Mister Moose wrote: ↑Sep 22nd, '24, 11:18
I have nothing but empathy for a restaurant owner on the access road that deals with a short season, high housing costs, has to compete for employees in a very tight labor pool, pay fixed costs through the slow season, and where the owner/manager has to work grueling hours in peak season. Not to mention come up with tasty food served with a smile on a consistent basis. Think that's easy? I invite all the complainers here to try it.
the big problem is that no matter how hard these people work, theyre still mostly ordering sysco up and down the access road and it shows. for the prices, nothing on the access road is worth it. that doesnt take away from their hard work or the challenges they face. but mediocre ingredients in -> mediocre dishes out.
Right. Fresher ingredients, other wholesalers takes time and money. Chefs capable of better fresh preparation takes time and money. I'm not sure there's any secret conspiracy to keep most restaurants mediocre. Again, if it's easy, step up. If no one does... it must not be very easy.
And then there's the inertia of the Killington skier that can't seem to get in the car and drive 20 minutes to one of the better restaurants in Rutland. Roots, West Side Grille or others? "Nah, I'd rather wait an hour to eat Sysco here without driving 20 minutes."
Mister Moose wrote: ↑Sep 23rd, '24, 09:28
And then there's the inertia of the Killington skier that can't seem to get in the car and drive 20 minutes to one of the better restaurants in Rutland. Roots, West Side Grille or others? "Nah, I'd rather wait an hour to eat Sysco here without driving 20 minutes."
This to me is the reason why the access road restaurants are and probably always will be mediocre at best. They have very little incentive to spend the time and money to become above-average when they have a ready base of customers that will pay top dollar for average because they don't want to bother going out of their way to seek anything better.
L O L , drive 20 minutes to one of the better establishments . Years ago we would drive to Rutland to the sirloin steak house it is now a Dollar general store . We also would shop for the kids school Close at diamond run mall , sears and J C penny it is now abandon and taken over by squatters , please don’t send skiers to Rutland we want them to come back .
That whole "Killington Mall" should be bulldozed, or at least sold to someone willing to make some investments in its appearance. Killington Auto should also move or give up on looking like a junk yard. Too bad they didn't move to River Rd when Mountain Motors was sold.
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It's a falling apart franken building added onto and poor construction. It will likely be a tear down hopfully soon. Yeah it has sentimantal value but it is a ghost that should only be a memory. Walking dead hooptie building today. Whoever owns that land is holding out for a big pay day! Which they will get.
We are truly spoiled by the Killington access road. It is one of the top things that separates K from most other resorts. It is the reason many said all along why K didn't need a village.
We are talking about a pizza place here. And both it and Moguls will be missed. The other places will be more crowded now. On any given night, a huge percentage of vacation/weekend skiers want one thing for dinner - pizza. How many access road restaurants are either pizza places or serve pizza? If I opened a place next to a ski resort, and wanted to actually make a lot of money, I'd run a bar that serves pizza. I certainly wouldn't open a high end restaurant. The demographic looking for that is too small.
I personally do not think that the village will hurt the access road businesses. Restaurants in the village will be overpriced to pay for the higher rents there. They will do good business, but many people will still order from the places on the road. Probably a lot of take out/delivery orders.
I agree that the access road is one of Killington's greatest assets. That being said, I avoid it like the plague during high season due to traffic and crowds. I get enough traffic in crowds at home in NJ and can do without it when I'm in VT.
Don't fly Mr. Bluebird, I'm just walking down the road......
Pizza-only is the problem with Mary Lou's and the past restaurants in that space. It would be great to have other options like some classic mom and pop Italian food and salad options. This way, people in a group or family to have other options if they don't "feel like" pizza.
But it seems like the kitchen is too small for other food options. The only way a restaurant will make it there is with a bigger kitchen.
Skid Mark wrote: ↑Sep 24th, '24, 11:47
Pizza-only is the problem with Mary Lou's and the past restaurants in that space. It would be great to have other options like some classic mom and pop Italian food and salad options. This way, people in a group or family to have other options if they don't "feel like" pizza.
But it seems like the kitchen is too small for other food options. The only way a restaurant will make it there is with a bigger kitchen.
Maybe - but Outback was there for years with essentially only pizza. I don't know for sure but it must have been over 15 years?
But yeah i agree - if you have a group of 6 and one person does not want pizza, that whole group ends up going somewhere else..
Mister Moose wrote: ↑Sep 22nd, '24, 11:18
I have nothing but empathy for a restaurant owner on the access road that deals with a short season, high housing costs, has to compete for employees in a very tight labor pool, pay fixed costs through the slow season, and where the owner/manager has to work grueling hours in peak season. Not to mention come up with tasty food served with a smile on a consistent basis. Think that's easy? I invite all the complainers here to try it.
the big problem is that no matter how hard these people work, theyre still mostly ordering sysco up and down the access road and it shows. for the prices, nothing on the access road is worth it. that doesnt take away from their hard work or the challenges they face. but mediocre ingredients in -> mediocre dishes out.
Right. Fresher ingredients, other wholesalers takes time and money. Chefs capable of better fresh preparation takes time and money. I'm not sure there's any secret conspiracy to keep most restaurants mediocre. Again, if it's easy, step up. If no one does... it must not be very easy.
And then there's the inertia of the Killington skier that can't seem to get in the car and drive 20 minutes to one of the better restaurants in Rutland. Roots, West Side Grille or others? "Nah, I'd rather wait an hour to eat Sysco here without driving 20 minutes."
never said it was easy. i for one have zero desire to ever work in a restaurant again - its not the type of work that im cut out for at all. but thats a big reason why the food on the access rd is mediocre for the price.
Mister Moose wrote: ↑Sep 22nd, '24, 11:18
I have nothing but empathy for a restaurant owner on the access road that deals with a short season, high housing costs, has to compete for employees in a very tight labor pool, pay fixed costs through the slow season, and where the owner/manager has to work grueling hours in peak season. Not to mention come up with tasty food served with a smile on a consistent basis. Think that's easy? I invite all the complainers here to try it.
the big problem is that no matter how hard these people work, theyre still mostly ordering sysco up and down the access road and it shows. for the prices, nothing on the access road is worth it. that doesnt take away from their hard work or the challenges they face. but mediocre ingredients in -> mediocre dishes out.
Right. Fresher ingredients, other wholesalers takes time and money. Chefs capable of better fresh preparation takes time and money. I'm not sure there's any secret conspiracy to keep most restaurants mediocre. Again, if it's easy, step up. If no one does... it must not be very easy.
And then there's the inertia of the Killington skier that can't seem to get in the car and drive 20 minutes to one of the better restaurants in Rutland. Roots, West Side Grille or others? "Nah, I'd rather wait an hour to eat Sysco here without driving 20 minutes."
on this - i'd guess most of the locals / regulars (those of us who own condos etc) are the ones who sometimes do this (although we just tend to eat in on the weekends). The average weekender that makes the places on the access road crowded stays in air bnb's and hotels and bounces from one ikon resort to the next - they would have no idea that these places even exist.
