[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by flsteve

This is exactly what I heard as well. The emphasis on this whole thing should be that EVERYONE is happy (well, except for maybe many TOTV posters).

I have seen before that sometimes a successful restaurant opens another one only to find it hard to balance both operations. TOTV had threads about the Lighthouse not being as good as it once was. I understand that Fred made an offer to purchase 1812, and now EVERYONE IS A WINNER!

IMHO, we now will probably find:
1. A greatly improved Lighthouse restaurant at LSL.
2. A very nice addition to Spanish Springs for food AND drink.
3. The MCintyre family is at one location again and happy managing 1 place again.
4. FMK gets ANOTHER restaurant to add to their successful list of places.

While my post may not address the WHY question of 1812's closure, I guess MY answer to the WHY question would be: Who cares? EVERYONE WINS HERE!

Well stated!

Wonder where all those naysayers are that 6 months ago were sure Spanish Springs will be closing up. Predicting no new investment, blah, blah……..

[rickaslin]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Agreed. I like all of the FMK restaurants here in TV...with the exception of the Chop House which, in my opinion, is overpriced considering the quality of food and service one gets there.

I don't understand why The Villages can't get different restaurant owners in some of our restaurants. Get different ownership groups and get some different perspectives and concepts, variety is the spice of life!!

[retiredguy123]

I wonder why so many mediocre and substandard restaurants stay in business. I guess it is because Villagers are not demanding enough. I also wonder why so many people feel the need to leave a 20 percent tip to a server who provides bad service. This just encourages continued bad service. Some posters on TOTV have actually said that they leave a 20 percent tip even if the service was bad.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I wonder why so many mediocre and substandard restaurants stay in business. I guess it is because Villagers are not demanding enough. I also wonder why so many people feel the need to leave a 20 percent tip to a server who provides bad service. This just encourages continued bad service. Some posters on TOTV have actually said that they leave a 20 percent tip even if the service was bad.

Very true. Tips are supposed to be earned not given after getting terrible service

[jminnis]

We found Coastal del Mar pricey....

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Very true. Tips are supposed to be earned not given after getting terrible service

That's been my opinion since my parents taught us kids the point of tipping. However - my parents tipped 15% if the service was "acceptable but not stellar." They tipped 18% if the service was very good, but not stellar." And 20% plus 1 penny if it was "stellar."

If the service was anything less than "acceptable" they wouldn't tip at all, and would explain why to the manager on the way out.

That's how I tip. My grandmother is the one who started the "plus a penny" trend in the family. It was her personal touch to say "you, personally, were awesome. Not merely this restaurant and the overall customer service."

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

However - my parents tipped 15% if the service was "acceptable but not stellar." They tipped 18% if the service was very good, but not stellar." And 20% plus 1 penny if it was "stellar."

Have always struggled with tipping a percentage.

Does "good service" at Gibson's (Chicago), vs. Chop House (LSL), vs. STK's (NYC), vs. TooJay's have significantly different values just because of food prices??? Not for me.

Have not tipped based on percentages for years.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Have always struggled with tipping a percentage.

Does "good service" at Gibson's (Chicago), vs. Chop House (LSL), vs. STK's (NYC), vs. TooJay's have significantly different values just because of food prices??? Not for me.

Have not tipped based on percentages for years.

Well let's see. Your dinner order comes to $50 at a decent restaurant, including tax and a drink. Is the service just as good as the gal at the coffee shop who sells you your cup of coffee for $2.

I'll just take a guess that you're not going to pay that gal at the diner $5 for your cup of coffee as a tip. I'm also going to take a guess that a $5 tip on a $50 dinner is going to get you a cramped seat near the kitchen next time they see you walk in to the nicer place.

We go by percentages because it works out more efficiently that way. Tip the coffee server whatever change reaches the next dollar value after tax, or 50 cents, whichever is higher. Tip the waiter at the restaurant $10 for your $50 dinner.

You're not getting a pastrami and swiss at Chop House, and you're not getting filet mignon at TooJays.

You tip accordingly, and "accordingly" is percentages. You can give more or less, but percentages is the guideline from which you can divert.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

You tip accordingly, and "accordingly" is percentages. You can give more or less, but percentages is the guideline from which you can divert.

I do tip accordingly, accordingly is not based on an irrelevant percentage.

I tip based on how pleasant of an experience, the pleasantness of the server, the responsiveness of the server, how much time spent by the server, etc.

In your silly example, serving a cup of coffee takes no time (compared to taking an order, providing water, providing other beverages, delivering the meal, following up on our satisfaction with the meal, clearing the plates, asking about desert (maybe even a cup of coffee), etc.) ............so there is not much tip for that factor for a coffee.

Pastrami vs. Filet has "no effect" on the server.........it's on a plate.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Well let's see.

You tip accordingly, and "accordingly" is percentages. You can give more or less, but percentages is the guideline from which you can divert.

No, you can divert from ZERO.

The whole tipping thing is getting out of hand and if folks in the restaurant (& other businesses) don't begin to see that, they're going to kill the golden goose and the USA will join the rest of the world and tipping won't be a thing anymore.

It wasn't a thing, until Congress jumped into the restaurant world and passed a law that allowed restaurants to pay less than minimum wage.

As usual, Congress messed things up, to placate business owners.

BTW, most every restaurant in the USA, now "pools tips". Which means, if you tip 25% for the great service you got, your server won't get any more of that money, than the lowliest, incompetent server on the staff.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

13 words says it all.

If I was able to be as succinct, I would have said "fair to OK".

Good job.

Agreed, "by villages standards" says it all. However, I suspect "most" of us came here with full knowledge we were moving to a relatively unsophisticated inland Florida area, a mostly rural location of blue collar working people and mostly middle class retirees, not the East or West coast "upscale" communities, nor, south Florida. We just took it for granted that would mean a lot of fast food chains, restaurants like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Golden Corral, Outback, etc. and
"fine dining" would mean something quite different than in an urban setting ! Overall, we have quite a selection even if mediocre chains.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by mrf0151

It would be cool if they would put the Spanish Springs Brewery back in at that location. Ahh the good Ol 'days.

That is before my time in The Villages.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Bluefin, Bonifay, Coastal del Mar, Harvest, Chop House, and Scooples have the same menu on any given night?????

Agree. I didn't understand that comment either.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

That's been my opinion since my parents taught us kids the point of tipping. However - my parents tipped 15% if the service was "acceptable but not stellar." They tipped 18% if the service was very good, but not stellar." And 20% plus 1 penny if it was "stellar."

If the service was anything less than "acceptable" they wouldn't tip at all, and would explain why to the manager on the way out.

That's how I tip. My grandmother is the one who started the "plus a penny" trend in the family. It was her personal touch to say "you, personally, were awesome. Not merely this restaurant and the overall customer service."

I have very rarely found anyone to whom I tipped "nothing", but it has happened less than half a dozen times my entire life. One, LOL, I do still remember, LOL. Did not get a fork, when waitress never came to check if everything was going "okay", I put my hand up, as in school. She passed us several times, nodding she would come back, etc. Never did. Ate a good part of my meal with a spoon, LOL, until hubby could not take it any longer, got up went to the bus station, got me a complete set of flatware.... and..... took the coffee pot off the warmer and brought us both a hot refill, LOL ! That was a zero tip, very unusual for us. But as hubby said, to leave her anything at all only encourages her to do similar things.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Does the reason they really, really left…….make any difference at this point. Whole lot of hand wringing over nothing!

It doesn't make a difference to me. I never dined at Augustine's 1812. I'm just glad the space will be taken over by FMK. I like the FMK restaurants. I've only dined a the Lighthouse once several years ago. They do have a beautiful view there but I can't recall what my dining experience was like. I haven't been back there so maybe I wasn't too impressed at the time. If I recall (which at at this stage of the game can be very iffy), The Lighthouse served the food with plastic forks and knives and paper plates. Does anyone remember that?