Rustic River

[tipsymcgee]

The entertainment is sometimes a last ditch effort to get some liquor sales and get a payday. You can't make it with generic restaurant pricing without some help from alcohol. Hard to say what the rent/lease was on that building but it's got to be hard to overcome, road frontage and what not.

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by tipsymcgee

The entertainment is sometimes a last ditch effort to get some liquor sales and get a payday. You can't make it with generic restaurant pricing without some help from alcohol.

Yet many restaurants do just fine without turning themselves into a bar. Not disputing what you're saying, because that's almost certainly what prompted them to beef up the nightlife end of things. I just think they made a mistake in doing that.

[tipsymcgee]

Yes, but even restaurants and chains require the alcohol sales at tables, just the small bar areas, etc. I agree, the food is required to be good to keep doors turning, but you have to have some alcohol sales to make things work.

[ICit]

They had the best grits...

[ltown81]

When it opened as Arizona Pizza I thought it was a really neat concept and had a ton of potential. Me and the wife went there several times after openingand there was a wait, and they actually had a packed bar. The only issue I saw was the menu was a little exotic for some of the old school locals. Also, I knew the customer would have to be consistantly awesome in order to stay afloat because it would need to pull people from Hollywood/California/Lexington Park who normally would not make it there.

Then bad management kicked in. They obviously had issues with the wood fired oven, and could not execute that part of the menu right. I repeatedly saw/heard them offering customers 50% off on food that was being sent back/refused. If a customer is not going to eat it, it should be free. Also, what I thought to be the owner lurked at the bar a lot.

The initial bad customer service then eliminated the wait, which reduced income, and staffing. That meant that the restaurant was not cleaned like it should, and wait times became long. They seemed more interested in gimmicks like lighting lunch than keeping the blinds clean. I remember seeing the soda fountain they had for the lighting lunch out in the dining room..it was dirty, and infested with flys. Restraunts are pretty consistant in that if you provide someone with a crappy experiance, you can count on them never being back.

When it changed to Rustic River..it reminded me of when Perkins became Alice's. They just threw a Rustic River sign over the Old Arizona one, did a half ass remodel, and changed the menu. Ate their once..and it was below par. Actually surpised that it stayed open this long.

[jazz lady (Premo)]

From Rustic River's FB page:

Hello fans of Rustic River, this is Rick and despite the misinformation on the previous post, Rustic River is in the process of obtaining a new liquor license and other permits so we will be able to open our doors to our amazing customers again. Unfortunately it is a timely process so it looks like October will be the earliest we will be able to open up. I will keep everyone updated as I get more info on our return! Thank you all and I cannot wait to get back to business!!!

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by jazz lady

From Rustic River's FB page:

He might as well pack it in. Once they have a reputation for inconsistency, they're done.

Any word on why they lost their license and permits in the first place?

[jazz lady (Premo)]

Originally Posted by vraiblonde

He might as well pack it in. Once they have a reputation for inconsistency, they're done.

Too true. Based on some comments on their FB status, they didn't even bother to tell the entertainment they had booked they were closing.

Any word on why they lost their license and permits in the first place?

No clue.

[Terrid76]

His partners pulled out of the business to do other things and they held the licenses. Now, he has to go through the process again to have them transfered. It all takes time.

[ICit]

Originally Posted by Terrid76

His partners pulled out of the business to do other things and they held the licenses. Now, he has to go through the process again to have them transfered. It all takes time.

he never followed thru on getting the licenses like he promised.