Changes at Too-Jays Sumter Landing

[dporta]

My husband and I are in The Villages several times a year and always eat at Too-Jays at Sumter Landing when we go out to eat. When we first started going there, the portion sizes on their homestyle meals were so large that we started sharing one meal instead of two. It was a great bargain on top of the fairly quick service.

We just ate there again yesterday and this time we ordered the same homestyle meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and brocolli to share. This time the portion size was so small compared to all of the previous times. We also noticed that all of the food has sticks of rosemary in them. On top of that, the service was slow.

It used to be a bargain for the price but we enjoy the food so will probably still eat there but does anyone know if they changed management or something else is going on? Just curious why the changes.

Thanks.

[Bogie Shooter]

My husband and I are in The Villages several times a year and always eat at Too-Jays at Sumter Landing when we go out to eat. When we first started going there, the portion sizes on their homestyle meals were so large that we started sharing one meal instead of two. It was a great bargain on top of the fairly quick service.

We just ate there again yesterday and this time we ordered the same homestyle meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and brocolli to share. This time the portion size was so small compared to all of the previous times. We also noticed that all of the food has sticks of rosemary in them. On top of that, the service was slow.

It used to be a bargain for the price but we enjoy the food so will probably still eat there but does anyone know if they changed management or something else is going on? Just curious why the changes.

Thanks.

Maybe they were losing money because people were sharing.

[KathieI]

Maybe they were losing money because people were sharing.

:agree: My friends and I happen to eat there regularly, not occasionally. We find the quality and quantity of food to be excellent and consistent. The service is wonderful. My only complaint is sometimes its very very cold in there but I can deal with that.

[rubicon]

My husband and I are in The Villages several times a year and always eat at Too-Jays at Sumter Landing when we go out to eat. When we first started going there, the portion sizes on their homestyle meals were so large that we started sharing one meal instead of two. It was a great bargain on top of the fairly quick service.

We just ate there again yesterday and this time we ordered the same homestyle meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and brocolli to share. This time the portion size was so small compared to all of the previous times. We also noticed that all of the food has sticks of rosemary in them. On top of that, the service was slow.

It used to be a bargain for the price but we enjoy the food so will probably still eat there but does anyone know if they changed management or something else is going on? Just curious why the changes.

Thanks.

The economy has all of us paring back

[ilovetv]

Serving two portions for the price of one is not a sustainable business plan....in any economy.

[rubicon]

Maybe they were losing money because people were sharing.

That's funny

[uujudy]

:agree: . . . My only complaint is sometimes its very very cold in there but I can deal with that.

Ditto! It's always freezing in there! :cold: I always ask for the warmest booth. Sometimes I get it; sometimes I don't.
FYI, the hostess did say that it's coldest at the front, right when you come in the door, and I've found this to be true. It's not nearly as frigid toward the back.

[jblum315]

I love TooJays and always enjoy the food there, but the service is often very slow. I think they have enough staff for normal times, but not enough when it's really busy (which seems to be most of the time).

[graciegirl]

I love...LOVE Toojays. It is my very favorite place to eat. It tastes "homey".

[dsnrbec]

Our golf group ate there this past Sunday night and I agree that the portion size has diminished. Two in our group ordered bowls of soup that barely contained a cup of soup. I will say they were kind about it and brought out extra when it was called to their attention. I had the mediterranean salad plate and left hungry. I suppose they are trying to avoid a price increase but I would rather pay a little extra and get a decent sized meal.

[Lions Den]

There are other alternatives for deli's in the villages if Too Jays isn't suiting you. If you're looking for sit down service then Too Jays might be the place but if it's a casual sit down or a grab and go type of meal you want Gandolfo's NY Deli compares to any other place in the villages. Still one on our favorites. :clap2:

[Happinow]

I would think if Toojays is trying to cut costs, instead of cutting portions they should cut down on the air conditioning! People seem to be freezing and it costs a lot to run the air.....just saying.....

[rubicon]

I love TooJays and always enjoy the food there, but the service is often very slow. I think they have enough staff for normal times, but not enough when it's really busy (which seems to be most of the time).

My wife and i both like to cook and sodon't go out as often as some. However, I have to say that I do like toojay's. As for the staffing. It has always been a mystery to me how businesses in florida do as wel as they do with inventory and staffing given the seasonality they have to confront and add the growing population

[2BNTV]

Most restaurant portions are enough for two people when both people eat in moderation. I also think that restaurants expect every customer to order their own individual meal.

My mother and father owned a luncheonette business. When my mother complained that he couldn't make a profit on a sandwich unless she made it smaller. My father chimed in, "don't make it smaller as people will notice and they are not stupid. Customers will not like that. He said we need to increase the price slightly.

Just sayin..................

[thistrucksforyou]

I would think if Toojays is trying to cut costs, instead of cutting portions they should cut down on the air conditioning! People seem to be freezing and it costs a lot to run the air.....just saying.....[/QUOTE]

:coolsmiley:

[pauld315]

If they haven't raised their prices then they have had to reduce portion sizes. Did you know that the price of food rose more in the past year than ever in history ? Part of the reason is the high price of gasoline and complying with new environmental regulations placed on farmers.

[Penguin]

When I closed on my home in January I ate at Too Jays 4 times and always had a great experience. I myself was amazed at the portion sizes and the service was always good. No beefs from me.

[tkret]

:agree: My only complaint is sometimes its very very cold in there but I can deal with that.
KathieI ..... ever since Guy, your fitness trainer, has worked with you, your lovely, new figure no longer has any additional insulation to guard against the cold. I, on the hand, have no problem with the air conditioning in TooJay's. H-mmmm? Perhaps I had better call your trainer and schedule an appointment for myself!!!

[gump1]

Interestingly, we were just talking about this today. We have been spending the winters here for the last three years and TooJays has always been our "go to" place if we want to be sure of good food and service. The last two times we have been there (the most recent being last night) the service has been terrible and the food mediocre at best. It is also always freezing in there, but we just wear sweaters or jackets.
Last week we went to Cody's which is our other favorite restaurant and we had probably the worst waitress we have had at any restaurant in The Villages.
We have heard some other stories recently of poor service in the restaurants. Is it because they have to bring in extra staff for these times and they don't take the time to properly train them?

[villagerjack]

Do you really want a roast beef dinner for two for 11.95?

[ilovetv]

Interestingly........in The Villages.
We have heard some other stories recently of poor service in the restaurants. Is it because they have to bring in extra staff for these times and they don't take the time to properly train them?

It's probably difficult to find good servers who can afford to work for the stingy tips paid by a lot of people in TV who think tipping is unnecessary or that $1 is enough.

Florida minimum wage for tipped workers is $4.65/hr. They need to earn a decent amount in tips, and that is hard to do if only one meal is being purchased for every two people.

[hedoman]

Maybe they were losing money because people were sharing.

:a040:

IMHO

We have eaten there REGULARLY since our first trip to TV. Now as FROGS we eat there every week and probably have done so over 100 times. We take friends and visiting family there with full confidence of great food and fine service and have NEVER been dissapointed.

I can't believe that people feel it is a restaraunt's obligation to load up their plate so 2 people can get a full meal or take 1/2 of it home for another meal. Used to be they would have a "sharing" fee added on when folks do share.

From what I have seen "in season" many folks (including ME) could cut back on their portions so TooJays is doing us a favor.

2 roast beef dinners for 11.95? Go to Golden Corral or Cici's for a meal on the cheap..... I don't think MY favorite place will miss those who think the portions are too small and hopefully the lines will be shorter now....

The service is excellent! Take a sweater if it is too cold as both LSL and SS are fine for us and the lady of the house, who is always cold, has never said a word about the temps

[jblum315]

It's probably difficult to find good servers who can afford to work for the stingy tips paid by a lot of people in TV who think tipping is unnecessary or that $1 is enough.

Florida minimum wage for tipped workers is $4.65/hr. They need to earn a decent amount in tips, and that is hard to do if only one meal is being purchased for every two people.

I think there are an awful lot of people here who think 10% is a "good tip." Wake up, folks, 15% is kind of minimum, 20% is acceptable. And that does NOT mean 20 cents.

[graciegirl]

It's probably difficult to find good servers who can afford to work for the stingy tips paid by a lot of people in TV who think tipping is unnecessary or that $1 is enough.

Florida minimum wage for tipped workers is $4.65/hr. They need to earn a decent amount in tips, and that is hard to do if only one meal is being purchased for every two people.


I completely and absolutely agree with you again ilovetv...AND with JBlum and Hedoman. I completely respect the hard work those servers do and the less than warm way they are treated sometimes. They are ordinary people working for all the goals anyone has to survive.

I hope I am not marginalizing the OP's post but our experience with the servers at Toojays at LSL has always been very positive. We live very close to LSL now and go to Toojays much more than we did before.

I just love that restaurant. Chicken livers are the best on the planet.:coolsmiley: (even if they aren't good for you)

[renielarson]

...Chicken livers are the best on the planet.:coolsmiley: (even if they aren't good for you)

Chicken livers, liver and onions...YUM! Sorry to go off subject but when I saw your post, Gracie, I just had to! Have you tried the liver and onions at McCall's? It is absolutely out of this world delicious!

Ok...back to the original subject...

[cappyjon431]

Toojays is one of my favorite restaurants in TV (I managed a deli in Miami when I was in college so eating deli style food brings back wonderful memories for me). While I love the food there, my wife eats there with me simply because she knows I love it--it is not her favorite restaurant but she considers it "OK."

I have no problem with with the portion size (I often take a half sandwich home because I can't finish it), but i have had a couple of recent issues with the one in SS.

A couple of weeks ago we had a waitress who was mediocre at best. Not particularly friendly, never came back to refill our drinks or see if we needed anything else (I needed a box to take home some of my meal), and basically threw the check on the table when we were finished. She was OK, I still tipped 15%, but to be honest I was a little disappointed in the service. I know we all have bad days, so I chalked it up to that and didn't feel it was necessary to complain.

Last week we had a good server but when we received our matzoh ball soup the matzoh balls were cold in the middle. I probably should have said something to the waitress (or sent the soup back), but we were in a hurry so we just ate the cold matzoh balls and figured I would mention it on check out. We ate the soup, I wasn't looking for the items to be comped, but when I told the gentleman in the front who rang us up (he appeared to be the manager, but I don't know for certain) he acted as though he didn't care. I just wanted to let him know so it didn't happen to any other patrons (who might have been less understanding), but I left feeling that they really didn't care.

I will still continue to go to Toojays because I love the food, but it is now more difficult to convince my wife to eat there. These were just a couple of minor incidents, but hopefully this is not a trend developing.

[Happinow]

Looking on the healthy side of things, it's probably a good thing they cut their portions. As Americans, we eat way too much food at one sitting. They always say only eat 1/2 your meal and take the other half home. Those that are watching their weight will appreciate the smaller portion. As far as tipping goes, we always tip 20% unless the service was very poor. But we realize being a server is a hard job and dealing with many people all day long has got to get under your skin at some point, so not only do we reward their service, but we reward the fact that they are putting on a happy face for all of us to enjoy!

[NotGolfer]

In reading all these comments many things went through my mind to share as well. That being said, I have never had a bad experience (food or service) at TooJay's. It's one of my favorite places...plus when we have guests visit from home, we sometimes take them there.

I have to wonder if we'd chat with the service people here in TV, what "their" stories would be about "us" who live here???!!!! What would the stories be?? Bet our ears would sting!!! In saying this...one day after waiting in line at a particular store here (for my turn) I complimented the wait-person on their sweet demeanor and they just smiled and said "It's an exercise in patience!"

[dporta]

My point was that the portion size so different that I decided to mention it on here. It was a bargain before and we still like their food so we will continue to visit the restaurant. We just wondered if anyone knew if there were changes in management or something, especially with the slow service that we had not experienced before there. Just a sudden change in our experience after going there for a while so I thought I would ask.

Also, those of you who mentioned the air conditioning, yes, we've noticed it throughout the years too. I always bring a jacket to the restaurant but we always are seated in the front for some reason. Now I know to ask for a seat in the back.

[MrMark]

My husband and I are in The Villages several times a year and always eat at Too-Jays at Sumter Landing when we go out to eat. When we first started going there, the portion sizes on their homestyle meals were so large that we started sharing one meal instead of two. It was a great bargain on top of the fairly quick service.

We just ate there again yesterday and this time we ordered the same homestyle meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and brocolli to share. This time the portion size was so small compared to all of the previous times. We also noticed that all of the food has sticks of rosemary in them. On top of that, the service was slow.

It used to be a bargain for the price but we enjoy the food so will probably still eat there but does anyone know if they changed management or something else is going on? Just curious why the changes.

Thanks.

Would be even a better bargain if you go to Toojays with two Peanut Butter Sandwiches in your purse. Order a glass of water and then eat your sandwiches. If you clean up after yourselves you won't feel badly for not leaving a tip. We'll show them dudes how to get even for shrinking the size of your shared dinners!

[The Village Girl]

My husband and I are in The Villages several times a year and always eat at Too-Jays at Sumter Landing when we go out to eat. When we first started going there, the portion sizes on their homestyle meals were so large that we started sharing one meal instead of two. It was a great bargain on top of the fairly quick service.

We just ate there again yesterday and this time we ordered the same homestyle meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and brocolli to share. This time the portion size was so small compared to all of the previous times. We also noticed that all of the food has sticks of rosemary in them. On top of that, the service was slow.

It used to be a bargain for the price but we enjoy the food so will probably still eat there but does anyone know if they changed management or something else is going on? Just curious why the changes.

Thanks.

Pay attention folks! This poster didn't say they didn't like the food. Nor did thy say they didn't tip or even how much they tipped. They SIMPLY said they thought the portion size was smaller and did anyone else notice it?

The first comment out of the shoot was mean spirited and it appears the rest of you followed suit! You weren't trying to be funny, you were being MEAN!

Now... I'm being mean!!! Read the OP's post again... Read it slow so you might be able to retain it.

Does it say they didn't tip?

Does it say they wouldn't go back?

Does it say the service was bad? (remember slow and bad are two different things)

Now, ladies and gentlemen.... You are ladies and gentlemen... right? Let's start over again. Have any of you noticed if the portion sizes are smaller AND have you noticed if the service is slower?

Let me start.

Yes, the portion sizes ARE smaller and yes, sometimes the services is slow.

I'm done here, carry on with the attacks! :popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

[coffeebean]

Maybe they were losing money because people were sharing.

My thoughts exactly. It's a sign of the times.

[graciegirl]

I love you Village Girl. And I love Toojays. They can give me iddy biddy portions and throw it at me. I still love Toojays and given the opportunity, I know I would love the original poster.

Maybe we can just have pop and no crackers if I sit on your lanai?

[Graytop]

I love you Village Girl. And I love Toojays. They can give me iddy biddy portions and throw it at me.

I could never speak evil of Toojays,...they have the black & whites! :)

[angiefox10]

They can give me iddy biddy portions and throw it at me.


:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[coffeebean]

I could never speak evil of Toojays,...they have the black & whites! :)

My favorite is the Rugulah (sp??) I get two of every flavor every time I'm in the vicinity.

[dporta]

Thank you, Village Girl, for being the only one who actually understood what I was saying in my post. It's apparent that people use this forum to attack people in "The Friendliest Hometown" versus respond in a positive manner.