Talk of The Villages Florida - Sawgrass Grove Market

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Sawgrass Grove Market - Nothing but the FACTS (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/sawgrass-grove-market-nothing-but-facts-335129/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by fastboat (Post 2136003)

Johnny Walker Blue $60+ a shot. Give me a break!

I don't know anything about whiskey, but I had to do the math.

You can buy a 750 ml bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label at Total Wine for $230, which will yield about 17, 1.5 ounce shots.

17 shots x $60 = $1,020
$1,020 - $230 = $790 gross profit

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilyclub (Post 2135906)

I've seen other posts that are critical of something posters experienced down South, particularly at Sawgrass and the knifes came out in force.

Pot stirring?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axemansa (Post 2136010)

I actually live close to Sawgrass and have mixed feelings about the marketplace. The noise is, as others described, loud when there are numerous people inside. The prices are higher than I like but I vote with my wallet and choose other more reasonably priced places. I do think this will change once the complete Sawgrass venue is open. I will add that I have not had a bad meal at McGradys and the bar staff is very friendly. $7 beers are becoming the norm everywhere. I just attended a AAA ballgame in Virginia and paid $10.50! Needless to say, you are paying for the experience.

All I can say is whether it be paying $7 or $10.50 for a beer I have willpower to say NO!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graspher (Post 2135700)

Our first visit was Sunday 9/11 - arrived 12:05 p.m. About 50 people milling around - 20 surrounding the bar area - 4 tables were occupied.

Chose Frenchy's for a wood-fired pizza - 4 employees working the pizza production.

"I'd like a medium pepperoni and sausage pizza".

"We only make one size and it's 12 inches. You can't order a pepperoni and sausage pizza. You can only order a pizza as described on our menu - but we can add and subtract toppings."

Their menu details 5 or 6 pizza combinations (each selectable pizza has several toppings on it). One of their selections includes sausage plus other toppings and another of their selections features pepperoni plus other toppings.

We chose their "sausage" pizza - deleted the onions - deleted the roasted green peppers...and added pepperoni.

The sausage combo pizza is priced at $15.00. No monetary deduction for eliminating the onions or peppers. There was an upcharge of $3.00 for the pepperoni. Total including a tax of $1.36 was $19.36.

I handed over $20 in cash. The receipt showed Total Due 19.36 / pymt cash 20.00 / Change Due .64. The cash register knows change is due - but Frenchy's policy is - they don't give coin change. They have a sign that says no coin provided but it is not located near the register.

Our pizza order was placed at 12:13pm (per the receipt). Our boxed pizza was presented to us at 12:48pm. Paper plates were not offered - but were provided upon request. The paper plates were....more paper then anything else. Very flimsy and couldn't support the weight of a small slice of pizza with just two toppings on it.

Frenchy's uses a wood-fired oven. The bottom of the crust was not crispy and was absent any degree of visible leoparding.

Darlin's Sweet Shoppe will not accept cash - only cards.

At least one other establishment (possibly 2) have signs posted indicating they will not provide any coin type change.

The majority of seating in the market area consists of flat steel or solid wood seat bottoms.

Them the facts and nothing but the facts...

good facts, and our facts also line up pretty much spot on except for pizza type ordered. We also found the fish place (forgot the name) next to the burger place is highly over priced. actually the entire market is. Everything from the villages repackaged "fresh market" to the bar. The entire experience lacks in so many ways. I highly doubt we will ever bother with the facility again. Underwhelming and repackaged items aren't our thing. Not a fan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dotneko (Post 2135949)

Lol. We tried piesanos twice to be fair. Soggy crap both times. I even asked them to cook it longer.
Clearly you've never had Regina's in MA.

or RedRose where you get to watch everything going on in the kitchen. excellent food. piesanos used to be better in the early days. it was close to bertucci's, but they must've changed either leadership or recipes-everything is spicy now, with added salt. it used to be our go to place until i discovered Gio's off 466. it's like 'grandma's pizza', & lovely ambiance. is in the same plaza off the road near a veterinarian's office

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laker14 (Post 2135802)

Tragi-comedy. An apt description.

The pizzas must be pre-made, frozen. They can pick the onions off for you, but they still had to buy them, so you still gotta pay for them.

To the OP, was the pizza tasty? How was the crust, other than not being crispy? I'm pretty fussy about my pies, and I don't think I'd bother ordering one there, based upon your review.

Pizza recommendations? Please.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VApeople (Post 2135793)

Yeah, we feel the same way.

We have been at Sawgrass a few times and were not impressed. Even Goldwingnut, in his recent video, commented how noisy it was, and that was when there was no singer inside.

It did not seem to be a place where we would like to stop and have a drink or a snack after riding our bikes.

Anyway, we will keep on enjoying our life in TV and see if Sawgrass improves. If not, we know a lot of other places that we enjoy.

yeah, the entrance is a walkway with construction fences, lined with hanging pots. idk if i was going the right way, lol. also yes on the noise level. but everyone inside looked so HAPPY to be there, it was kind of nice watching them enjoy themselves. i didn't order food, it wasn't to appealing, imo, just had a soda & walked around

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boston-Sean (Post 2135942)

Scottish.

OK, it's Scottish, not Irish. Every Scottish or Irish pub I've ever been to has a nice selection of Scottish, Irish, and English ales.

Here's their current beer list:

Guinness, Yuengling, Michelob Ultra, Sam Adams Seasonal, Cigar City Brewing Margarita Gose, Sweetwater Hazy IPA, Islamorada Sandbar Sunday, Crooked Can High Stepper, Swamp Head Brewery Stump Knocker

Not a single Scottish beer, and only one Irish beer (that I can get anywhere). I admit it, I'm a beer snob (and a brewer as well), but I found the list disappointing. Beers ranged from $7 to $8. I can get any of these beers elsewhere for $2 to $6, so not a good deal at all.

We will be returning to our home in St. Catherine next month (no, we do not live in "St. Cat") having been away since May. Almost all of the reviews of Sawgrass here have been negative, with many people saying they will never go back. Although disappointed that it doesn't appear we will be happy with it short-term, like any business it will have to improve, or disappear, with a better operator coming in.
But the upside of the "never go back" attitude is that we will never have to stand in line behind you when things get better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rschwan9 (Post 2136036)

Pizza recommendations? Please.

Learn how to make your own. Pizza dough is not difficult to make if you do it right. Bake the dough first, before you put on toppings, and you will never have to deal with a soggy crust. Easy to put the toppings you want on, then back into the oven at 450 degrees. You may never get a take out pizza again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoolBrews (Post 2136042)

but no Bass Ale! i'd pay a higher price if i could just find it. so far i've only seen it in that liquor warehouse type business on 441, can't remember the name. any other place is hit or miss whether they carry it @ all. hubby's family was from Burton-on-Trent, so Bass was a staple in the home. is also darn good & hearty

I think maybe that change they are keeping could be the tip or at least part of it depending on how much you want to give.

The good news is the Southern Oaks Pro Shop and logo shirts for $109...

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2136023)

All business owners wish it were as simple as that calculation. From that $790 you need to deduct the the direct labor costs (which unfortunately have been very high to attract labor from a shrinking pool), percentage of overhead costs (including rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance, taxes, etc), percentage of fringe benefits (health, life, 401k, if any of these apply), and percentage of general and administrative costs like business management, hostess, etc. There is always a higher profit margin in alcohol sales, but the profit surely ain't $790 per bottle of whiskey. And, I'm certainly not suggesting $60 for a shot of whiskey is reasonable. I wouldn't pay that no way, no how. Precisely why I don't drink :)

I was there about a month ago and ate at a couple places (pizza and burger joints) and the bar and don't remember this policy. I do remember everything was crazy expensive. I paid $21 for a burger, fries and small drink. The pizza was expensive too but I don't remember how much. We paid $14.00 for 2 cans of domestic beer at the center bar. As long as the prices stay like that we won't visit very often. Other than the prices it seemed like a nice place.