309 replies to this topic

[folsomstrings]

That is too bad about Granitos. I was wondering how they were staying in business. I know we ( Strings) are tucked away off the street and people do not know we are there. The landlord won't pay for a sign and we obviously cannot afford one. At least they do have a monument sign at the La Fiesta shopping center.

[4thgenFolsomite]

Granitos was mediocre and expensive. You've either got to have really good food at decent prices or okay food at great prices to survive in these times.

ditto. we had two very disappointing lunches and never went back.

Strings, on the other hand, continues to be a favorite. Again, went last night (always seem to end up here on a Sunday night because its comfortable and good food). Had the salmon, which was as usual excellent! plenty of broccoli steamed just right and pasta marina on the side, with that excellent bread and the usual excellent salad. we are never disappointed at Strings. Add to that, the wait staff is always so nice and clean cut. I love that. It feels small town and homey at the same time.

by the way, what are the odds on finding out how to make Strings' excellent salad dressing? Or to buy it to use at home. Love it! Bummer they can't get a monument sign. But there were definately people eating dinner there last night.

[carnivore]

My thoughts on Granitos is, why did it survive as long as it did...I can remember posting a new topic many moons ago about this place and was non judgemental at first... call it a casual wait and see approach if you will...I do wish them well in the Roseville where they are relocating... it is not an area for weak at heart and better yet poor service and even worse quality of food... just my $.02

[Dave Burrell]

My thoughts on Granitos is, why did it survive as long as it did...I can remember posting a new topic many moons ago about this place and was non judgemental at first... call it a casual wait and see approach if you will...I do wish them well in the Roseville where they are relocating... it is not an area for weak at heart and better yet poor service and even worse quality of food... just my $.02

I remember you posting that and its one of the main reasons I never went (plus all the other bad reviews). I agree with you, their new location (in Roseville's restaurant row) is not good for the weak with poor quality food and poor service - I give them 8 months - but only because they obviously have a bankroll to keep an empty restaurant floating for a while - as evidenced by their Folsom location lasting so long. Throwing money at something that doesn't have the qualities to attract customers can only last so long.

[eVader]

I remember you posting that and its one of the main reasons I never went (plus all the other bad reviews). I agree with you, their new location (in Roseville's restaurant row) is not good for the weak with poor quality food and poor service - I give them 8 months - but only because they obviously have a bankroll to keep an empty restaurant floating for a while - as evidenced by their Folsom location lasting so long. Throwing money at something that doesn't have the qualities to attract customers can only last so long.

Bad location or poor marketing I can understand hindering the success of a restaurant (or any business) but how can a restaurant be so clueless to bad service/food service?

Part of that is easy from customer feedback, facial expressions, poor tips, lack of business and reviews on local web sites. Even self examination works...are we sitting around, ignoring people coming in the door, is the food fresh and served promptly, are our prices right etc

[Steve Heard]

Bad location or poor marketing I can understand hindering the success of a restaurant (or any business) but how can a restaurant be so clueless to bad service/food service?

Part of that is easy from customer feedback, facial expressions, poor tips, lack of business and reviews on local web sites. Even self examination works...are we sitting around, ignoring people coming in the door, is the food fresh and served promptly, are our prices right etc

That's what I don't get. What is the mission of a restaurant? What are they there for? Why would they spend the money to establish a place and then not provide the very best service and food they possibly can?

I root for the small, locally owned places, but they've got to deliver.

I went to the new Hana Sushi and Thai, which is in the location where Thai Ginger and Bella Bru used to be.

On the menu, it says 'We believe in TLC (tender loving care) and SQC (service, quality and cleanliness)'. I loved seeing that, but they failed to deliver.

Even though they had just opened, the bathroom was dirty and smelly. There was dust and a dead bug (a good sized one that would be hard to miss) on the widnow sill. They failed on the cleanliness part.

They weren't that busy, but with only one server, it was tough to get attention. They don't keep their little condiment sets on the table, so I had to go up to the counter to get some.

My daughter asked for some peanut sauce to go with her appetizer. A few minutes after delivering the bill, the waiter came and grabbed it, went back to the counter, and brought it back saying, 'I had to fix the bill.' It turns out he suddenly remembered to charge us $1.50 for the peanut sauce, so he used white-out over the old amount and added it in. That was pretty tacky. It's bad enough to charge a buck and a half for a couple of spoonfuls of sauce, but worse to add it in after the fact. So, they failed the service pledge, too.

We won't be back, and though I wish them well, if my experience is typical, they'll be out of business before too long.

[Dave Burrell]

Bad location or poor marketing I can understand hindering the success of a restaurant (or any business) but how can a restaurant be so clueless to bad service/food service?

Part of that is easy from customer feedback, facial expressions, poor tips, lack of business and reviews on local web sites. Even self examination works...are we sitting around, ignoring people coming in the door, is the food fresh and served promptly, are our prices right etc

That's what I don't get. What is the mission of a restaurant? What are they there for? Why would they spend the money to establish a place and then not provide the very best service and food they possibly can?

I root for the small, locally owned places, but they've got to deliver.

Even though they had just opened, the bathroom was dirty and smelly. There was dust and a dead bug (a good sized one that would be hard to miss) on the widnow sill. They failed on the cleanliness part.

I've always thought that if I ever ran a restaurant, I'd take into account daily the amount of customers and sales I had and use that as a gauge to figure out what I needed to do to improve my business (monitoring this daily). If I see an empty restaurant day after day I'd be asking myself "what am I doing wrong" - because there is indeed something wrong when there are no customers. It's either 1) bad food 2) bad quality ingredients 3) bad selection 4) bad prices 5) bad location 6) bad service - all of those things can be remedied in one way or another IF the owner bothers to pay attention and cares about having happy customers and a successful business. You can see what happens when they don't do that... bye bye

Steve, you nailed it - I too like small locally owned places, but if they do not deliver, I'm not spending any of my hard earned money there - ever.

Believe it or not, restroom cleanliness is very important. If the restroom is not clean which is seen by the public, can you imagine how bad the kitchen must be that is not seen by the public - yikes!

[swmr545]

While no longer "Ernie's of Lake Tahoe", there is still a diner there called "$5 Diner"

Same owners, new menu. Starting price for most items is $5 (I think there are some items a little bit cheaper). You can add on to the base item to make it what you want. For example, I got a 3-egg Denver Omelette for $7 (old price for a 2-egg was $7.95 and $8.95 for a 4-egg).

[Dave Burrell]

This isn't a restaurant and it may have happened a while ago but just noticed a sign on the door at KSI computers that says due to the down turn in the economy they have closed their business. I think they still have their other store though in Citrus Heights?

Times sure are tough.

[DavidH]

Acorn Cafe
What a bummer. I'm in there once a week and it always seems pretty busy.

Message Sent Today (9/28/2010) at 4:50 p.m. from acorncafe@gmail.com

To our friends and valued customers,

The Acorn Cafe will be no more - we are closing our doors after this week.

We invite you to join us in this last week of operation to enjoy some Acorn customer dinner favorites:

- Asian Marinated Skirt Steak (limited quantity available - come in soon to get yours!)

- Prawns and Pasta (our winter version of Gulf Shrimp and Italian Sausage sauteed with garlic, shallots and cajun spice served over fettucine in a creamy tomato sauce)

...as well as our other menu items.

The support you have shown us over the past 14 months is deeply appreciated; we have made many new friends and will miss all of you.

We will be open our normal business hours this week and hope to see you before we say goodbye.


Susan, Dale, Jeff, Coriena, Mike and Meredith
The Acorn Cafe & Coffee House
916-985-8909
www.theacorncafe.com

[MrsTuffPaws]

I just got that email too. I am so mad! Why do all my favorite places fail!!!!! Aarrgh!

I really really really loved Acorn. If you never went, try to make it out this week for either lunch or dinner.

[Dave Burrell]

I just got that email too. I am so mad! Why do all my favorite places fail!!!!! Aarrgh!

I really really really loved Acorn. If you never went, try to make it out this week for either lunch or dinner.

Aw crud, what a drag, that place was pretty good...

my guess is their demise was the result of the location, if they had been on Sutter Street or on E. Bidwell they may have lasted longer, their food was always outstanding.

[eVader]

Aw crud, what a drag, that place was pretty good...

my guess is their demise was the result of the location, if they had been on Sutter Street or on E. Bidwell they may have lasted longer, their food was always outstanding.

Totally agree. Food and service great but that location is tucked away in a tough location.

[EAH]

I got the email and am really upset that ANOTHER wonderful local place that offered high quality fresh food by people who actually live in our own community cannot get the customer loyalty that craptastic megamarts like BJ's, Ruby Tuesday or Macaroni Grill get. These people worked HARD to offer delicious food at reasonable prices unlike say Granitos who frankly I am surprised stayed in business as long as they did.
You'd have to be CRAZY to try to open a quality independant restaurant in Folsom. Folsom will never be as sophisticated as Sacramento and sadly gets what it deserves-it's reputation as mega chain restaurant heaven.