Americans are the most generous people in the world. It’s time they stopped the U.S. restaurant industry taking advantage of them.
Restaurants
Lyndsay Green’s Issue with Detroit’s White Diners
I’m possibly the only person who dares to publicly challenge the recent diatribe by Detroit Free Press restaurant columnist Lyndsay Green about too many whites frequenting a handful of swanky restaurants in downtown Detroit.
10 Companies That Make Me Happy
Happy people supposedly think happy thoughts. So as an experiment, instead of stewing about the decline of customer service while waiting on hold and listening to the dreaded, “Due to heavier call volume” message, I challenged myself to name 10 companies I enjoy doing business with.
The envelopes please …
When Private Equity Goes Organic
I developed a severe tummy ache upon discovering that Erewhon, my overpriced organic food emporium I mistakenly believed was 100 percent owned by a local couple, is backed by a New York private equity firm. Adding insult to injury, the CEO of the PE firm was accused by more than 300 neighbors of trying to build a McMansion on an environmentally fragile lake in Southampton.
My indigestion worsened upon discovering that private equity is heavily involved in the organic food industry, including the supply chain.
Public good rarely results from private equity involvement.
In Praise of In-N-Out Burger
Most U.S. companies pay lip service to how much they care about their employees and customers. The In-N-Out burger chain is one of the few I know of that really means it.
Why Michiganders Settle For Blue Mugs
Veteran Michigan journalist Micheline Maynard recently opined American consumers are too spoiled and need to accept and embrace lower standards. That mindset is why Michigan is possibly on an irreversible decline and Christmas this year arrived early in Tennessee.
How SUGARFISH Humanized an Impersonal Delivery App
Delivery apps are harmful because they place a barrier between restaurants and their customers. Here’s how a top-notch sushi chain keeps customers happy and connected when orders aren’t quite up to standards.
Why the L.A. Times Deserves to Fail
The Los Angeles Times is a failing publication reportedly losing $50 million a year. Here’s why many of the journalists working there deserve the fate that likely awaits them.
Why You Should Boycott Ruth’s Chris Steak House
The Payroll Protection Program was intended to bail out small businesses, the lifeblood of the American economy. Instead, money was used to protect investors of publicly traded restaurant chains, including one whose entrées most Americans can’t afford. The obscene use of funds will contribute to an American dental pandemic. Allow me to explain.
My Most Memorable Bars and Bartenders
Jen Agg, a Canadian restauranteur, recently had a rant published in the Globe and Mail decrying “Best” lists of restaurants and bars. Here’s a taste (pardon the pun) of what she wrote: I have always been suspicious of lists. From Michelin to En Route to Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, they…