Why Restaurants Close
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March 2007
As a person who enjoys fine dining, I am saddened by the news that Auriga, Levain and Five all
recently closed in the Twin Cities.
Unfortunately, I'm one of those customers that don't frequent restaurants very often for a number
of reasons. First and foremost, the cost of eating out at high end restaurants is outside my budget.
However, even it I could afford to eat at Manny's, Vincent's A Restaurant, La Belle Vie, Spoonriver,
Cue, Heartland, Oceanaire or Chambers or any number of restaurants on a weekly basis, my
psyche couldn't take it.
I don't eat out for the same reason that I don't attend Orchestra Hall, the Ordway or many other
public events very often and it's not because of Agoraphobia. It's because some people don't know
how to act in public and it ruins the experience for the rest of us. They eat out as if they are sitting
in their rec room. People talk during movies and hanging their legs over the seat in front of them. I
asked the person sitting next to me before the last Opera I attended if they planned on chewing
their gum in that manner during the entire production.
In my experience, fewer and fewer people neither know the art of dining nor know how to act with
a sense of grace, decorum or civility. I may be old fashioned, but I do not find it acceptable for a
man to sit at a table in a restaurant with a baseball cap on, backwards or not, unless of course he is
conscientious because of his cancer treatment. When I am paying $20-$30 for an entrée I don't
want to see a women take up two chairs at the table -- one for her derrière, the other for her feet. I
don't want to sit next to someone who believes a booth at a restaurant doubles as a sofa in their den.
I bet you know what etiquette means, and we as a society are quickly losing it. However, business
knows that a lack of etiquette means less at the bottom line. Schools of Etiquette are becoming
more popular to which to send the young. Is it because the generation ahead of them, i.e., their
parents missed that at their own dinner table -- get your elbows off the table, take off your hat, eat
with your mouth closed, don’t hold your fork like a shovel?
If I spend $100 at a restaurant and do not find it enjoyable, why would I spend another $100 to do
it again? I’d rather take that money, purchase quality organic ingredients from the local farmer’s
market and a bottle of wine from an independent wine store; run home and prepare a delicious
meal to be enjoyed with friends in my dining room. And, if my partner’s son comes to the table
with his baseball cap on, he is gently reminded to remove it during dinner
- Bret Bannon
recently closed in the Twin Cities.
Unfortunately, I'm one of those customers that don't frequent restaurants very often for a number
of reasons. First and foremost, the cost of eating out at high end restaurants is outside my budget.
However, even it I could afford to eat at Manny's, Vincent's A Restaurant, La Belle Vie, Spoonriver,
Cue, Heartland, Oceanaire or Chambers or any number of restaurants on a weekly basis, my
psyche couldn't take it.
I don't eat out for the same reason that I don't attend Orchestra Hall, the Ordway or many other
public events very often and it's not because of Agoraphobia. It's because some people don't know
how to act in public and it ruins the experience for the rest of us. They eat out as if they are sitting
in their rec room. People talk during movies and hanging their legs over the seat in front of them. I
asked the person sitting next to me before the last Opera I attended if they planned on chewing
their gum in that manner during the entire production.
In my experience, fewer and fewer people neither know the art of dining nor know how to act with
a sense of grace, decorum or civility. I may be old fashioned, but I do not find it acceptable for a
man to sit at a table in a restaurant with a baseball cap on, backwards or not, unless of course he is
conscientious because of his cancer treatment. When I am paying $20-$30 for an entrée I don't
want to see a women take up two chairs at the table -- one for her derrière, the other for her feet. I
don't want to sit next to someone who believes a booth at a restaurant doubles as a sofa in their den.
I bet you know what etiquette means, and we as a society are quickly losing it. However, business
knows that a lack of etiquette means less at the bottom line. Schools of Etiquette are becoming
more popular to which to send the young. Is it because the generation ahead of them, i.e., their
parents missed that at their own dinner table -- get your elbows off the table, take off your hat, eat
with your mouth closed, don’t hold your fork like a shovel?
If I spend $100 at a restaurant and do not find it enjoyable, why would I spend another $100 to do
it again? I’d rather take that money, purchase quality organic ingredients from the local farmer’s
market and a bottle of wine from an independent wine store; run home and prepare a delicious
meal to be enjoyed with friends in my dining room. And, if my partner’s son comes to the table
with his baseball cap on, he is gently reminded to remove it during dinner
- Bret Bannon
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