Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is so hard to tell from thee post if the group is being "out of line" or the manager "overreacted".
So much depends on the size of the restaurant and the time of day, as well as how much the people order and how polite & neat they are each time that they visit. While a good combination would work out fine, a bad combination could be a disaster. A small or medium size restaurant at a very slow time might be OK if some just order coffee and few order meals but in a very small restaurant even if they all order meals, if it a busy time, the owner may be reluctant to let they stay long after they are done eating just to chat.
I have visited a tiny, tiny diner, with only 14 counter stools in the entire restaurant. College students, neighborhood regulars as well as tourists often wait for an hour or more outside (whether or not it is snowing, raining, freezing or good weather, waits of 60 to 90 minutes are not unusual unless you arrive before or just when they open at 6 AM) for the opportunity to eat some of their delicious food and soak in the atmosphere. You are welcome to take your time eating but if you dawdle over a coffee refill a fellow diner, or the first person waiting in line, may gently (or not so gently) remind you that there are dozens of people waiting outside for their turn to eat. The owner & cook are too busy handling the food & customers to really notice.
When you go to some of the restaurants in New York City's Chinatown at a busy lunchtime, the kind of places where you might end up sitting at a large table with people you don't know, and you finish your food and pay your bill, the waiters will come over and tap you on the back and say, "You go now."
the only thing missing from the op's story at this point is it didn't start with "once upon a time "
it has changed so many times .
LOL....yes it has. I find with threads where the OP doesn't come back much and than the story starts to change is due the fact that most of the posts don't side with them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Mysterious Benefactor
You're right, this story just doesn't add up. No restaurant owner is gonna throw out an orderly group who comes in 3-4 times a week, orders lunch and coffee, and stays for 45 minutes or less.
To answer your question OP, no I would not go back and I don't think you should either. It's obvious that he doesn't want you back.
Exactly, but they will speak up if a couple of people come in start moving tables together and than others start coming in dribs and drabs and just ordering coffee. Especially a few times a week.
if the group does not want to spend much money or worry about having to eat why not rotate meeting at each others homes ?
dumping your meetings on a business owner where paying tables are taken without permission is just wrong .
I am not in charge of the meeting. I am just a member of the group. The facilitator, the person who started the group, recommended when she first contacted Panera to see if we could meet there when the first library closed on Mondays that we try, if possible, to spend money there as a sign of good faith for letting us stay there. It worked for me because I made it a plan to get a soup and salad dinner there that night. People with spouses and whatnot likely wouldn't want to buy dinner because they'd eat with their families. More people did buy an iced tea or something in the beginning, but as time went on, fewer did.
It's a Meetup. You don't necessarily want to invite strangers who found you on the Internet into your home, for one thing. For another, I'd bet a Pick Two Soup and Sandwich that everyone involved in this thread so far has a bigger home than I do. There are usually 10 to 15 people in attendance. I know I don't have the space to invite a group of people that size to my little condo unit. Don't know about anyone else.
The point is moot. We have a room now at another library.
I've belonged to several different clubs that held meeting at community centers, or the town hall, or a church basement. There is generally a fee, so everyone kicked in $2 to cover the use of the room.
It's not really free to use the space in a restaurant. Everyone is expected to kick in a few dollars by purchasing a food item to cover the cost of occupying the table and the wages of the servers.
Veering off topic (but, Mom, he started it first) I always thought it would be fun to own a book store, but I would never be able to tolerate all the people standing around, reading the books in the aisle ways for free and not buying anything. It's a store, not a library. Look long enough to see if you are interested and then buy the book. It's not there for you to read the whole thing without paying for it, and yet there are always at least a dozen people in any bookstore, standing around and reading books they will never pay for.
LOL, that big area where the tables are and where people sit and eat? That's actually called "the dining room". There's no separate meeting room, at least not at any Panera I've ever been to. And I've been to...THREE, IIRC. No, seriously, does yours have a separate meeting room?
Every Panera around here DOES have a separate meeting room or "community room". Very common & meant specifically for large groups/community meetings. These are separate from the dining room & usually have doors
to close them off. The 3 I most frequent, all have community rooms. If the rooms aren't in use for a private group or meeting, the doors are open & it may look to be a part of the dining room, but ours are labeled 'community room' IIRC & have the occupancy on the door, just for that room.
Also, not sure abt the poster who said they don't know anyone who eats after working out. Is this that odd? I often go out to immediately eat after working out. Ideal time for muscle rebuilding is 30 minutes after a workout for protein. At least that's what my trainers have always told me, so it's very common for me to meet friends immediately after a workout, for lunch. I know lots of people who do this & don't find it odd in the least. But hey, maybe I'm weird.
OP, regardless of whether you eat most of the time or not, it's pretty clear the mgr doesn't want you there, so I would not go back. Why would you want to frequent some place you're not really welcome? If you do decide to go back, I guess I'd discuss it with the mgr, but unless there's nowhere else nearby to take your business, I wouldn't want to deal with it.
Every Panera around here DOES have a separate meeting room or "community room". Very common & meant specifically for large groups/community meetings. These are separate from the dining room & usually have doors
to close them off. The 3 I most frequent, all have community rooms. If the rooms aren't in use for a private group or meeting, the doors are open & it may look to be a part of the dining room, but ours are labeled 'community room' IIRC & have the occupancy on the door, just for that room.
Also, not sure abt the poster who said they don't know anyone who eats after working out. Is this that odd? I often go out to immediately eat after working out. Ideal time for muscle rebuilding is 30 minutes after a workout for protein. At least that's what my trainers have always told me, so it's very common for me to meet friends immediately after a workout, for lunch. I know lots of people who do this & don't find it odd in the least. But hey, maybe I'm weird.
OP, regardless of whether you eat most of the time or not, it's pretty clear the mgr doesn't want you there, so I would not go back. Why would you want to frequent some place you're not really welcome? If you do decide to go back, I guess I'd discuss it with the mgr, but unless there's nowhere else nearby to take your business, I wouldn't want to deal with it.
OK, I have never seen that before. The Panera nearest to me (where our Meetup group met) definitely does not have such a separate room, nor does the one near where my mother lives in a different part of the state. The only other one I've been to is upstate NY where my daughter lives, but I was only there once. It's possible they have a separate room, but I didn't take notice.
I've belonged to several different clubs that held meeting at community centers, or the town hall, or a church basement. There is generally a fee, so everyone kicked in $2 to cover the use of the room.
It's not really free to use the space in a restaurant. Everyone is expected to kick in a few dollars by purchasing a food item to cover the cost of occupying the table and the wages of the servers.
Veering off topic (but, Mom, he started it first) I always thought it would be fun to own a book store, but I would never be able to tolerate all the people standing around, reading the books in the aisle ways for free and not buying anything. It's a store, not a library. Look long enough to see if you are interested and then buy the book. It's not there for you to read the whole thing without paying for it, and yet there are always at least a dozen people in any bookstore, standing around and reading books they will never pay for.
Yes, I've seen that, too. Here's an alternate idea! I was in Vermont two weeks ago, and in the small town near where I stayed, there is a cafe and used book shop. The cafe has baked goods, coffee/juice/wine that you can only drink there, soup, and sandwiches and is only open in the morning through late afternoon. There are several rooms filled with used books that they sell for $1 or so. Tables are placed around so that you can stay and eat your food. They also have some local arts and crafts items for sale--homemade soaps, handbags, etc. I've gone to that town three times now, and I always get coffee and something from the bakery and pick up a couple of used books, too.
I thought it would be fun to own a place like that, but I really don't bake much and I would have to be pleasant and cheerful to customers all the time, and since I live in NJ and not Vermont, I'm not really good at that sort of thing. But you might be.
OK, I have never seen that before. The Panera nearest to me (where our Meetup group met) definitely does not have such a separate room, nor does the one near where my mother lives in a different part of the state. The only other one I've been to is upstate NY where my daughter lives, but I was only there once. It's possible they have a separate room, but I didn't take notice.
Learn something new every day.
You mentioned NYC in another post, it may be a regional thing, as I'm guessing that in NYC real estate is at a premium. Maybe that's why. In CO, they are common. But if they're not in use, you may not really notice them, as they have large french doors that remain open, so they don't really stand out. Funny, I just did a google search to see if I could find capacity & the drop down came when I typed 'Panera Meeting Room' came up with Orlando, Springfield MO, Redmond & Pittsburgh, so it would appear they have them in many states. I'm going with my original guess that in New York, they can't afford to set aside that much room. I can't find the capacity, but ours are pretty large, I would guess 50-75 people.
Someone the other day in a different thread had posted that she'd never seen a Starbucks with a drive-thru & she was from NYC. We have tons of drive-thru SB & some that are ONLY drive thru. I think NY can be a unique situation since there's so many pedestrians & such expensive real estate.
Yeah, I don't know anyone that goes to work out a gym and take aerobics, get all sweated up, and then immediately go out to eat afterwards. Your appetite goes down when you exercise, and most people just want water.
YES !
I have worked out all my life and no way do I even feel like/think of eating until at least two hours have lapsed!
3 to 4 times a week i go to my aerobics class. After class some of my friends and my mom go to a small breakfast/ lunch place.
My mom and i always order food and a coffee. One morning when we arrived before our friends got there her and i just ordered coffee that morning and we always put the tables together.
The owner came out after a few people had gotten there and told us he can't afford people coming here sitting around and just ordering coffee.
Would you go back?
Also, since your group always order food, why would the owner chastise your group for.........."sitting around and just ordering coffee "
re-arranging his tables so your group could just sit and drink coffee ?
THAT is what is very rude !
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
