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I just found out that next Wednesday will be the last day Sweetwater in Summerville will be open. I didn't ask about the other locations.
This made me sad because when we moved here in 2007, we would go there at least 3 times a week...sometimes for dinner, sometimes for breakfast. The food was good and there was a core of wait staff who were efficient and friendly. We liked the seasonal menus throughout the year as well.
We noticed in the last couple of years there has been alot of turnover in the employees and they do not serve at the same level as those before them. The food is still good for the most part. One thing that bothered us in our last few visits there is 9 times out of 10 we would be seated in the "back room", where the bar/coffee bar is. The ambiance is very lacking here, especially if there are just two of you as you will be stuck against the wall at a two person table. Additionally, your service is even more deplorable because it seems it's easier for your waitress to forget you back there.
I suppose we should have patronized Sweetwater a little more and let our opinions be known in the hopes we were not alone and improvements might have been made to prevent this closing...or maybe it is just the economy in general.
The location is a good one and I hope something unique can go in there in its place.
The economic down turn has hit alot of places hard, and now with full implementation of Obamacare just around the corner lots of places are opting to close down rather than pay for healthcare....
Sounds like the quality of service & food was declining and the reviews suck. In a very competitive restaurant area, you aren't 4 or 5 star, you aren't gonna make it.
I just found out that next Wednesday will be the last day Sweetwater in Summerville will be open. I didn't ask about the other locations.
This made me sad because when we moved here in 2007, we would go there at least 3 times a week...sometimes for dinner, sometimes for breakfast. The food was good and there was a core of wait staff who were efficient and friendly. We liked the seasonal menus throughout the year as well.
We noticed in the last couple of years there has been alot of turnover in the employees and they do not serve at the same level as those before them. The food is still good for the most part. One thing that bothered us in our last few visits there is 9 times out of 10 we would be seated in the "back room", where the bar/coffee bar is. The ambiance is very lacking here, especially if there are just two of you as you will be stuck against the wall at a two person table. Additionally, your service is even more deplorable because it seems it's easier for your waitress to forget you back there.
I suppose we should have patronized Sweetwater a little more and let our opinions be known in the hopes we were not alone and improvements might have been made to prevent this closing...or maybe it is just the economy in general.
The location is a good one and I hope something unique can go in there in its place.
Bye bye Sweetwater....
It's sad to hear It's definitely a good location. This maybe a bit premature but what does everyone think they will put there? Maybe, another bar/restaurant? Or, what would you like to see open there? It would be nice to expand the nightlife in downtown Summerville and I think a different themed bar/restaurant from the others in town would be a good idea. Ex: Montreux mostly hosts bands which is good but maybe a sports themed bar with sports during the day/evening and a DJ (dance music) at night on the weekends.
I used to go to Sweetwater in Summerville a lot, their breakfast is awesome! I think the issue is that they needed to update the restaurant (has that old building smell) and keep the cooking at dinner consistently well.
I hope something nice comes there- they're at a nice location.
The economic down turn has hit alot of places hard, and now with full implementation of Obamacare just around the corner lots of places are opting to close down rather than pay for healthcare....
I agree, financially speaking Obamacare is killing allot of companies. Control of our lives took a turn for the worst with people voting him back in and the SCOTUS agreement of the health care law, fines/taxes etc.
The economic down turn has hit alot of places hard, and now with full implementation of Obamacare just around the corner lots of places are opting to close down rather than pay for healthcare....
A convenient excuse, but from the sounds of OP's post Sweetwater is suffering from incompetent management, inconsistency, and subpar customer service which is a deathnell for a restaurant. Maybe they expanded beyond their means. Considering the restaurant business is one of the toughest industries to become and remain successful even in great economic times, there may be other causes of closing other than Obamacare. Obamacare does not apply to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. For those with between 50 and 80 employees who still choose not to provide insurance, there is no penalty. Those with more than 80 employees who don't provide insurance, there is an annual fine of $2,000 per employee over 80. That amounts to about $1 per hour per full time employee. I don't see how it is more economically sensible to completely shut down a restaurant instead of paying $1 per hour per full time employee over the first 80, unless you're suffering for poor management and customer service.
A convenient excuse, but from the sounds of OP's post Sweetwater is suffering from incompetent management, inconsistency, and subpar customer service which is a deathnell for a restaurant. Maybe they expanded beyond their means. Considering the restaurant business is one of the toughest industries to become and remain successful even in great economic times, there may be other causes of closing other than Obamacare. Obamacare does not apply to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. For those with between 50 and 80 employees who still choose not to provide insurance, there is no penalty. Those with more than 80 employees who don't provide insurance, there is an annual fine of $2,000 per employee over 80. That amounts to about $1 per hour per full time employee. I don't see how it is more economically sensible to completely shut down a restaurant instead of paying $1 per hour per full time employee over the first 80, unless you're suffering for poor management and customer service.
Obamacare is more than insurance and fines/fees. Its a whole society impact. People that go to restauranteur dont/wont have the same kind of spending power. The groceries for the store/resturaunt are going up too. Everything associated with the economy was/is hit due to the 22 taxes associated with Obamacare, not just the convenient statement of the fines for health care and employees. The Big Picture needs to be looked at. Just step back and really read whats in store to the economy via the impact of things associated with Obamacare. Be bipartisan and really study it.
A convenient excuse, but from the sounds of OP's post Sweetwater is suffering from incompetent management, inconsistency, and subpar customer service which is a deathnell for a restaurant. Maybe they expanded beyond their means. Considering the restaurant business is one of the toughest industries to become and remain successful even in great economic times, there may be other causes of closing other than Obamacare. Obamacare does not apply to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. For those with between 50 and 80 employees who still choose not to provide insurance, there is no penalty. Those with more than 80 employees who don't provide insurance, there is an annual fine of $2,000 per employee over 80. That amounts to about $1 per hour per full time employee. I don't see how it is more economically sensible to completely shut down a restaurant instead of paying $1 per hour per full time employee over the first 80, unless you're suffering for poor management and customer service.
First off your numbers are wrong, the cutoff is 50, see below:
For firms which do not offer insurance any insurance, have more than 50 employees, and have at least one employee receiving insurance subsidies, they must pay a tax of $2000 per subsidized employee. The tax is applied to all of a firm’s employees (after excluding the first 30), not just those that are subsidized. For example a firm with 51 employees would pay $42,000 in new annual taxes, and an additional $2,000 tax for every new hire
second even at that level $42,00.00 is no small chunck of change out of anyones pocket especially a restaurant which operates on a very close margin to begin with.....
Third restaurants with subpar service have been operating for years and not closing down because they still had a customer base that would frequent them and keep what little margin they had alive, now that Obamacare stips away even that little bit of a margin it is no longer profitable so a small local chain that employs more than 50 people realizes that keeing one of it's stores open will put it in a $42,000.00/year hole what would you do, I would nail the door shut before I pay the government more money just to be able to keep it open....
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