How to make sure your new restaurant FAILS

[Kimchee]

We tried a new Mexican restaurant last night.. brand new, open for about 2 weeks.
We were the only customers, Tuesday night around 630 or so.

1. Setting sun made every seat in the place have at least 1 seat facing into the blinding sun... No blinds on the windows.
2. The sweet tea was old, and tasted a bit sour.
3. Server's command of English was a bit light for the job.
4. Wife requested the "shredded beef" option for her combo meal... told server twice... got ground beef.
5. I asked our waitress what she liked best... the fajitas.... and ordered them.
(The menu was standard fare, nothing special or unusual).
6. The food was bland. We both agreed that my fajitas, steak and chicken, although cooked well, had NO SEASONING. Neither did the meat in her meal.
7. The rice side was MINUTE RICE.
8. The refried beans were straight from the can, watery, with a bit of cheese.
9. The man behind the counter came to ask us if we were "Going to pay?" while we were still finishing up our stale tea......
We hadn't gotten a bill from our server yet.

This place was a classic study in WHAT NOT TO DO. Mexican restaurants here are common; if nothing in your restaurant rises above the masses... well..... bye.

[MexicoKaren]

The man behind the counter came to ask us if we were "Going to pay?" while we were still finishing up our stale tea......The man behind the counter came to ask us if we were "Going to pay?" while we were still finishing up our stale tea......

That is SO not Mexican. When you are dining in a restaurant here, you never get a bill until you ask for it ("la cuenta, por favor?") because it is considered very rude to rush people, and because presenting the bill is akin to asking people to leave. In all the years I have dined in Mexico, I have only experienced ONE exception to this - at a VIPS restaurant in Vallarta that is thoroughly gringo-ized.

[Kimchee]

FUEGO LOCO grand opening of Mexican restaurant, invites you to try our delicious Mexican dishes and American favorites such as jeans accompanied Mexican beer and very good family atmosphere, come and enjoy.

That is their Craigslist announcement.... I wish I had seen it so I could have ordered the Jeans and Mexican Beer.... sigh. ;) ;);)

[Doc]

Sounds like they have a long ways to go to make themselves successful. So far they've done about everything wrong. :bonk:
Please keep up posted ...maybe give us a quarterly update on how full their parking lot is or some other indicator of how they have adapted.

[High Cheese]

mmmmmm....rice and jeans, my favorite.

.....don't forget to soak your jeans. lol

Yeah Kimchee, that place won't last long. Also, the more you cook (and learn) at home the harder it is to eat at a restaurant. The DW and I have gone to some real nice restaurants only to be dissapointed. And mostly, like you said: Lack of seasoning. I mean, I'm paying $50+ for an entree and I have to grab the salt shaker? We found we like to just go out and have a burger or some bar food. If we want something nice we'll spend the money on good/different ingredients and cook at home.

[FooD]

Yikes...

Ocassionally, we'll go to this well known local Mexican restaurant which is always crowded and there's always a wait. The food is terrible, but the drinks, the ambiance, and the entertainment are good.

[buckytom]

my wife swears by the idea that you only go to restaurants that have a lot of cars in the parking lot. i guess the logic is that people don't go to a place if it sucks, but will flock to a joint that rocks. the problem with that is that you're relying on other people to know good food and service.

lol, that reminds me of an old yogi berra-ism, on the subject of going out to dinner in a popular restaurant, "nobody goes there anymore. it's too crowded".

unfortunately, dw also thinks an ethnic restaurant full of people of that ethnicity must be good. they would know. :pat:

kim, next time look for a mexican place with a lot of cars that have some kind of mexican thing on them. :dizzy: