Kingsport Grocery Co. (floor, business, pay)

[kamoshika]

Judging from the abysmal service my family and I received at KGC last month, this is probably a good idea.

Lane said staying open through the harsh winter months would “risk what makes us great by trying to cut corners.”

“Therefore, we’ve chosen instead of trying to run on a skeleton staff and put our service, quality and selection at risk, we would rather hibernate for the winter and reopen in the spring, operating at our best,” Lane said.

In the meantime, the restaurant owners are working with their Bristol licensee on the details to open the Bristol Grocery Company on State Street.
Kingsport Grocery Company to 'hibernate' until mid May - Kingsport Times-News Online

[signpainter87]

Well head on over to Stir Fry just down the street and to the right. They always have great food, great beers, and great service. I love the grocery though so i hope they stick it out.

[mbmouse]

Having this much snow/ice/bad weather in an area that isn't used to getting it has been rough on a lot of business I think. If folks are worried about bad road conditions as a possibility, they aren't going to go out to eat. I hear the pizza deliveries have increased though!

[Green Arrow]

Yeah...I tried to eat at KGC twice,both times at mid-week afternoon non-rush hours and the service was HORRIBLE! The last time I walked out after ordering a sandwich and waiting for over an hour while all the waitress' stood around running their mouths. From what I hear,I'm not the only one who received crappy service-pretty sure the weather is the LEAST of their problems!

[NorthernLights]

Kingsport is in a bad way. East Tennessee is in a bad way. America is in a bad way. Doug Beatty had great success with Barley's Taproom in a time and place they said he couldn't win. He and his partners believed that Kingsport was the next "place to be" and tried it again at Kingsport Grocery Co. and Boneyard etc..He's not a personal aquaintence of mine, I just heard him speak at a meeting once, but it seems that he believes in Kingsport and tried to help rebuild downtown. Things looked good, but then we got the biggest depression since 1929. Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you. I hope he and his partners and all the other people who believe in what Kingsport can be can weather this storm. If it means going into 'hibernation'...so be it. I wish them well. It's not that they don't know how to run good restaurants and stores it's just that in a world with 10-20% unemployment and people counting every nickel and dime you can't pay the light bill as a restauranteur or store owner when nobody comes through your front doors. They've taken huge loans and economic risks to provide venues for people to go to downtown. We can decry the service we just had or the fact our beer or pizza wasn't the right temperature or the waitress didn't blow us a kiss,etc. because we aren't on the front line like those business owners. Think about what it must be like to bet the farm [literally] on your business. Most of us just go to work for someone else, get our check and go home and pay our mortgage. Think about what those business owners risk everyday with the loans they've agreed to pay back. If people like that didn't have the cojones to try then you might as well level downtown with a wrecking ball. I wouldn't trade places with them right now but they have my utmost respect. I hope they weather this economic storm and come out on top as I hope any American willing to take a risk can prosper.

[rccrain]

While I agree that the economy is in the pits right now, you can't throw away the effect of bad service. Service is EVERYTHING at a restaurant. In this economy, you aren't allowed to screw up once, let alone twice as Green Arrow mentioned. I had a similar below par experience the only time I tried KGC.

The only way to get people to keep "coming through your front doors" is to WOW them every single time. People ARE counting every nickle and dime, so as a restaurateur, you cannot afford to underwhelm, because those are nickels and dimes you'll never see again.

I sincerely hope KGC takes the time to reflect, refocus, and re-energize, because they have something that could be really special. There were some really good reviews back in 2008: //www.city-data.com/forum/kings...eopened-4.html

[NorthernLights]

True enough. I've had good experiences the half dozen times I visited KGC but it sounds like I was in the minority. Maybe they'll restructure/clean house while they take a break. I was merely commenting that other restaurants may wish they could "hibernate" until things pick back up as I fully suspect 2010 to be a repeat of 2009. We were in one of the bigger coffee, pastry and wifi chains saturday evening at a little after 6 and the display cases were mostly empty, all the coffee in the thermos thingys was tepid, I paid 2 bucks extra for chicken breast on my salad and got about three slices. As we left I looked at Lisa and said "If I worked there I'd be updating my resume' ." It takes more than the Dow being back at 10,000 to make a recovery and until we see recovery trickle down from Wall St. to Main St. a lot of other businesses will likely "hibernate" for good this year.

[blindsolitude]

I hope that during their "hibernation" they find some bartenders who actually know what they are doing. The ones they have now feel like they can pick and choose who they serve (like they have the "velvet ropes"). I stopped going there after Thanksgiving because the service was HORRIBLE. I couldn't even get water from them. Not too mention they started doing a cover charge to go upstairs (i guess its to cover the lame "dj"?).

[FutureJohnsonCityian]

Hey all, I'm going up to Kingsport for a function and would love to go to Kingsport Grocery Company. But I don't think it's open. Can somebody inform me? Thanks!

[kamoshika]

No, it's been closed since Feb. '10. The owners said at the time that it would re-open last May, but...