are 7,4 and 1 1/2 and they all loved lorna's meatballs. the baby doesn't really talk too much yet but she kept using the ASL sign for "more" after every bite!

 

woohooo! that is another example of a wonderful local gem run by someone who truly cares about quality.

and thanks for the shout out Sunny- i am proud of the exposure so many businesses are getting- i enjoy doing my part.

 

We did our part today and along with a bunch of other who were there, had lunch at American Flatbread!

 

According to the gent at Michaelangelo's it's up to the firm that builds the center as to how many retail spots there are and how many eateries there are. So, supposedly, Van Metere did the market research and built the site to that research.

The crazy thing is when Brassy & I moved to The Farm in '95 going out to dinner was almost impossible unless you wanted to eat at 5:30 or after 9:00PM.

 

the extreme opposite is happening now- we are glutted with repetitive offerings on either side of the neighborhood. i have no problem with the cream rising to the top- 6 Thai restaruants in 6 miles is beyond excessive.

the places that go above and beyond really deserve recognition. just be sure to- like Kaos did- SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS. complain to the owners so they hav ea chance to improve, and share praise with everyone!

 

My father was in the restaurant business for 25 years so I know the heart, soul, sweat, and tears that go into running a family business...it's not easy...please help support the local mom and pops...

 

To be honest - when we DO eat out....I'd rather support the local mom and pop any day rather than a chain!!

 

Don't forget to vote NO for the meal tax- i know they will tax us some other way anyway so why not keep it from further affecting local eateries...

i don't know all the details, i only know that every restauranteur i know IS against, so i will stand in support of them.

 

Having many different places to eat close by or any other retail stores, no matter how long they stay, helps developers sell homes.

 

I'm in for a restaurant crawl! Plan it and we'll come!