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Boiling it Down
Thanks for the great positive lead-in for our new business here in Knoxville;
I had been wondering why the news had been dominated by stories about businesses
leaving town ever since I moved back. We really appreciated being included
in your jinxed location article ["Jinxed?" by Joe Tarr, Vol. 7, No. 49].
(I just wish you had written it while I was negotiating my lease.) While
it is true that some locations seem to have problems, it is also true that
restaurants fail in prime locations as well. Some "expert" in your article
recommended that The Blackhorse Pub & Brewery would be better off two
to three miles further west on Kingston Pike. That would land us right in
the guaranteed success restaurant mecca where Longhorn Steaks and Blackeyed
Pea have done so well. Nashville's Jodi Faison has placed five restaurants
in terrible locations (according to the experts). Knoxville's Mike Chase
seems to do pretty well going into other restaurants' failed locations. I
guess it boils down to putting the right restaurant into the right spot and
then providing what customers like. I put my first restaurant in a nearly
abandoned central business district. When I went to the closest bank to the
site for a loan, I was literally laughed at by the loan officers for picking
that site. Now I get my own little laugh every time I see those same loan
officers waiting for a table. I have about an equal amount of respect for
restaurant location experts and restaurant critics—zero! My hat is off
to the people who have the vision and go for it like Faison, Chase, Chuck
Hudson, Mark Dukes, and others. Sure they may fail some, but if they didn't
step up to try, everybody would be doomed to eating in generic chain restaurants
and you guys would have one less topic to write about. The next time you
are in Nashville, check out the Sportsman's Grille on Harding Road; that
spot failed for 20 years. Now it has done so well its owners are about to
open their fourth Sportsman, and amazingly, they keep taking places where
others have failed! I would like to invite your paper to return in a year
to see how the Blackhorse is doing, but please send a reporter who can at
least get the quotes right even if he plans to use them out of context. I
have no doubt I will see your advertising people much sooner. I'm sure you
guys will want to make a little money from us while you can.
Jeff Robinson
Knoxville
We Have Cool Friends?
Metro Pulse provides a valuable service to the community and without
it, the local music scene would receive minimal publicity; but the attitude
that is conveyed by the writers can be very snobby. It is irritating to have
to read about how cool your writing staff is as opposed to the actual subject
of the reviews. The vibe I receive from these articles is that someone is
too busy stroking their ego to be aware of the fact that they are writing
for a free Knoxville paper that really hasn't had any recent earth-shattering
news. I realize that excitement in Knoxville can be sparse, but is it necessary
to substitute one's personal life testimonies of how the Replacements changed
your life and how you don't get Sonic Youth's "masturbatory" guitar solos?
I do have a suggestion for this paper though. Why don't you randomly select
local people (i.e. not your cool friends) to review bands, CDs, and films
along with your own experienced writing staff? That way your reading audience
will have different perspectives on hand when it comes time to consider which
film to watch or what show to attend.
Olivia Afina
Knoxville |
