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Originally Posted by PaPaLarry
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Already someone that supposedly worked there, "remembers the day he fired me". The 70s were pretty good to me, but I am pretty sure, I would remember if I had been fired. Take it for what it is worth from another person in the know!
To the person who stated something to the effect of, "you take two minutes and run over to Walgreens to pick up beer", would also mean that you have broken Florida liquor laws, and that would just be something else you could heap on Kris for doing "wrong".
The Villagers are a very lucrative collection of residents. The Villages itself however is not immune to the openings and closings of both privately held, chain and franchise restaurants. Competition from within does not aid the pre-existing clubs.
One of the bigger issues in The Villages is the Villagers themselves. There is a fine line between entitlement and discerning. As stated before, I have been in the restaurant business for many years now. I have never faced the challenges anywhere that I did there, and that is one of the reasons I chose to leave working there. A few incidents stay in immediate memory because of how ludicrous the guests were but there were many. Starting pre-opening...we were actually doing mass interviews and a group of residents stroll in and walk to the kitchen to show their friends "their club". When I say a group, I mean somewhere between 12-15 strangers just doing what they pleased. Really? Another incident, a gentleman came in one morning right after we started serving breakfast. He asked for a table at 12:15 for lunch for his golf group of 12 men. I agreed to his request and he agreed to call me when they were teeing off on 17 so we could start the process. Well, 2:45 rolls around and his table that we saved for an extended period of time was now in use with no immediate chance of his group which had now grown to 20 being seated. Even though he did not hold up to any portion of his agreement, somehow we were in the wrong...up to the point that he chest bumped me when I asked him to leave due to his cursing and shouting. All his "friends" could do was tell me "he gets like that when he has been drinking and his golf game is off". Really? Another incident that jumps to mind is the weekend group that grew on one visit from 21 to 54 people in the matter of an hour or two, and then I get verbally abused by the group leader when I couldn't provide them with the level of service a "paying group of this size deserved". Lets start with the fact that most restaurants without true banquet facilities cannot even handle a group that large pre-planned, but a walkup crowd that constantly moved from seat to seat as other new friends joined in, yet somehow when my server can't remember one person who has moved to three different seats location and therfore a drink doesnt get delivered in a timely manner. THEN, you want 27 different checks also in a timely manner. Really?
Someone will post that other places handle those type crowds, and many of those that have tried in The Villages are no longer in business. I could go on and on and on about incidents unique to that area, but I won't. I have worked everywhere in the business from owning my own beer/wine pub to high end dining and everything in between. Dealt with tourists from all over the world, far wealthier clientele than The Villagers, and the salt of the earth locals, and nowhere have I found a more demanding (not discerning) collection of individuals as reside in The Villages. Those of you who have your minds made up will continue to badmouth Havana, Kris, and probably me now that I have spoken up. That is your right, but please before using my name or Kris', please know the facts. Since Kris is the only person up there that I continue to keep in contact with, anyone who states a fact relating to me is flat out lying. Plain and simple. Hopefully many of you will take a step back, and give Havana another chance. Since my blood pressure goes through the roof when I read lies and half truths and "facts" from folks whose only experience in the business is eating, I will not continue to post on this forum. The facts from me are absolute from within, not from a friend of a friend of a friend who read something online and had a bad meal there once and chooses to jump on the beating up bandwagon.
There is a difference between opinion and vindictiveness. If you don't like Havana, then don't go there, but WHY you folks find it your mission in life to beat up restaurants up there is beyond me. If you don't like a TV show, most folks change the channel. Consider doing the same. Change to another location, but do not continue to beat up those that honestly you have no real reason to. You just had a bad meal or two or bad service a time or two or you were a big chunk of the reason your experience was bad (see previous incidents of groups in The Villages) and you just don't want to admit it. But stop with the bashing, it serves NO ONE well except your own ego to see your opinion in print. Really!!