Has it happened to you, there is this nice restaurant you've been going for years, suddenly changes owner and the food quality decreases? Well, it happened to me now and it's really annoying, they are losing a client...
This has happened so many times to me and it just makes me so sad. But I think the cause of the drop in food quality isn't solely attributable to the change in ownership. Sometimes the original owner leaves because the business isn't doing well. So the new owner comes in and makes some changes to the staffing, pricing and so on. Sometimes even changes the chef. When that happens, the food quality may deteriorate and I would say it's mainly because of the change in chef rather than the change in ownership (although the two are certainly linked). But at other times, a change in ownership can also be a good thing when a bad chef gets replaced with a better one. I've seen some restaurants around my neighbourhood which have been pretty bad for many years suddenly become really popular because of this.
This has happened to me many times, as well. Hurin is on to something: usually new ownership results in turnover of much of the staff, many people sell restaurants because they're not doing well or the owner senses it's time to get out...as many factors as there are, I just find it such a shock to the senses when I'm expecting something and get something else, especially if it's a food I'm craving. Heck, I don't even like it when established restaurants/owners/chefs change the recipe of a menu item I love, never mind a whole restaurant turnover!
Happens all the time, but goes in both directions I think. We've definitely gained as many new favorites as favorites we've lost. Luckily, word of mouth reputations still hold a lot of weight in the restaurant world, so it is usually easy to figure out where to go and where to avoid. There's a Thai restaurant in my town that seems to only be successful because of its location. It is on a prime corner of downtown, near many other cool things to do and places to go. It has changed ownership something like 7 times in the past 3 years though. I've been about three times and though the menu is relatively constant, the food seems to go up and down in terms of quality. Same with the service.
I haven't had it that a restaurant changes ownership, but I have noticed a restaurant decreasing and increasing in quality. Specifically I've noticed this with Olive Garden over the years. At one point it was severely declining in quality, and then years later the quality has greatly improved.
It's happened for me lots of times too and thankfully not all of them declined in quality afterwards, although some did and I agree it is incredibly disappointing when that happens. Mostly I feel bad that I will never get to enjoy certain dishes anymore but I've has to deal with that many times already so I try and not get too worked up about it.
I am in the same boat as you. Unfortunately, the main manager at my local pizza store had to step down. Her replacement was a snobby, unorganized, and rude man who didn't know much about owning a restaurant. It was clear that he was confused and made up for it by yelling at the chefs and waiters. The food quality did go down, but I have not visited at that store for a couple of months. The worst part is I cannot order a secret item on the menu that the manager told me about. It was a clam/cheesesteak pizza with free breadsticks. As a student, this was the meal of all meals. Now all I can do is wait till he gets fired.
Yep, of course. And it sucks! On the flip side, I've had the opposite happen to. I've seen mediocre restaurants change owners and suddenly their food and service improves. It's why I will go ahead and try a restaurant again in the future, even if my first experience wasn't so great. Also, sometimes it takes new owners time to adjust (and staff to adjust to the new owners and rules). You might find that the food improves again in the future as everyone settles back in.
Absolutely! Sometimes it is really a shame. Me and my family used to love this steakhouse when I was younger, they knew what our orders were, our preferences, made stuff specially for us and food was unbelievable and quite affordable as far as steakhouses go. It changed owners and suddenly the new owner sent a lot of the waiters and cooks home and hired new ones, increased prices and quality was never the same. We haven't been there for years.
