Local Business Ale House (Lexington Park)

lovinmaryland

Well-Known Member
He only bought it recently.

The issue is, it is hard for a full scale chain sized restaurant to be successful in Leonardtown unless it is the best at what it is in the county, have a great or be cheap. You have to pull people from Hollywood, California, and Lexington Park.

If you look at what does well in L-town

Salsas- Cheap and generally considered best Mexican in the L-town, LP area.
Olde Town Pub- Maybe the most popular bar in the county
The Rex- More a bar
Ledo's- Cheap..always full of high schoolers

There are places like the Front Porch, Olgas, and the Leonardtown Grille that I always wonder how they stay in business. Never seem busy.

With the old Perkins in Leonardtown, the one with best chance was Arizona Pizza Company. It has something pretty unique, and was packed when it opened. It had a lot of people coming in from all over the county. It failed because they could not execute the menu with the brick oven right. They had a lot of food cooked wrong, and would not comp it, or go above and beyond to make up. Those people never came back. As it got slower, it got dirtier and we were done with it.

I am not sure about Bottom of the Hill. I feel like I have eaten the same food at three different restaurants now. I think the Leonardtown Grille has basically the same menu?

The owner of the building? He's owned it for at least a few years. Its the same guy who owns the liquor store next to crab knockers.

I agree w/ you they need to be the best at something (food, service, cheap, etc...) to get people in. I've been here for 12+ years now and I have to say Olde Town Pub is the best option in Leonardtown. Food has always been excellent as well as service. I used to really like Salsa's but the last few times I've been the food hasn't been that great. The Rex had decent food but their service is horrible.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
I say this about certain locations - it's a bad vibes building. The location in question is one of them, that place in Ltown shopping center that changes hands every year is another one. Like they were built on an Indian burial ground or something, it's consistent failure no matter what goes in there.

I was going to agree with the location being a negative and then I remembered Lone Star use to pack them in - at least for a while. I think the only reason Lone Star failed was because the entire chain went out of business - at least in Maryland. The other failures were local and basically a combination of bad business and a poor product.
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
I was going to agree with the location being a negative and then I remembered Lone Star use to pack them in - at least for a while. I think the only reason Lone Star failed was because the entire chain went out of business - at least in Maryland. The other failures were local and basically a combination of bad business and a poor product.

A murder in the building has probably cursed the place.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
I think the only reason Lone Star failed was because the entire chain went out of business - at least in Maryland. .

We were "regulars" there for quite a while. Then something happened (rather suddenly, it seemed) to the quality of the food they put out..it really nosedived. We gave them a couple more tries and then never went back. That was well before they shut the doors..
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
We were "regulars" there for quite a while. Then something happened (rather suddenly, it seemed) to the quality of the food they put out..it really nosedived. We gave them a couple more tries and then never went back. That was well before they shut the doors..

I think Lone Star just went out of business period. Maybe the local franchise just reflected the national norms
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
I think Lone Star just went out of business period.

Yes, they did...I'm well aware of that. My point was only...the quality of the food and service at the local franchise went down the toilet well before that. I never ate at another location..so I've no idea if the problem was endemic.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
Yes, they did...I'm well aware of that. My point was only...the quality of the food and service at the local franchise went down the toilet well before that. I never ate at another location..so I've no idea if the problem was endemic.

Well they lost me when you couldn't toss your peanut shells on the floor and the girls didn't dance.
 

ltown81

Member
I think Lone Star just went out of business period. Maybe the local franchise just reflected the national norms

They are still in business...just much smaller and not in MD. I was always wary of them because there were no Lone Star's in Texas. That said, I can't see how you could miss Lone Star when we have Texas Road House. Basically the same thing.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
They are still in business...just much smaller and not in MD. I was always wary of them because there were no Lone Star's in Texas. That said, I can't see how you could miss Lone Star when we have Texas Road House. Basically the same thing.

I don't, we were discussing the viability of the location and I recalled Lone Star did very well there - for a while.
 

Restitution

New Member
With so many chains and other eateries in the local area constantly closing and/or declining in service, when does one STOP blaming the actual entity and start looking at the "local talent" that moves from establishment to establishment as the reason for decline?

For example: The new Little Caesars Pizza.

They are a proven successful entity however, there are nothing but terrible reviews for the Lex Park location. Go on Google now and look. ALL of the negative reviews are about the people working there.
 

lovinmaryland

Well-Known Member
With so many chains and other eateries in the local area constantly closing and/or declining in service, when does one STOP blaming the actual entity and start looking at the "local talent" that moves from establishment to establishment as the reason for decline?

For example: The new Little Caesars Pizza.

They are a proven successful entity however, there are nothing but terrible reviews for the Lex Park location. Go on Google now and look. ALL of the negative reviews are about the people working there.

This is very true! I went there on Halloween to grab one of their hot and ready pizzas for an easy dinner for the kids...surprise surprise they had no hot and ready pizzas. In fact they had no pizza at all. The manager behind the counter was completely dumbfounded "I cant believe its this busy" Seriously??? Its freakin Halloween you didn't think it would be busy???
 

Clem72

Well-Known Member
With so many chains and other eateries in the local area constantly closing and/or declining in service, when does one STOP blaming the actual entity and start looking at the "local talent" that moves from establishment to establishment as the reason for decline?

For example: The new Little Caesars Pizza.

They are a proven successful entity however, there are nothing but terrible reviews for the Lex Park location. Go on Google now and look. ALL of the negative reviews are about the people working there.

What's the consensus about this LC? I went twice, and both times I got my order, paid, and was out the door in about a minute. Quality was what you would expect from an LC. Is it a delivery issue? Special orders? If you go to LC for anything other than a hot and ready dish, you may be expecting too much from them.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
With so many chains and other eateries in the local area constantly closing and/or declining in service, when does one STOP blaming the actual entity and start looking at the "local talent" that moves from establishment to establishment as the reason for decline?

For example: The new Little Caesars Pizza.

They are a proven successful entity however, there are nothing but terrible reviews for the Lex Park location. Go on Google now and look. ALL of the negative reviews are about the people working there.

Except for Chick-fil-a, probably the common denominator for most fast food places in the area, CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!!!!!!!
Employees simply don't care, but hey, pay them $15 an hour to sit around and glare at the customers.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Except for Chick-fil-a, probably the common denominator for most fast food places in the area, CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!!!!!!!
Employees simply don't care, but hey, pay them $15 an hour to sit around and glare at the customers.


Definitely agree with that. Another rare exception is the Wendy's in LP. Owned and run by the same gal (I'm fairly certain) for a long, long time, the employees there have always impressed me as being routinely polite and efficient.

The area McDonalds', by comparison, are a bad joke. I worked in a McDonalds in Indiana for about 9 months back when I was a starving college student (about 40 years ago). That place was a well-oiled machine! Superb managers that really knew their jobs. We really earned that 3 bucks an hour or whatever it was. With that background, I just cringe when I see what goes on behind the counters around here. Maybe it's just how it is any more...a sign of the times.
 

Restitution

New Member
If you go to LC for anything other than a hot and ready dish, you may be expecting too much from them.

And this is what I see is the bigger problem in this area.... too many people willing to "accept" sub-par service. Why is it "expecting too much" from this pizza place to be able to make me a decent deep dish pizza... which is a staple of their menu??!!

I am of the mindset that when I am paying good money for something that is promised... I expect to get it! No more, no less.
 
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