[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

I did not start this thread with the idea of fine dining. My main reason was to start a discussion on why the original Country Clubs have been brought close to bankruptcy by the next generation of owners. Have they never heard of "If it 'aint broke don't fix it". In the case of Glenview, which is the point of this discussion, the new owner purchased a thriving business with excellent wait staff who knew the customers inside out, knew what we drank, knew what we liked to eat, knew where we liked to sit. In a matter of days he had completely changed everything. He lost his staff and his customer base, and I think he probably lost his shirt.

People who know Glenview will agree that Friday night was THE night in the lounge, two TVs behind the bar, people waiting in line to get a drink and a seat at the bar, people waiting in line to get a table in the lounge area. We were regulars and every Friday night there used to be a table of probably 20+ friends and their wives who would come in from golf to eat and drink there. It was nothing for them to eat and drink all night. Their favorite waiter was a friend of ours and that person walked away with a couple of hundred on a Friday night. BUT, as well as the lounge being full, the Dining Room and the Garden Room were always busy. This is not just in snowbird season, this was all year round.

The sheer stupidity of someone to purchase this business and in the blink of an eye ruin it is beyond my imagination.

To the point of leaving TV to dine .... yes, I agree with you for fine dining, but to be able to go out in your golf cart to a local country club restaurant, have a meal and a couple or three drinks and drive home safely in your golf cart .... well, it just cannot be beat!

I should add that we don't look for fine dining in TV. We wait until we go back to the Boston area for the type of meals we consider to be fine dining .... mainly lobster at the coast and Italian in the North End!

I'll never forget Mama Catina's in the North End. It was a tiny little place, only had I believe 5 tables, reservation only, no take-out. I also remember that the North End was the safest place to live, if you were a single female. "The Family" kept a close protective eye over their own.

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by sunny70

I really hope that the new people taking over the Restaurant on May 1st will make it a "go to "place. Those of us who live north of 466 don't have a lot of options when it comes to a good place to eat. We have Lopez (which is great) and Franchesco's (which I love), but after that, not so much.

I think there is an abundance of places north of 466. Spanish Springs has many, Tierra del Sol is great and there are many good places out on 441 south of Spanish Springs.