Longjohn ★ Posted March 24 Share #1 Posted March 24 Do you have very many? As many of the chain restaurants are struggling and closing restaurants the independent restaurants seem to be booming. We had lunch after church today at Valley Kitchen. A breakfast and lunch only restaurant that has become our go to after church dining spot. We had a 25 minute wait for a table and we got there before noon. The people coming later than us had a longer wait. Their food is amazing and their staff is very well trained, friendly, and efficient. They have four dining rooms and a bar that they kept when remodeling. The building used to be lounge. Another place that I have mentioned before is Yellow Creek Inn. I lived here over thirty years before Judie talked me into trying it. Their food is amazing and although their dining room is small their staff is efficient and as soon as someone leaves the tables are cleared, wiped down and set and the next guests are seated in less than five minutes. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted March 24 Share #2 Posted March 24 We have several. They are mostly Chinese and Italian but there are a couple of new sandwich/bakery shops, one run by a middle eastern family with great food. I went there yesterday for breakfast steak egg and cheese sandwiches. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted March 24 Share #3 Posted March 24 There are a bunch around here with varying degrees of busyness. Some modest lunch spots and some very fancy, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted March 24 Share #4 Posted March 24 We have a lot of independents since I live in a big city, as well as 10 different local biz. That have at least 2 -5 locations across city. I find the mini local chains far better than national chains. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffJim Posted March 24 Share #5 Posted March 24 Our town has lots of independents. Probably 7 or 8 of the big chains, and 3 Tim Hortons. Maybe 40 independents. Population 40,000. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted March 24 Share #6 Posted March 24 Yeah a freaking lot of them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted March 24 Author Share #7 Posted March 24 6 minutes ago, shootingstar said: I find the mini local chains far better than national chains. We have one restaurant that is local with three restaurants total. The owner bought three closed Perkins restaurants but someone burned down the one she opened near me. A year later another independent went under during Covid and she bought that and it is very good. Better than Perkins ever was. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted March 24 Share #8 Posted March 24 We only have a few chains. All fast food and pizza. Everything else is locally owned. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted March 24 Share #9 Posted March 24 4 minutes ago, dinneR said: We only have a few chains. All fast food and pizza. Everything else is locally owned. Same here! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsnip Totin Jack ★ Posted March 24 Share #10 Posted March 24 36 minutes ago, Longjohn said: Better than Perkins ever was. Perkins is like Texas; one star rating. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petitepedal ★ Posted March 24 Share #11 Posted March 24 Lots of chains in Roseville, which is 1/2 a mile from my house..their mall about 5 miles..a few local places..but my neighbor and I always try for a local spot over a chain...sometimes we have to explore a bit. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted March 24 Share #12 Posted March 24 Not a lot. I was disappointed by one recently. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted March 24 Share #13 Posted March 24 we have 16 (that I can count) independent restaurants few chain places. Fastfood wise we have a macdonalds & arbys. We had two macdonalds for a lot of years, seems weird. One closed last year. We have a Bigby coffee, and a Happy's Pizza. And one bakery that's still in business since 1931. Also a couple ice cream/coffee shops. We had the first A&W in Michigan, now it's an ice cream/coffee shop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted March 24 Share #14 Posted March 24 A good assortment of ethnicities. Some of the more successful ones have a few locations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted March 24 Share #15 Posted March 24 1 hour ago, BuffJim said: Our town has lots of independents. Probably 7 or 8 of the big chains, and 3 Tim Hortons. Maybe 40 independents. Population 40,000. A few miles north and you would have six Tim Horton’s. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted March 24 Share #16 Posted March 24 Our town has 3 independents and no chains. One of them is member and guest only at the golf course. Population 3,478. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted March 24 Share #17 Posted March 24 Several very good restaurants and bar and restaurants went out of business locally during the Pandemic. One, my cousin's bar and restaurant, was consistently harassed for having too many customers when the health department couldn't even state a number and was punished by being closed down for a week or two at a time. That was the end of that. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a bunch of numbers Posted March 24 Share #18 Posted March 24 That was the one thing I noticed when I first moved to NC, the local restaurants were few and far between. There were Friday's, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, O'Charlies.... There's plenty of good local stops here though. And some great pizza. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted March 24 Share #19 Posted March 24 Between Burlington and Oakville (joined at the hip)there are plenty of great independent dining options. The chains aren't doing that well here either. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted March 24 Share #20 Posted March 24 We have more than a few local independent restaurants. That's were we go out on our dates. The only chain restaurants we visit are Cracker Barrel maybe once or twice a year. We drop the car off for maintenance and we walk about 300 yards to have lunch. Maybe 2 or 3 times a year we stop at Olive Garden. These are just a few of the places we like. https://www.montesriversideinn.com/ https://hanksrestaurantil.com/ https://www.inigapizzeria.com/ https://tangledrootsbrewingco.com/locations/the-lone-buffalo/ https://www.burgerandsushihouse.com/home-ottawa/ https://www.beachhousegrille.com/ And if we drive a few miles more. https://www.uptowngrill.com/ https://www.bullmoosebar.com/ https://gaetanosvaultil.com/ https://destihl.com/restaurant https://www.verucchis.com/ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted March 24 Share #21 Posted March 24 34 minutes ago, Airehead said: A few miles north and you would have six Tim Horton’s. oh yeah, we have one of those too, & a little ceasers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted March 24 Share #22 Posted March 24 The monkfish at the Beach House Grill sounds great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted March 24 Share #23 Posted March 24 22 minutes ago, Airehead said: The monkfish at the Beach House Grill sounds great. I like the Maryland Crab Cakes. They have a sister restaurant we like too. https://www.pesciolinoosteria.com/ It's worth a the drive. We met the owner at the Beach House and they are planning a separate gelato bar in the adjacent building, that they already own. There are 3 state parks about 15 minutes from our home. One of them gets 2 million visitors in a year. We have WAY more local restaurants here in our town of 18,000 local residents compared to most, because of the many visitors. Starved Rock State Park has some good food there too. You just need to know when NOT to go to some of these places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted March 24 Author Share #24 Posted March 24 2 hours ago, bikeman564™ said: We had the first A&W in Michigan, now it's an ice cream/coffee shop Nancy told me she likes getting fish dinners at A&W. I asked her if it was named after the A&Ws that had the famous root beer in a frosted mug. She said that’s the one. It’s only a half mile from her house. We went there and it was like going into a time warp. Car hops, trays that attach to your window, frosted mugs, and everything clean and well maintained. I thought the chain went out of business many years ago, ours did. I haven’t seen one in over 40 years. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted March 25 Share #25 Posted March 25 29 minutes ago, Longjohn said: haven’t seen one in over 40 years. There's a few around me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted March 25 Share #26 Posted March 25 5 hours ago, Longjohn said: Do you have very many? As many of the chain restaurants are struggling and closing restaurants the independent restaurants seem to be booming. We had lunch after church today at Valley Kitchen. A breakfast and lunch only restaurant that has become our go to after church dining spot. We had a 25 minute wait for a table and we got there before noon. The people coming later than us had a longer wait. Their food is amazing and their staff is very well trained, friendly, and efficient. They have four dining rooms and a bar that they kept when remodeling. The building used to be lounge. Another place that I have mentioned before is Yellow Creek Inn. I lived here over thirty years before Judie talked me into trying it. Their food is amazing and although their dining room is small their staff is efficient and as soon as someone leaves the tables are cleared, wiped down and set and the next guests are seated in less than five minutes. But what did you eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted March 25 Author Share #27 Posted March 25 14 minutes ago, Airehead said: But what did you eat? Lemon blueberry ricotta pancakes with lemon curd. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted March 25 Share #28 Posted March 25 11 minutes ago, Longjohn said: Lemon blueberry ricotta pancakes with lemon curd. Oh yum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted March 25 Share #29 Posted March 25 6 hours ago, BuffJim said: Our town has lots of independents. Probably 7 or 8 of the big chains, and 3 Tim Hortons. Maybe 40 independents. Population 40,000. Since I live in 1.4 million pop. city, couldn't guess number of independents. What is noticeable, post-covid, some independents have struggled, some closed or others have changed dishes with less, etc. Profit margins for any restaurant, no matter how successful, are actually low overall. The restaurant lease alone is a killer plus commercial property tax, never mind food (some wasted daily), staffing, etc. Within 1 km. of home, in different directions, are 4 Tim Horton's. Below are local biz, with several local places per restaurant name: Indian restaurant | Cinnamon Indian Cuisine and Bar | Calgary, AB | (403) 290-1777 (cinnamoncalgary.ca) 2 locations All-day Breakfast Brunch & Lunch | Red's Diner (redsdiner.com) Home - Sucre Patisserie & Cafe (sucrecafe.com) The Best Breakfast & Brunch in Canada: OEB Breakfast Co. (eatoeb.com) (they began in Calgary. They do adjust menu to cater to local tastes.) Lina's Italian Market (linasmarket.com) HOME - Pie Junkie sweet and savoury pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groupw Posted March 25 Share #30 Posted March 25 We have a mix of everything local, regional chain, and national chain. One of the biggest challenges for mom and pops here is finding a space. This is still a pretty new town without a lot of old buildings with lower rent. A lot of our locals are using food trucks as a way to get started. A couple have added or moved to brick and mortar. One brick and mortar even added a food truck! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted March 25 Share #31 Posted March 25 5 hours ago, MickinMD said: Several very good restaurants and bar and restaurants went out of business locally during the Pandemic. One, my cousin's bar and restaurant, was consistently harassed for having too many customers when the health department couldn't even state a number and was punished by being closed down for a week or two at a time. That was the end of that. Sister #2 is a restaurant owner and the pandemic was rough on them too. They were more of a bar/sit down place not really geared towards take out. The ever changing health codes caused them to waste thousands retrofitting and then ripping it out & changing again… When they were allowed to open outdoor seating, they set up outdoor seating in the parking lot but then the land lord told them they increased their square footage and would have to pay more rent. My Sister & BIL told them, forget it then, we’ll just close our doors & file BK. Good luck finding another sucker… The land lord relented and let them set up outdoors. It was a rough few years for them, their catering business cratered too but they made it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted March 25 Share #32 Posted March 25 1 hour ago, groupw said: We have a mix of everything local, regional chain, and national chain. One of the biggest challenges for mom and pops here is finding a space. This is still a pretty new town without a lot of old buildings with lower rent. A lot of our locals are using food trucks as a way to get started. A couple have added or moved to brick and mortar. One brick and mortar even added a food truck! Is your town suburban? Is that why it's "newish"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groupw Posted March 25 Share #33 Posted March 25 9 minutes ago, shootingstar said: Is your town suburban? Is that why it's "newish"? Maricopa is basically a bedroom community relative to the rest of the Valley. It was incorporated in 2003 and grew from a tiny rural village of 1600 to a population of 74,000 at latest count. Commercial development has not kept up with population growth. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted March 25 Share #34 Posted March 25 24 minutes ago, groupw said: Maricopa is basically a bedroom community relative to the rest of the Valley. It was incorporated in 2003 and grew from a tiny rural village of 1600 to a population of 74,000 at latest count. Commercial development has not kept up with population growth. We have some towns like that in Alberta. An employee I worked with, her family is in Chestermere, (pop. of 22,000) which is nearly next door to Calgary. The town lacks enough restaurants and shops. I truly believe there should be always a good range of local restaurants in any town. On top of all this, she and hubby look for recreational programs to enroll their children in Calgary, our city. Not because she is an employee with us, but such programs are barely there in her town. (Real terrible problems of municipal and budget mismanagement and council, is public knowledge, is affecting services there.) Insane...meanwhile our city is growing rapidly with thousands of new residents in pasts 18 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted March 25 Share #35 Posted March 25 8 hours ago, ChrisL said: Sister #2 is a restaurant owner and the pandemic was rough on them too. They were more of a bar/sit down place not really geared towards take out. The ever changing health codes caused them to waste thousands retrofitting and then ripping it out & changing again… When they were allowed to open outdoor seating, they set up outdoor seating in the parking lot but then the land lord told them they increased their square footage and would have to pay more rent. My Sister & BIL told them, forget it then, we’ll just close our doors & file BK. Good luck finding another sucker… The land lord relented and let them set up outdoors. It was a rough few years for them, their catering business cratered too but they made it. Good for them! My cousin Ed was close to retiring and just decided it was too much of a hassle. A lot of us family members ate there - good food - at least a couple times a month and my brother's band played there a couple weekends a month. It had trivia leagues where I'd run into people I knew from high school, etc. So we really miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted March 25 Share #36 Posted March 25 17 hours ago, Parsnip Totin Jack said: Perkins is like Texas; one star rating. But 45yo memories say it was a great place to get something to eat after the bars closed at 2:00. A 3:00am peach roll-up would do just fine until you woke up at noon on Saturday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted March 25 Share #37 Posted March 25 19 hours ago, Longjohn said: Do you have very many? More than I can count and that's just walking distance But we also have a slew of regional and national restaurants. Our favorite is a small Ethiopian place that we hit about once a month. In general, we're not big "eat out" folks, so mostly get take-out (if at all), but working on the kitchen the past month has been nice as it gives us a lot of excuses to eat out 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted March 25 Author Share #38 Posted March 25 3 minutes ago, Kzoo said: But 45yo memories say it was a great place to get something to eat after the bars closed at 2:00. A 3:00am peach roll-up would do just fine until you woke up at noon on Saturday. I would usually get the mushroom omelet. My buddy used to order something else. One night he said my omelet really looks good so he ordered one. When it came he asked the waitress why his omelet didn’t look like mine. She said maybe it is because the cook doesn’t have a crush on you. She pointed toward the kitchen and a girl was there watching me. She smiled and waved to me. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted March 25 Share #39 Posted March 25 When in Billings we often frequent Perkins. On Mondays they have free pie, and we like their sides better than at Cracker Barrel. They also have a discount for seniors and a punch card, that after 10 visits you get a free meal. Those are the only chain restaurants we frequent, other wise we go local Thai, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12string Posted March 25 Share #40 Posted March 25 The Applebee's Rule: Don't eat at any restaurant with pictures of their own food on the menu. For about the same price you can go to an independent restaurant with a real chef instead of some greasy kid looking at the menu to see what the food is supposed to look like. Around here. the chains are closing. People have discovered the Applebee's rule. Now, granted, Philly being recognized as one of, often THE best restaurant city in the world has a huge impact on this. We are spoiled. COVID actually did the local restaurant scene a favor by thinning out the choices. It was getting to be too many to support with workers and customers. Cracker Barrel, maybe once a year, is the only exception. Because it is quite unique Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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