Sandwich shop in California closes after social media mocks high prices

Sunkist said:
To each his/her/their own.. but when I see the word 'artisan' I immediately think 'pretentious.'
Not only would the prices be a no-no for me, so would the image of the sandwich. I'd want a grilled cheese sandwich to consist of cheese and bread (or toast).. not all of that other unrecognizable gunk.. šŸ˜®šŸ¤¢
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I don't think the sandwich shown in the picture is the grilled cheese even though it obviously is a grilled sandwich. Looks like it has meat on it and I don't detect any cheese. The way articles are published these days, the photos and videos don't necessarily correlate with the subject.

Just as I suspected before reading the article, the negative viral comments exacerbated the necessity to close, but the economic climate played a part, according to the owner. Seems to me that should have been her clue not to have a $22 grilled cheese sandwich on the menu.
 

2 weeks ago I posted about a local cafe trying to cash in with 2 slices of ā€œluxuryā€ ham, 1 slice of cheese, between 2 slices of bread, toasted.
AU$14.
US$22 IS $31 Australian. The owner cannot complain when people reject such prices.
It is the same with those cafes that refuse to display prices. They are saying, "You will pay whatever the price is when it is rung up."
I watched a pensioner lady come into a cafe I was at and asked for a toasted cheese sandwich and a small coffee. She went and sat down. The staff came to her table and said that will cost $17. The lady said that is outrageous, cancel the order. Staff said that is not possible, we have already started the order.
Bad business model used purely to fleece customers.
 

Bretrick said:
2 weeks ago I posted about a local cafe trying to cash in with 2 slices of ā€œluxuryā€ ham, 1 slice of cheese, between 2 slices of bread, toasted.
AU$14.
US$22 IS $31 Australian. The owner cannot complain when people reject such prices.
It is the same with those cafes that refuse to display prices. They are saying, "You will pay whatever the price is when it is rung up."
I watched a pensioner lady come into a cafe I was at and asked for a toasted cheese sandwich and a small coffee. She went and sat down. The staff came to her table and said that will cost $17. The lady said that is outrageous, cancel the order. Staff said that is not possible, we have already started the order.
Bad business model used purely to fleece customers.
Click to expand...
Iā€™ve never been in a cafe that didnā€™t post prices or offer a menu with prices.

The only time that Iā€™ve ever encountered a menu without prices is in upscale restaurants with prices displayed on the hostā€™s menu and not on the guest menu.

IMO the woman was at fault for ordering something without knowing the price.

Iā€™ve always been a big fan of restaurants that post their menu, with prices, outside the restaurant, Iā€™ve seen that quite often in Canada.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Iā€™ve never been in a cafe that didnā€™t post prices or offer a menu with prices.

The only time that Iā€™ve ever encountered a menu without prices is in upscale restaurants with prices displayed on the hostā€™s menu and not on the guest menu.

IMO the woman was at fault for ordering something without knowing the price.

Iā€™ve always been a big fan of restaurants that post their menu, with prices, outside the restaurant, Iā€™ve seen that quite often in Canada.
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Cafes, restaurants, and pubs in the UK are legally required to clearly display prices for food and drink, including Value Added Tax, before a customer orders, often via menus at the entrance or clearly visible inside. This is governed by The Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003 and related regulations designed to prevent unfair trading practices.
 
WhatInThe said:
I'm wondering who her regular customers were. Who can afford that even once a week.

I was out with people on one occasion and needed to eat at the closest place so they could catch a flight and their grill cheeses and egg sandwiches ranged from 9 to 20 dollars. They were located from a bunch corporate high rise offices and condos. And were by some water and a park. But the lines were out the door. Some don't think or have to think about money.
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She said tourists. That's just like that tent at the beach in Scheveningen. They have a fabulous location, lousy food, costs a fortune and after you spent 10 minutes trying to find someone to let you pay the guy gets grumpy that you don't tip.
 
My father, who owned a business in Charleston , used to say that restaurants were the hardest businesses to make a go of. Since we moved to this town 26 years ago I've seen about forty small restaurants come and go, long before prices went crazy.

Lots of it is vanity. Someone tells Mary she makes the best creamed chipped beef on toast, ever, so she opens a restaurant. Someone else has a clever idea for a hot-rod themed decor and he opens a restaurant. No idea about the cost of rent, heat, groceries, cleaners, wait staff, timing, restroom requirements, or actually how to cook in volume and they themselves don't really want to work 12 hour days.

They start running in the red so they cut corners by using stale ingredients and not enough staff, the initial interested customers drop off. They're done in 6 months.
 
When I fly back to Orange County, CA, to visit my youngest daughter and family, Iā€™m shocked by the prices regular, everyday-type restaurants are charging for normal, everyday-type food. Iā€™m spoiled living here in Kansas, I suppose, and am glad to be. I donā€™t eat out often so itā€™s not a big deal, but if I were to look at a menu with everything starting in double digits, Iā€™d leave.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I think the fast food industry has done a lot to ruin the chances for small restaurant startups.

People complain about fast food but they still seem to rely on the predictable quality, fast service, and nationally advertised prices rather than take a chance on a new neighborhood ā€˜greasy spoonā€™.
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My view is that people choose fast food because they want the drive-through. Most greasy spoon type places require people to get out of their cars and go inside.
 
Della said:
My father, who owned a business in Charleston , used to say that restaurants were the hardest businesses to make a go of. Since we moved to this town 26 years ago I've seen about forty small restaurants come and go, long before prices went crazy.

Lots of it is vanity. Someone tells Mary she makes the best creamed chipped beef on toast, ever, so she opens a restaurant. Someone else has a clever idea for a hot-rod themed decor and he opens a restaurant. No idea about the cost of rent, heat, groceries, cleaners, wait staff, timing, restroom requirements, or actually how to cook in volume and they themselves don't really want to work 12 hour days.

They start running in the red so they cut corners by using stale ingredients and not enough staff, the initial interested customers drop off. They're done in 6 months.
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Now Iā€™m craving SOS!
 
Bretrick said:
2 weeks ago I posted about a local cafe trying to cash in with 2 slices of ā€œluxuryā€ ham, 1 slice of cheese, between 2 slices of bread, toasted.
AU$14.
US$22 IS $31 Australian. The owner cannot complain when people reject such prices.
It is the same with those cafes that refuse to display prices. They are saying, "You will pay whatever the price is when it is rung up."
I watched a pensioner lady come into a cafe I was at and asked for a toasted cheese sandwich and a small coffee. She went and sat down. The staff came to her table and said that will cost $17. The lady said that is outrageous, cancel the order. Staff said that is not possible, we have already started the order.
Bad business model used purely to fleece customers.
Click to expand...
Her walking out would have made it "possible"! :cautious:
 
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