What would you do, if you got this opportunity?
"The Crazy Ass Bar and Grill, is proud to announce that on Labor Day weekend, for the first time ANYWHERE in the world, we will be pouring every Trappist beer, ever made, ON DRAFT! Yes, that includes all three Westvleteren beers! It is first come, first served. Cash only! DO NOT MISS THIS!
*Please no women, minorities, gays or disabled people."
Your response would be to this:
A--Hell no to that ignorant shit
B--I wonder if I could just get a taster of some of them.
C--It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, I hate what they are doing, but, come on!
D--I would make damn sure that nobody went to this place at any time.
I have the sneaking suspicion that they just might have a nice crowd that day. Not crazy busy, but busy none the less. The usual excuse for being there will be, "I didn't know nothing about their policy, I am too drunk to give a fuck and of course, everyone's favorite, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Now I have stated many times, that we can't investigate every place we have a beer. It would be nearly impossible, not to mention what parameters you would set for a pass/fail grade. But. when something becomes so obvious to everyone and is talked about everywhere, those poor ass excuses just don't hold up. Not even a little bit. Not even in any twisted way you can think of. People make mistakes, I am more than happy to forgive those who admit them and try to fix them. I give no remorse to those who lie about them and try to pass the buck to someone else.
Showing posts with label fork and barrel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fork and barrel. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Beer Morals
Once again I sit at my very cramped desk, with the same damn thought that I have had for quite some time now. Why are these idiots still in business? Why oh why do I have to carry the torch of common sense? And trust me folks, that is saying a lot right there. Where are the pitchforks and vigilantes? Where is the holiest of all beer folk rising up to stop this madness once and for all? Where is the outrage in the beer rags? How many times can one person get drunk to try and forget all about this?
On second or third thought, I do know the reason why. Lack of morals. No, I ain't talking bout my hands are too short to drink with God, I'm talking about the beer geeks extraordinaire. The "I'll run your mother over to get these rare beers" folks. The " Their problems have nothing to do with the beer" folks. Nobody really gives a rats ass as long as there is some great rare beer for them. And that just might be where the problem is. Of course somebody is going to say, "Dan, are you going to investigate every place you go into?" Probably not, but when something like this hits you over the head and over the head and yeah, over the fucking head, maybe, just maybe, its time to look up. Or in this case look down, way down, bottom of the barrel that is sitting over a open sewer hole down.
I'm sure some people think that is being too rough, that people make mistakes. Yes they do, but smart ones find a way to correct them, quickly. You are in a business, not a beer geek frat party. Being cool is all well and fine, paying your employees and vendors on time, priceless. This show has been going on now for way too damn long. Just search my own site or Foobooz for more fun stories about these clowns
So on that note, today I would like to announce two very important things.
First up: To anybody who has been screwed over by them, drop me a line. I want to start a forum to tell your side of the story. Please try to keep the discussion at least Judge Judy level.
Second: I wish to start a "Get the hell out of town gas fund" I would start things off with a $25 Wawa gift card. Once we have enough gas money, we can all decide for them, where they can go to, say like Mexico. I hear the drug cartel likes great beer.
Remember, it's nothing personal, it's just business.
On second or third thought, I do know the reason why. Lack of morals. No, I ain't talking bout my hands are too short to drink with God, I'm talking about the beer geeks extraordinaire. The "I'll run your mother over to get these rare beers" folks. The " Their problems have nothing to do with the beer" folks. Nobody really gives a rats ass as long as there is some great rare beer for them. And that just might be where the problem is. Of course somebody is going to say, "Dan, are you going to investigate every place you go into?" Probably not, but when something like this hits you over the head and over the head and yeah, over the fucking head, maybe, just maybe, its time to look up. Or in this case look down, way down, bottom of the barrel that is sitting over a open sewer hole down.
I'm sure some people think that is being too rough, that people make mistakes. Yes they do, but smart ones find a way to correct them, quickly. You are in a business, not a beer geek frat party. Being cool is all well and fine, paying your employees and vendors on time, priceless. This show has been going on now for way too damn long. Just search my own site or Foobooz for more fun stories about these clowns
So on that note, today I would like to announce two very important things.
First up: To anybody who has been screwed over by them, drop me a line. I want to start a forum to tell your side of the story. Please try to keep the discussion at least Judge Judy level.
Second: I wish to start a "Get the hell out of town gas fund" I would start things off with a $25 Wawa gift card. Once we have enough gas money, we can all decide for them, where they can go to, say like Mexico. I hear the drug cartel likes great beer.
Remember, it's nothing personal, it's just business.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again
I have been meaning to write about some of this nonsense for a while now, but every time I sit down, my slowly balding head nearly explodes in utter amazement, of how after all this time, these jokers are still in business. Who could I ever be talking about you say? Why it's those crazy assed former owners of The Atlantic Jazz Yard, The Bookstore, Fork And Barrel and Tap And Table. Or I as I like to call them "the let's shut this place down in the middle of the night and skip out on our tabs people" We must have an education problem in this country, because I can't believe that people by now haven't read of the constant public spectacle that goes on and on and on with these fools. And yet it seems like the beer geekery gets a giant size boner every time they open their mouth about another "project" that will change the landscape of beer in the Philly area. With more candles of course. Ah, to be young and beer foolish again.
When I heard about that so called Tiki Bar concept, I was almost willing to bet both of my testicles on that ever opening up in Spring Garden or for that matter, the number of other so called openings that they have planned at one time or another over the last three years in various locations. But when they see a desperate landlord in trouble, they are oh so willing to help out. They remind me of the aliens in the movies Starship Trooper and Independence Day, where they swoop in to suck up all of the resources and then move on to other prey.
So now, with out further adieu, from our friends at Foobooz, another fun filled day of comments with and about the Farmer's Cabinet people. Please click on the link below for the whole story/stories.
FOOBOOZ
6.Huh Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 11:56 am
@Drama I have some Matt stories but I see that my comment from yesterday has disappeared. Not sure why, as the language that I used was actually cleaner than many of the 104 comments left about Matt Swartz on the one story on this site about Matt’s former restaurant “Fork and Barrel” Closing. There are a few other Fork and Barrel stories on here as well that have comments pretty much identical to my deleted comments, except that mine was in regards to Matt’s failing venture “The Farmer’s Cabinet”. I am assuming that Will came on here and threw a fit but everything that I stated can be backed up by doing a quick online search. Yes, it seems odd that Matt is opening up another restaurant when F-Cab can’t even pay its employees or vendors. A search of current court listings reveals at least 4 open cases against Matt brought by purveyors suing for non-payment of goods or breach of contract. There are also the numerous judgements against Matt (also available through a quick search) that have not been settled, yet somehow he can come up with the money to open this new spot? Ask any F-Cab employee how many of their paychecks have bounced due to lack of funds, or how many people have walked out of that place due to constant abuse. As far as Matt’s penchant for racism/homophobia/public drunkeness/Delilah’s strippers- well that is nothing new, and is well documented on this site in comments going back over a year. Foobooz, please don’t delete our comments because Will doesn’t like them. Especially when there are tons of similar comments from old articles that are still available on this site Although these Matt Swartz stories often border on the unbelievable and insane- Everything said about him is 100% true and there is tons of publicly-accessible evidence online to back it up. He is a horrible businessman and his track record with Fork and Barrel, Tap and Table, Atlantic Jazz Yard, and Farmer’s Cabinet speaks for itself.
7.Matt Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
@Huh Keep talkng out of your ass and hiding behind a food blog. It’s sad that you dont have a life.
8.David Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Matt, Why do you keep making a fool out of yourself in public? Pay your bills, quit playing games and stop trying to cheat the system.
9.Will Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
@”Huh” or “Insider” or whomever. I’m assuming you know me personally and know I don’t “throw fits.” All I ask is that people are fair. The Farmers’ Cabinet, , and The Boilermaker help many of us provide for our families. You are entitled to your opinions, but assuming who you are, your handling of situations jeapordizes everyone in the establishment, much more than anything Matt and Matt have been accused of doing. You have moved on, please continue doing so. Im sure you have all of my contact info. Please use it for anything you may need.
10.Huh Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Methinks that if Will and Matt focused as much energy on running their business as they do on coming online to refute every single thing written about them on the internet, maybe their restaurants would have a shot at success instead of consistently failing. Hopefully you are not setting yourself up to blame F-Cab and Boilermaker’s inevitable closings on those darn commenters on food blogs. The Farmer’s Cabinet and Boilermaker may provide for the owners and managers but what about the employees? The employees who get fired for no reason other than the owner being drunk once again and in a bad mood? The employees who quit due to Matt’s racism and homophobia? The employees who are left jobless with no notice when Matt decides to shut his business down unexpectedly, leaving nothing behind but a trail of debt (SOURCE: All of Matt’s past restaurants). The black employees who are removed from FOH because “people don’t want to see THAT when they come into an upscale restaurant”? The gay employees who have to worry about a drunken Matt grabbing their bottom and saying “I bet you wish I was the other Matt doing this”? The kitchen employees who don’t want to get pushed off the line in favor of drunken strippers who the owner is trying to impress by letting them cook a meal? No offense Will but I would actually like for Matt to answer these questions as the opinions of his paid errand boy don’t carry much weight. Matt- Do you admit that what is being said of you here is true, or do you believe that this is all a smear campaign brought about by the media, court listings, and 95% of staffers who have worked at Fork and Barrel, Tap and Table, Atlantic Jazz Yard, and Farmer’s Cabinet? Why do you think that you can have a successful restaurant when you keep repeating the same old mistakes that just resulted in closings and lawsuits? Feel free to keep responding on a food blog and further prove my point that you don’t put enough focus on your actual business. Personally, if I were in these guys’ shoes I would be spending my time doing payroll because from what I hear, your F-Cab employees are having a little problem with bounced paychecks. I realize that Matt is Mr. Moneybags Big Baller but for the rest of us, a bounced check can be enough to send our entire bank account into chaos with overdraft fees and insufficient funds to cover the other checks that we wrote thinking that our paycheck would at least be good. It’s a shame that paying your employees and purveyors takes a backseat to sitting on the internet getting upset because people have the audacity to tell the truth about your unscrupulous business practices.
When I heard about that so called Tiki Bar concept, I was almost willing to bet both of my testicles on that ever opening up in Spring Garden or for that matter, the number of other so called openings that they have planned at one time or another over the last three years in various locations. But when they see a desperate landlord in trouble, they are oh so willing to help out. They remind me of the aliens in the movies Starship Trooper and Independence Day, where they swoop in to suck up all of the resources and then move on to other prey.
So now, with out further adieu, from our friends at Foobooz, another fun filled day of comments with and about the Farmer's Cabinet people. Please click on the link below for the whole story/stories.
FOOBOOZ
6.Huh Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 11:56 am
@Drama I have some Matt stories but I see that my comment from yesterday has disappeared. Not sure why, as the language that I used was actually cleaner than many of the 104 comments left about Matt Swartz on the one story on this site about Matt’s former restaurant “Fork and Barrel” Closing. There are a few other Fork and Barrel stories on here as well that have comments pretty much identical to my deleted comments, except that mine was in regards to Matt’s failing venture “The Farmer’s Cabinet”. I am assuming that Will came on here and threw a fit but everything that I stated can be backed up by doing a quick online search. Yes, it seems odd that Matt is opening up another restaurant when F-Cab can’t even pay its employees or vendors. A search of current court listings reveals at least 4 open cases against Matt brought by purveyors suing for non-payment of goods or breach of contract. There are also the numerous judgements against Matt (also available through a quick search) that have not been settled, yet somehow he can come up with the money to open this new spot? Ask any F-Cab employee how many of their paychecks have bounced due to lack of funds, or how many people have walked out of that place due to constant abuse. As far as Matt’s penchant for racism/homophobia/public drunkeness/Delilah’s strippers- well that is nothing new, and is well documented on this site in comments going back over a year. Foobooz, please don’t delete our comments because Will doesn’t like them. Especially when there are tons of similar comments from old articles that are still available on this site Although these Matt Swartz stories often border on the unbelievable and insane- Everything said about him is 100% true and there is tons of publicly-accessible evidence online to back it up. He is a horrible businessman and his track record with Fork and Barrel, Tap and Table, Atlantic Jazz Yard, and Farmer’s Cabinet speaks for itself.
7.Matt Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
@Huh Keep talkng out of your ass and hiding behind a food blog. It’s sad that you dont have a life.
8.David Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Matt, Why do you keep making a fool out of yourself in public? Pay your bills, quit playing games and stop trying to cheat the system.
9.Will Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
@”Huh” or “Insider” or whomever. I’m assuming you know me personally and know I don’t “throw fits.” All I ask is that people are fair. The Farmers’ Cabinet, , and The Boilermaker help many of us provide for our families. You are entitled to your opinions, but assuming who you are, your handling of situations jeapordizes everyone in the establishment, much more than anything Matt and Matt have been accused of doing. You have moved on, please continue doing so. Im sure you have all of my contact info. Please use it for anything you may need.
10.Huh Says:
March 27th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Methinks that if Will and Matt focused as much energy on running their business as they do on coming online to refute every single thing written about them on the internet, maybe their restaurants would have a shot at success instead of consistently failing. Hopefully you are not setting yourself up to blame F-Cab and Boilermaker’s inevitable closings on those darn commenters on food blogs. The Farmer’s Cabinet and Boilermaker may provide for the owners and managers but what about the employees? The employees who get fired for no reason other than the owner being drunk once again and in a bad mood? The employees who quit due to Matt’s racism and homophobia? The employees who are left jobless with no notice when Matt decides to shut his business down unexpectedly, leaving nothing behind but a trail of debt (SOURCE: All of Matt’s past restaurants). The black employees who are removed from FOH because “people don’t want to see THAT when they come into an upscale restaurant”? The gay employees who have to worry about a drunken Matt grabbing their bottom and saying “I bet you wish I was the other Matt doing this”? The kitchen employees who don’t want to get pushed off the line in favor of drunken strippers who the owner is trying to impress by letting them cook a meal? No offense Will but I would actually like for Matt to answer these questions as the opinions of his paid errand boy don’t carry much weight. Matt- Do you admit that what is being said of you here is true, or do you believe that this is all a smear campaign brought about by the media, court listings, and 95% of staffers who have worked at Fork and Barrel, Tap and Table, Atlantic Jazz Yard, and Farmer’s Cabinet? Why do you think that you can have a successful restaurant when you keep repeating the same old mistakes that just resulted in closings and lawsuits? Feel free to keep responding on a food blog and further prove my point that you don’t put enough focus on your actual business. Personally, if I were in these guys’ shoes I would be spending my time doing payroll because from what I hear, your F-Cab employees are having a little problem with bounced paychecks. I realize that Matt is Mr. Moneybags Big Baller but for the rest of us, a bounced check can be enough to send our entire bank account into chaos with overdraft fees and insufficient funds to cover the other checks that we wrote thinking that our paycheck would at least be good. It’s a shame that paying your employees and purveyors takes a backseat to sitting on the internet getting upset because people have the audacity to tell the truth about your unscrupulous business practices.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
And They Still Fall Down
It hasn't been this crazy around here since, oh yeah, last years LCB debacle. So let's keep the ball rolling, shall we? First up from our friends at Foobooz this nice little nugget:
An Update to the Update: Yesterday afternoon, Mark Sherman — the East Falls developer who owns the Fork & Barrel bricks — got in touch with Foobooz, contending that the F&B owners left suddenly and without warning or, as Sherman put it, “tearing out in the middle of the night.” He says he intends to take legal action. Swartz has not responded to an interview request. Guess we’ll let you guys sort it out in court.
Not to mention all the nice replies to the editor.
Then we have some more details from our friends in the Lehigh Valley at The El Vee who have done quite a nice job with this, kudos to you.
And to think this all started back on September 5 (Before Labor Day mind you) with a little notice on Facebook that they were closing The Atlantic Jazz Yard for the summer and 12 hours later they cleaned everything out and left town. What happens once will almost always happen again.
An Update to the Update: Yesterday afternoon, Mark Sherman — the East Falls developer who owns the Fork & Barrel bricks — got in touch with Foobooz, contending that the F&B owners left suddenly and without warning or, as Sherman put it, “tearing out in the middle of the night.” He says he intends to take legal action. Swartz has not responded to an interview request. Guess we’ll let you guys sort it out in court.
Not to mention all the nice replies to the editor.
Then we have some more details from our friends in the Lehigh Valley at The El Vee who have done quite a nice job with this, kudos to you.
And to think this all started back on September 5 (Before Labor Day mind you) with a little notice on Facebook that they were closing The Atlantic Jazz Yard for the summer and 12 hours later they cleaned everything out and left town. What happens once will almost always happen again.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
And They All Fall Down
With all the blogs a flutter about todays news that the Fork and Barrel, Tap and Table, MAYBE even The Bookstore closing, and The Farmer's Cabinet holding on, for a lack of better words, I only had this thought. What took so long? Maybe that's being a smart ass, but let me explain. I've been to the Tap and Table, it was great. Food great, beer great. I also went to the one they had in Rehoboth Beach last year. Same thing, food great, beer great. So, when the one in Rehoboth closed down right before Labor Day with a post on Facebook saying "We're closing for the winter" I knew something was up. Nobody at the shore closes before Labor Day weekend. After some checking around it seemed that they were in constant trouble with local LCB for selling beer that wasn't registered in the state, among many other things. But then they turned right around and opened two more places in Philly. All our wonderful beer media apparently didn't do their homework to find out what the real reason was why the one at the beach closed, they just got excited about the two new ones opening up. My question was simple. Where is all the money coming from to do this? Was this bank money or investors's money? And no matter which one it was, did the lenders find out about what happened at the beach?
So, let me just say this once again. I am not happy that any of them closed. They had a great concept, but they sure did pick a bad time to try and sell it to the public. The beer community likes to splurge, but not every day. It can't afford to. Not in this economy. And to keep those kind of places open, you need a pack house almost every night. Let's hope that I am way wrong, after all, I have no problem apologizing.
So, let me just say this once again. I am not happy that any of them closed. They had a great concept, but they sure did pick a bad time to try and sell it to the public. The beer community likes to splurge, but not every day. It can't afford to. Not in this economy. And to keep those kind of places open, you need a pack house almost every night. Let's hope that I am way wrong, after all, I have no problem apologizing.
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