A Jardines Update

Some local blogs have criticized my coverage of the closing of Jardines Kansas City.  I will make no apologies about standing on the side of the servers and against this owner.  I try not to take sides in situations like that.  I do not speak out against owners of restaurants.  You will not find me critical of another local owner on this blog.  I have been asked to intervene in the past and refused.  This particular case was so egregious that I felt it necessary to provide a forum for the affected servers’ stories to be told.

If there were any doubts that this owner was fully in the wrong, I think they have all been resolved.  It is no longer just the employees of the restaurant who are seeking to receive the tips that patrons left for them.  Tips that the patrons would have been outraged to know were not being relinquished to the employees.  Tonight, I have just received word that the situation was far worse.  Last month, tour Jazz artist and major draw Dave Stephens played at Jardines.  A substantial cover charge was taken at the door and collected by the club.  Mr Stephens was cut a check by the owner, but it turns out she has stopped payment on the check according to this post on Mr Stephen’s facebook page:

There are two sides to this story.  One side has an owner claiming that her entire staff was stealing from her and therefore she fired them all.  She refuses to go on the record to say this, but has instead leaked it to local media sources.  The other side is being quite reserved in their public accusations and simply asking for the tips that are owed them.  I think this recent development should weigh heavily on which side you believe.

If you missed my original post on this topic, please read The Jardines Story

Plaza Art Fair

For those of you from Kansas City, I wanted to provide a recap of the most popular part of the Plaza Art Fair.  Sure they call it an art fair, but by far the most common activity is eating the food offered by Plaza restaurants while walking the streets sipping a cocktail.  When I made passing mention of it in a previous post, I searched unsuccessfully for a site detailing the food offerings. So on Sunday afternoon I went back to the art fair to photograph the booths.  Hopefully this provides you with fond memories during the 51 weeks worth of waiting for next year’s event.

For those of you not from KC, this is interesting on a different level.  The Country Club Plaza is Kansas City’s premier dining and shopping district.  During the art fair over 100,000 visitors will come to The Plaza to see art and sample some of the local restaurant’s fare.  This not only represents a great marketing opportunity, but also a huge opportunity to generate revenue.  A successful art fair booth can generate $20,000-$50,000 in revenue on top of a large spike in business inside the restaurant.  In order to seize this opportunity you must build, staff, and stock a freestanding restaurant complete with kitchen.  The visual appeal of your booth, the quality of your offerings, and the value you provide will determine your success.  It is a high risk venture with the potential to do more volume in the free standing booth than most restaurants in America will do in a week.

Some restaurant chose not to participate this year.  Notable no shows included The Cheesecake Factory and Buca Di Beppo.  I tried diligently to document all those who did participate.  I also did some research and as best I can tell will be the first to reveal to the internet the winner of the Plaza Art Fair best booth award.  Here are the booths in alphabetical order.  Click any picture to see a larger version.  A breakdown of their food offerings can be found here.

810 Zone

Blanc Burgers and Bottles

Bo Lings

Brio

Classic Cup

Figlios

Fred P Ott's

Houston's

In gre di ent

Jack Stack

Kona Grill

M&S Grill

O Dowd's

PF Changs

Plaza III

reVerse

Ruth's Chris

Starker's

The Capital Grill

The Granfalloon

The Melting Pot

Tomfooleries

Topsy's

And The winner of the 2010 Plaza Art Fair best booth award goes to……

McCormick and Schmick

I hope everyone who attended had a great time.  I hope everyone who didn’t get to make it found this post a nice way to enjoy it vicariously.  I hope everyone who worked it for three days straight recovers soon.  This is a great event for the area and one that definitely draws customers down to the Plaza.  Only 51 more weeks until the 2011 Plaza Art Fair.  I hope my body has recovered by then.