Sage on Sycamore Folds?
Decatur Metro | March 30, 2009 | 8:41 amBack in December, we received word that Roy had left Sage and the “owner has given the employees who want to stay and Wayne the Chef 3 months to see if they can make it work.”
This morning, Rus reports that there’s brown paper up in the windows. Also, I’ve noticed that the website has been taken down. Has this long time Decatur staple closed for good?
Last year, January was the month of business closings. This year it seems to be March.
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Ouch. That one really hurts. A lot.
Their website is no longer functional.
RIP, Sage. I had many good times there.
Never really liked Sage, but sorry to see another place close.
May something better replace it.
This makes me really sad.
Sigh. I have loved Sage for a long time and we even had our Christmas party there in ’08. Makes me very sad.
DOES THIS EVER END? THIS IS ANOTHER TERRIBLE NEWS BIT!
**offers Rebecca some sedatives and Prozac**
It’ll be okay. I promise!
Other than Eddie’s Attic, it seems like the south side of the square has some really negative mojo.
Right. This free market thing-where if you own an establishment and you’ve been open for quite a while then you have to try to keep yourself relavant in face of improving and, yes, increasing competition-is not hard to figure out; it’s what we, as a nation, signed up for. It’s even harder in the midst of The Great Recession, but that’s also what a business owner signs up for – the business cycle. To survive you have to be good, and even then you may find yourself with establishments that are even better nearby. If so, the discerning public will choose to spend their money there. And you have to raise your game or will find yourself with brown paper in your windows.
Hmmm South side of square having troubles. Can You Say Parking?? Marta doesn’t exactly bring the clientele to support a Jakes, Wordsmiths, Sage, Saba, etc. Seems like a vicious cycle to me.
Parking again? I really don’t think that’s the issue. Neither Brick Store nor Leon’s have much parking to speak of, and they’ve got business out the door.
I can’t speak for Sage, but Wordsmith’s and Jake’s were run terribly (as has been discussed here) and no amount of parking would have saved them. In general, my wife and I refer to the south side of the square as Mediocrity Row, because after giving those establishments a try (most recently a downright bad meal at Caribbean Harry’s last Saturday) there’s nothing there that really warrants our interest or our dollar. Sometimes businesses just fail, and this economy only exacerbates that. And sometimes it’s a good thing. Rue de Leon limped along for years, and now look at what’s possible in that location.
Well, I would consider 3 prominent businesses closing within a week of each other a bad thing for our community and it’s future. No prozac needed. I understand the free market and folks not spending money during economic downturns, and the need to stay vital in a competetive world. However, it very much concerns me that our downtown will once again look like a ghost town, and this will be bad for our home values and schools. As I’ve said before, I do not go to the businesses that I don’t get any value out of, but I absolutely only spend my money where I live. I hope the landlords are reading this blog, and will give their tenants a break rent wise. Who will be next to fold?
Rebecca: Preserving the status quo at any cost can only hurt our community in the long run.
tried to go to Sage for lunch on Saturday with no luck- I have a heavy heart that this quality establishment, hit hard by the MARTA plaza/square redevelopment project, has folded.
we went to Carribean Harry’s instead to try it out- even though the tables downstairs looked pretty low rent, both my companion and I had great meals. Tasty coconut batter onion rings, a HUGE chicken salad with moist flavorful grilled chicken, and a fish sandwich that my friend said was very fresh and tasty. Give this place a try despite its looks!
Speaking of mediocrity, does anyone know how El Tesoro is doing? I wanted to love this place, but after 3 horrendous experiences gave up on it.
I used to work at Birdis on the Square for about 4 months as a cook. The restaurant went out of buisness which sucked. Then I got a job at Sage, right next door. I quit about a month before they went out of buisness. My advice to all you people that have jobs in Decatur on the Square, is to get out, and get out now. I feel bad for the restaurants, but there is only so much they can do.
The Hindenburg, now that was terrible news.
Haven’t been to Depeaux yet. Is it not good? Some friends told me they had a great brunch there, but other than that I’ve heard nothing about Depeaux.
(I haven’t been to Tastings, either, but that’s because I’m kind of loyal to Palate in Oakhurst Village.)
dlb: We are in agreement. Been there six times (last was for a birthday about three weeks ago and was not my choice). The food started out decent but is now borderline inedible. Duck tacos last visit were cooked into dust, boudin bowl was baked until it became something approaching cement, and even the tortilla chips were so encrusted with salt and inedible that it became a running joke at the table. They looked like disco balls, sparking with salt. And despite four requests we never got water.
I too really wanted to like it, as their menu looks so promising. But what comes out of that kitchen is a crime. Nevertheless, they appear to be doing great business with families as they seem to specialize in letting kids run wild.
You can’t beat $6 for a double shot of Gran Marnier though…
I second (third?) the comments about El Tesoro– we were so hoping that it would be as good as its menu looked, but ’twasn’t to be. How can you screw up queso, for sweet pity’s sake??? The tamales were dry as a bone, and the only good things were the guacamole & that ginger-lime margarita. *sigh* For us (at least, on this side of town), guess it’s gonna have to keep being Mexico City or Los Loros…or Tacqueria (TDS’s queso, salsas, and guac are my favorites, outside what I make at home).
You’ll need three or four of them to forget the food.
We did Depeaux (as we call it around the house, “Deppy-oaks”) a while back and it was reasonable. Entirely adequate Cajun, although the portions seemed a bit small for the price. It was good, but not great. Awesome location, though.
Actually I really like Depeaux. I think their food is really good. My kids even like it, which is unusual (for them to like food, I mean). I love New Orleans cuisine.
But I noticed when we went there two weeks ago that their prices have gone up. I don’t really know what’s missing–is it that they need to change their menu up? Or just offer more stuff? Something seems to be missing from their menu. And I have to say that after a very expensive renovation (wasn’t it $700K?), their decor is horribly bland. There’s nothing pleasing about having 28 paintings all done at the same time by the same person. They could have at least gotten some authentic artwork or something? Mixed it up a bit? I love the tables and the church pew and all that. But the wall hangings make me sad.
Oh, the queso. It was Velveeta mixed with salsa on our second to last visit. I’d swear it. I had it enough in college to know. We tried to order it with friends the last time we were there to confirm, but were told they were “out of their special blend of cheeses” that night. I’m sure.