So far, Founding Farmers and its customers are win- ning big. I’m not stating that
it’s the best restaurant, I’m simply saying it is the best
run. Mark my words: Imitators galore are sure to follow.
[Good] Ethnic Fare Has Finally Gone Mainstream
table of octogenarians also can con- sume in comfort. It’s a something-for- everyone kind of place.
Ultimately, though, all great business models are only as outstanding as their top tier-on-down, and with that structur- ing in mind, Founding Farmers present and future successes have and will be gained because of the hands-on owner- ship and managers it employs. Within other restaurant companies, the Dan Simons’ of their hierarchies would be relegated to a nice corner office. At Founding Farmers, he’s pouring freshly- brewed coffees for customers, just like the rest of his team.
That says a lot about the company he keeps.
What I like most about Founding Farmers is its own status amongst the restaurant fold. Whereas so many par- ent companies try and make their prod- ucts ubiquitous, this one goes for sin- gularity - being the very best unit by remaining a strong solo act. You won’t find another Founding Farmers any- where near its original one, and thus cannibalizing itself while killing con- sumer interest.
It’s simple supply and demand, i.e., give us what we want (a great meal any time of day or night), allow us one place to get it (like King of Prussia, PA), pro- vide stellar service and comfy chairs and an ease in conversation, and everyone wins.
80 January z February 2018
Just a few doors down from Founding Farmers resides Choolaah Indian BBQ. “So what?” you say? Think about it: when have you seen a quick-serve, yet high-caliber, Indian eatery in a main- stream shopping complex?
Thanks to changing tastes and an ever- emerging collective of new diners’ (that’s you, Millennials), we are now able to chew on a yummy Chicken Vindaloo without having to head into the big city, or chance-it at a nearby, dingy strip center.
The same goes for Naf Naf Grill, which offers quality Middle Eastern fare, tak- ing this otherwise unavailable cuisine mainstream while producing some of the freshest naan breads I’ve tasted.
Just pick your ethnicity and I guarantee you’ll find it now, or soon enough, at your local high-end shopping center.
Healthy Is [Finally] Here!
If you were to scan through past issues of Mid-Atlantic Events from a decade ago, or even twenty years back, you’d see I was always predicting within these pages the comeuppance of healthy lifestyle restaurants. Those predictions were just that - suggestions that nutri- tionally-forward places will be here one day. Well, folks - that time is now!
Walk with me across the street from Choolaah and into
b.good, a casual eatery with a plethora of dishes that keep calories, fat and sugar levels in mind through its tasty selection of healthy grain bowls, local-sourced meat proteins and colorful smoothies.
We’re not out of the woods with this topic - not by a long shot - but there’s finally hope now for better restaurant environments and more civility within them.
[A Confession: The only time I’ve ever been sexually harassed in the work- place occurred during my time in the front-of-the-house in restaurants while in my twenties. Those unwanted advances by overly-gregarious male cooks were simply the norm back then. If that sort of behavior were exhibited toward me today, I wouldn’t hesitate to take legal action.]
Around the corner, Honeygrow has its own similar assortment of veg-forward grains and noodle dishes. Also in the Town Center at the nearby Wegman’s, the New York state-based supermarket chain is serving freshly-made sushi and salad bar selections that’ll make even the staunchest of carnivore’s a kale and seaweed fan.
There’s nothing wrong with steakhouses and all-you-can-eat buffets (on occa- sion) but, more and more, going green in a dietary sense means big dollars for restaurateurs.
Healthy is finally happening!
R-E-S-P-E-C-T Is Starting To Become The New Normal
For those of us who have been in or fol- low the restaurant biz, war stories have always been a harsh factor of the field - lascivious cooks, touchy-feely owners, and power mongering celebrity chefs had been the norm, and their hapless staffers were usually their victims.
Now, corporations and independent operators alike are starting to adhere to the proper due diligences they should have provided all along, by offering training seminars on proper working eti- quette, while striving to ensure safer conditions.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
