quote:
Originally posted by JoeMommaBlake
A couple of questions, if you don't mind...
1. Are you leasing the space and the parking lot from Abdul?
2. Are you using the kitchen side for food?
3. Are you going to spray paint the name of your restaurant on the building like BALLERS? I really hate to see that beautiful artwork go...
4. What are the hours going to be?
I live very close by and am excited to see someone in the space. It's had a rough go and hasn't worked out for one reason or another. I tend to blame bad ownership and lame concepts. Their failures have caused some to assume that it's the location's fault. I totally disagree. I think it's a great spot and even looked at leasing it myself once for a Joe Momma's.
I think you may really have something with a coffee shop. Great idea and best of luck!
I echo your statements on ownership. As a TU alum and long time TU sports fan, I've had interactions with various owners at that place over the years. The common denominator after the Regers family sold the original Hardwood was bad ownership.
Probably the most egregious example is the group that tried to re-open it in the fall of '06. They sold coupons that gave a discount for drinks there (I think there might be a legal issue in there somewhere). They closed before anyone could use the coupons.
That same group drew the ire of TU football diehards when they promised they would televise the TU at BYU game that fall. Several people on the message boards claimed there was no way they would get it. Anyway, I personally walked up to the door about three hours before the game and asked; they told me it was a go.
They never got the game on the tv. They promised several times they would. While I was there, I saw a bouncer get in a fight with a drunken OU fan. After that, my group was interested in going back.
The various other owners I've talked to over there (other than the Rogers family) have all had weird quirks. I arranged for a TU law school party over there once and got a phone call from the owner the night of the party, asking if his friend's band could play. "You'll like them -- they'll play Coolio."
I think the place needs a massive rework. If they made it nicer, that might run off some of the shady folks who have caused trouble there. But the current setup scares the college kids off -- there have been a couple of shootings there and a lot of fights. Granted, bad stuff happens anywhere, but I think if they had better control on the place, more people would go.
