Thursday, March 21, 2013

DeathWatch Mea Culpa


I've read the comments, received the tweets and seen the bat signals and changes are coming.


Mistakes were made on my recent DeathWatch post and I would like to take a moment to both acknowledge them and to pledge that things will be different in the future.

I'm reminded of the quote, "with great power, comes great responsibility." I feel as though I have let down not only myself, but a number of businesses and the many readers of ToNeTo Atlanta as well. 

Though the DeathWatch remains one of the most popular segments on the site, it has become both less accurate, and at times, completely off.  That being said, changes are coming.  If and when the segment does come back, the DeathWatch will be leaner in both editorial and number, and will have clear timelines and reasoning. 

Among the many complaints about the most recent edition were that I simply pick on restaurants (and retailers) I don't like, that is simply not the case.  Yes, some of the DeathWatch members I may not care for personally, but some were submitted by multiple readers or added for other reasons, unrelated to my personal preference.   Even where certain establishments that were included that I don't care for, that was not the sole reasoning for them being added. 

Additionally, I wanted to admit that two establishments should not have made the list.

Sprig in Oak Grove and Mellow Mushroom's downtown location are both doing well and their appearance on the DeathWatch was unwarranted.

Sprig has not only corrected earlier issues and doing well, but ownership is opening a second location in downtown Lilburn.  The restaurant for which the owners are currently seeking name suggestion will open in the former Blue Rooster Cafe on Main Street on old town Lilburn.  Blue Rooster closed in late 2011 and apparently the space had become highly sought after, with the Sprig owners winning the blessing of city officials.  (The city currently owns the building.)

Mellow Mushroom has recovered from a terrible opening and has become quite popular.  The restaurant, located at Allen Plaza near the W Downtown, had not done well earlier, but sales are now quite strong and I don't see them going anywhere.

Thank you for your continued readership.

10 comments:

SB said...

You are a good man Eli Z.

Molly @ The Nesting Game said...

Admirable post, however I also live in the neighborhood and have been to Sprig twice, both times with pretty terrible service. The kind where they are really NICE, but totally inept, which makes it hard to be a jerk about it. I really like that there is a nice place like that so close to my home and I don't want to see them fail, but I will have a really hard time going back. Fool me twice...

mindspringyahoo said...

We haven't really had any problems with the service at Sprig, but I think that they need more consistency (not overcooking burgers), and they could use more seasoning (cook veggies in a good quality vegetable or chicken broth instead of water, put some kind of dressing on the beet and goat cheese salad).

They've done a good job of working the social media, connecting with the community, and showing up at local events (taste of Tucker, etc.).

Darin said...

Good work with the corrections. I was confused by the incorrect inclusion of downtown Mellow Mushroom. I've been there a couple of times for lunch in the past year and it was packed to the roof -- literally, since they had the upper-floor seating open. Glad to know it's sticking around.

G.G. said...

Glad to read this, Eli. Definitely the right move to make.

Anonymous said...

You don't need to justify your content Eli! Write whatever you want!

Those who don't like it need not pay attention. Nobody is forcing you to read this stuff, nor is any of the information represented as fact. Its very clearly stated to be commentary and predication based upon a variety of factors.

Anonymous said...

I understand you wanting to keep with your convictions about how you feel about certain places. But if it has been a couple of years, like it has been with US Cafe and Erbert and Gerhart, and those places are still open and doing well, you should probably admit you got those places wrong and take them off your Deathwatch.

Atlantan99 said...

Thank you all. I appreciate the comments and continued readership.

nsk said...

If this segment were called, "I Can't Understand Why This Place Is Still In Business," nobody would've called you out.

Anonymous said...

Good point nsk. Deathwatch is catchier though...

Clearly there are some places that by all rights should be out of business but inexplicably remain open (see Ebert and Gerberts) Perhaps there could be a section of Deathwatch for zombie businesses, dead but shambling forward somehow. Maybe when they are still operating after 4 consecutive quarters on the Deathwatch with no change in the underlying conditions.

Also, as someone suggested earlier, you should celebrate improvements in prognosis, whether it is from improved food quality, service or volume of business. I think this will make your predictions seem more analytical and less like personal gripes.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...