Ruby Tuesday’s in Decatur Has Closed
Decatur Metro | May 22, 2012 | 3:28 pm
Dave sends in this photo of a sign found in the window of Decatur’s Ruby Tuesday’s location today.
UPDATE: @carl actually first reported this closing HERE.
Dave sends in this photo of a sign found in the window of Decatur’s Ruby Tuesday’s location today.
UPDATE: @carl actually first reported this closing HERE.
Cannonball
LOL
sansho1
At Home in Decatur
Cubalibre
EidleonDrexel
brianc
ebennett
Steve
Steve
Decatur Beans
brianc
Forecourt. By Marriott.
It always caught me by surprise to see someone eating at the Ruby Tuesdays in Decatur, since there were so many options at the same price point. I attributed those customers to suburbanites who ventured into the city and wanted to feel more at home in their restaurant selection. I hope something unique takes its place, restaurant or not. And if not unique, then a mini-Trader Joe’s…
Partially true, at best. In my experience as a long-time (now ex-) suburbanite with extensive family/friend ties to the suburbs, when suburbanites come to Decatur (not counting festivals and events), their main reason is to go to a specific restaurant. There’s really not all that much in the way of shopping in Decatur that you can’t find at a decent mall. Certainly not any “destination” retail that draws large numbers of shoppers from the suburbs. Most suburbanites who would choose to dine at RT would probably opt to go to Perimeter Mall, or something rather than Decatur.
I sure do hate to break this to you, but Decatur is (gasp) a suburb.
Are you kidding me? Crap, now I have to move.
How so?
So is Inman Park, the first suburb in fact, but that idea of a suburb is rooted in a time when there were much more limited transportation options; few think of it as a suburb today. As for Decatur, since it’s a city itself I would hesitate to call it a “suburb” anyway. I think when you say suburb today, people think of places more than ten miles from the Atlanta city center, but that is just my feeling.
This shows how complex “classism” is. At one time, it was classier to be a suburb, so Decatur, like much of DeKalb County, tried to exude a suburban feel. Now intown is fashionable so we like to think of ourselves as a city.
Personally, having lived a lot of places growing up and since, I see Decatur is as closer to a small town within urban sprawl. You can see that positively or negatively and the truth is that it’s probably a mixed bag. But luckily we seem to have that small town optimistic boosterism that keeps us moving foward and improving despite our more urban cynicism.
So road trip to Lithonia for the next RT Seafood Festival?
Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you
When you change with every new day
Still I’m gonna miss you
Not.
My first job…. … not at this location.. the one at Avondale Mall.
Now… that dates me doesn’t it.
Did you wear lotsa flair? Were you ever asked to wear more?
Hey Peter! Man check out channel 9!
I hope you don’t have a case of the Mondays.
Good one! Tacky uniform.. but no flair thank Heavens! This was in college, and my roommate had it even better. She worked at this tacky restaurant called “Billy’s” that was pretty much a Hooters with a different name. The uniforms were soooooo… bad!
Only ate there once and they served rancid milk to my then 3 year old. We never returned. Ever since, said child always carefully examines milk served.
I have actually eaten there many times for lunch — the salad bar and parking validation are a great combo.
It’s a very comfy, well-designed space. How about a piano bar?
I have seen people there. I suspect this is more evidence of Decatur’s ever-expanding whitening.
Is this a comment about the racial makeup of the patrons? If so, I have eaten at this RT a number of times, and have honestly never noticed a majority of any race.
Dana is a Decatur hater.
Sounds a lot like this movie. I’d never eat there.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348333/
Better headline: “Ruby Tuesday’s in Decatur Has Finally Closed.”
+1
I’m with Todd. I agree with everything he said!
I’ve wondered for years when this was going to happen. We live almost within spitting distance and have never set foot in the place. Let the speculation begin on what takes over…
[edited: no predicting other businesses will fail]
[edited]
The Ruby Tuesday’s space is going to get snatched up quickly. That is prime foot traffic area. Do you hear me Hector Santiago! (http://clatl.com/omnivore/archives/2012/05/15/super-pan-says-goodbye)
Or the Hankook concept that was rumored to be taking the old Cakes and Ale space.
Split the space in half! Half to Korean tacos, half to Super Pan! I’ll also take a delicious vegetarian restaurant or Nam Phuong-Decatur.
Still harboring the dream that CocoLoco will come to Decatur, and that space would be great for them.
Ooh, what a great spot for a T. G. I. Friday’s!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Good ‘un, Fats.
Every time we’ve walked by there I have commented that I could not believe that a Ruby Tuesday’s was still making it in downtown Decatur. So, not a surprise. I noticed the other day that the former Buckhead location is now something else…
The Buckhead location is still owned by Ruby Tuesday – it was simply converted to another of their concepts, Truffles Cafe.
Never been to that location, but we go regularly for lunch to one that is near our work. The slider and salad bar combo is just right for lunch…the salad bar has always been a good one.
I’ll miss their salad bar. Loads of options.
guess the blue hairs will have to trek up to Piccadilly now?
The last time my wife and I ate there we both had the salad bar and got food poisoning so bad that we actually had to postpone a trip and missed a wedding! Thank Gawwwd they are out of the neighborhood!
It would be wonderful to have a really good Chinese restaurant close to the square.,,,
I got a nasty case of food poisoning from Leon’s. I definitely feel your pain on that. It can happen anywhere, I guess.
Here’s an example of why Ruby Tuesday couldn’t make it in Decatur: they chose to close less than a week before the Decatur Arts Festival, which brings thousands of people to their doorstep. (That assumes, of course, that they had a choice of when to close.) I understand that they’re a chain and these types of business decisions are made elsewhere, but a good chain with ties to the communities they serve would have hung on for another week. They might have even made a month long event out of their closing. Starbucks’ local management understands Decatur and makes some adjustments. They tried to get their renovations completed in time for the weekend, though it doesn’t look promising at this point.
James Joyce (or whatever it was most recently called) did the same thing. They closed just days before the Art-B-Que. If they had stayed open through that weekend, they probably would have, at worst, come out even.
cavi . . .!
Well, it is Tusday.
RT has always provided a laugh for hubby and me. While planning DHS band exchanges with the group from Germany a gentleman who is now a dear friend traveled frequently to the US and would come to Decatur to help plan. He told us that his business contacts in the States always took him to “really nice restaurants like Ruby Tuesdays.”
Upon hearing this news, I think my wife may start dancing a jig in celebration.
Very snobby thread. Classic DM!
I don’t know about the “Classic DM” but “Very snobby thread” — yea.
I might agree but the two times I went there the food and service were awful
As I reread it, I don’t see where this thread is snobby. The Family Dollar thread could be read as having some classism, although I don’t particularly agree, but this one? Criticizing a restaurant for poor service, poor food, food poisoning, spoiled food isn’t snobbery. The criticism may or may not be valid but I doesn’t seem particularly snobby or elitist. A classy, trendy restaurant would be criticized on the same grounds.
But yes, it’s Classic DM. Maybe DM could create drop down menus for some of the recurrent classic responses to threads so it would be easier to post. Just select out of the drop down menu.
A) Witty, perceptive, articulate response
B) Sheer sarcasm
C) Angry troll remark
D) Clueless question
E) Vote for transportation thingamajiggy because we’re doomed otherwise
F) Don’t vote for transportation thingamajiggy because we’re already doomed
Good riddance!
While I wasn’t a huge fan of RT food, I hate to see anything close. I do wish people here could be more sensitive.
+1! While this is a national chain, it was likely a locally owned franchise. Someone’s dream is dead. That is also a HUGE space that most independant restaurants can’t afford to fill. I personally think it is sad when any store front goes dark.
+1
Seconded.
Houston’s please dear God open a Houston’s
If they open a Houston’s my wife and I will go bankrupt.
+1 BUT Ponce doesn’t have the traffic counts for Houston’s.
How much of their patronage is people who just happened to be driving by? I’d consider Houston’s more of a destination restaurant with a solid brand. Wouldn’t they be more concerned with 1 to 5-mile demos/populations than with specific, out-front traffic counts?
Houston’s a destination restaurant? Maybe ten years ago, but I can’t imagine people making the trek to Decatur for Houstons.
I dunno. I had dinner with my in-laws at the Lenox location within the past four months or so and it was fully booked with a line. At least then, almost everyone who came in arrived by car and had a reservation. Clearly that brand’s not spent just yet.
I agree. But Houston’s has a pretty consistent pattern of location placement and traffic counts. They are destination dining, but they want the ingress, egress, counts, probably a higher income demographic and more office to drive lunch $$.
Wasn’t there a Houstons at Colony Square that closed in the last few years? Seems like that one would have had a lot of passing traffic.
That was a Bennigan’s in Colony Square.
No. That was Houlihan’s. I worked at the Lenox one after college. Colony Square closed a few years ago.
Oops. That’s right. There was a Bennigan’s behind Northlake Mall, though, correct?
Houlihan’s was a great place for ridiculously elaborate desserts and, on one occasion, just ridiculous. At the one at Lenox one time (mid-’80s, way before your time, I’m sure), my sister ordered some kind of ice cream extravaganza garnished with a Snicker’s bar. Indeed, it included a miniature Snickers bar stuck right into the ice cream — still in its wrapper. I laughed so hard I nearly passed out. (We had just come from seeing “Crimes of the Heart” and were fairly hysterical anyway, after nearly 2 hrs of simultaneous laughing/crying.)
Houstons? How are Ruby Tuesday’s and Houston’s that different? Both are chains. Both serve the same style of food. Houston’s is slightly tastier, I agree. It’s also pricier. Funny how Decaturites are ok with chains only if they are of the pricier tier.
I don’t see a lot of people complaining about Chik-fil-A downtown, and some folks expressed sadness on the thread where Roly Poly’s shutdown was announced–and I don’t think anybody said “good riddance!”
But Hardee’s was so lowbrow, doncha think?
I’ll give you that.
My husband still talks about how he never saw a single patron in that Hardees.
Chik Fil A is an example of a chain that is much beloved in Decatur. Kids love the food, the walkability, that their friends and neighbors are often there. I don’t really care for much of the menu–it’s overly salty in taste IMHO–but I love the restaurant and patronize it anyway, at least the milkshakes and ice cream cones. The reason is that it’s owners and managers really invest in the community–through fundraising for the schools, direct donations of food to schools and other events, through fun family events at the restaurant, through hiring local high school students getting their first jobs. It’s truly a community establishment, with a neighborly feel, even if there’s corporate ownership somewhere in the background.
I’m not convinced that this is all about class…….
This is a good point and I’m glad someone said it. The whole debate gets reduced to “chain bad, local good,” when the issue is considerably more complex.
The real point of consideration is reciprocity. That is, do your commercial neighbors demonstrate a shared interest in your future, just as you do in theirs? Chains get lumped into the “bad bin” because, by their very structure, they are more inclined to be disinterested in forging local relationships, but it’s not an absolute. As Chik-fil-A shows, you can be a chain and still be deeply involved in the makings of community.
Every case needs to evaluated independently. Some chains participate in and give back to the communities they serve. Some local businesses only give a sh*t about themselves. We should look to actions, not labels.
+1,000,000
I just dropped off a note at a Decatur business that I LOVE expressing that same sentiment. I just shared w/ them some ideas on how to make it in Decatur. I ended my note with this line:
“Deacturites want to feel that your business is a part of the community and not just in the community.”
If you don’t see a lot of people complaining about Chick-Fil-A, let me help you out. I will not go to Chick-Fil-A, and I would like to see all City of Decatur schools cease fundraising with Chick-Fil-A. The company’s anti-gay policies and activities (http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0723/080.html), and the incidents of bias against non-Christians are the main reasons. Next is the mediocrity of the food (I guess you have to have grown up eating that stuff to appreciate it), the lack of nutritional value, and the abundance of chemicals.
I have heard that the owners of the Decatur franchise are good people–though I don’t know that for a fact myself–but that is not enough of a reason to overlook the crimes of the company that gets most of the profits.
As for the Ruby Tuesday’s space, an international food court would be perfect. It could be the only way that authentic ethnic cuisine could make it in Decatur.
Does not look like there is a lotofsupport for your position regarding Chic-Fil-A, Al.
Must say that I am glad about that.
Well there *should* be more support for it (says my own goddamn you’re right I’m right self!) and I must say that I’m damned disheartened that there’s not. But then again I’m just a sanctimonious jerk who doesn’t hate gay people…
I thought I was the only one, and then I overheard a group of parents talking about it at a school event. They mentioned names of other parents, and since then, more parents and non-parents have expressed that they do not patronize Chick-Fil-A and they are unhappy that the chain’s logo is all over the schools. Of the 20 people I have talked to about it, 15 already boycotted, 3 said that now that they are aware of the company’s anti-gay, anti-non-Christian stances, they will also boycott. The other two did not mind what Chick-Fil-A does and will continue eating there.
A simple search reveals that what CFA is into is beyond what, say, Target does that got people boycotting; it doesn’t just support AN anti-gay organization–it supports a bunch of them, and it actively invests in discrimination.
I’m not hell bent on getting everyone on board with a boycott; I just want people to be aware so they can decide to spend with conscience.
Did not know this. I knew that CFA is not open on Sundays so was aware that there was some religious activism involved. But did not know that it invested in anti-gay organizations. At the same time, I know that the local CFA has been a particularly good business citizen of Decatur. Darn, life is complex sometimes. Besides teacher gifts, the summer camp merry-go-round, and work deadlines, I’m going to have to look into this one……. Would appreciate any DM armchair moral analyses. I know enough to take posts with a grain of salt but I’ve also learned a lot on this blog.
By the way, it’s really not CSD that is involved with CFA but its PTA/PTOs and fundraisers. It’s not like that Better World Vision book donation bins thingy where CSD benefits directly.
Very simply put, does the good a business does, outweigh the bad in your opinion? In California during the Prop 8 showdown, businesses were openly giving to organizations that fought tooth and nail to stop gays from getting married. Very blatant, captain obvious contributions, this situation seems to be a little more nuanced but I need to know more about it to be honest. The whole notion of protecting the sanctity of hetero marriage, by discriminating against gays, seems to be spreading like wildfire across state legislatures and I wouldn’t be completely shocked to see it in GA, so perhaps best to start thinking about what is tolerable or intolerable to you.
“Yadkowski, 33, came to Chick-fil-A when he was living in a group foster home created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy.”
“It is the only national fast-food chain that closes on Sunday so operators can go to church and spend time with their families”
“We’re not anti-anybody,” said Cathy, son of the company’s founder, Truett Cathy. “Our mission is to create raving fans.”
Earlier this month, Cathy appeared on a Facebook video to argue that the Chick-fil-A sandwiches and brownies to be provided at a marriage-training event sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute are not an endorsement of the group’s politics.
On Saturday, Cathy issued a statement saying that “While my family and I believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, we love and respect anyone who disagrees.” Cathy said Chick-fil-A would not champion any political agendas on marriage and family. That is not a change from previous practice, Cathy said — “just a confirmation.”
“We’ve opted not to get involved in the political debate,” he told the AJC. “It’s never been our agenda.”
_________________________________________
WOW, THOSE ARE SOME EVIL PEOPLE!!! Look, i’m not a Christian nor am I against gay marriage, but I think someone or some company should be viewed with a wider lense than just one issue. It sounds like they are good people that have an unfortunate biblically based view on an issue. Not sure that’s makes them boycott worthy. But we are all entitled to our opinions…
Exactly, Walrus.
Well said.
“I am not a crook.” – Richard M. Nixon
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” – William Jefferson Clinton
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life searching for the real killer” – O.J. Simpson
Words mean nothing when your actions directly contradict them. Chick-fil-A as a company and the Cathy’s personally do a lot of great things. But their monetary contributions to anti-gay groups and causes makes it impossible for me to patronize them without feeling like a hypocrite. So I don’t. You may feel otherwise. You may agree with their stance on “traditional marriage” and so it’s not an issue. You may disagree with it but still think that the good outweighs the bad. Or you my disagree but just won’t let that stand between you and their admittedly delicious chicken sandwiches. To each his own. Let’s just be honest about it.
I’m with Chadly, here. Houston’s and Ruby Tuesday are sort of the same kind of place to me. I guess I’ve liked the food better at Houston’s but the dining experience was similar at each place. It has been years since I’ve been to a Houston’s so don’t press me for details. A business lunch around 1995. Have things changed much?
You know, when this RT first opened, it was actually very good. My family and I were there basically every other Friday night for dinner and the food was always good and the service excellent. But then maybe a year or two after they opened it all went down hill, and I don’t think it was limited to the one in Decatur. I ate at several others in other cities around the US and they all had the same bad (over priced in my opinion, for what you get) food and service. Hopefully something good will take over the space now though and it won’t be vacant for too long.
I just hope that they open up a frozen yogurt place there. Decatur could really use one of those.
+1
If Decatur opens five frozen yogurt places then the sixth is free. Mayor Floyd has the punch card in his wallet.
lol +1
Maybe we’ll finally get Neiman Marcus.
Prime space for a Family Dollar!
Getting a national, sit-down chain when Downtown Decatur wasn’t much to look at was HUGE for Decatur. Whether folks realize it or not, that helped to pave the way for other restaurants to make a go of it because banks look to see what the retail landscape looks like before financing restaurants.
Was the service great? No.
Was it the bain of culinary existence that most people have proclaimed over the years? Not even close.
Especially when you consider the same people who have obliterated the modest reputation of Ruby Tuesday, then turn around and shamelessly pine after the place where processed food goes to die: “Trader Joes.”
You’re soooooo right about Trader Joe’s.
+1 on that, yo.
Agreed on the “helped pave the way” sentiment. I remember when it was still one of a handful of places you could get a bite & a beer in the same place in Decatur.
Buck’s was the first sit down restaurant that paved the way for the rest, that was owned by the Peasant franchise … Give the Peasant chain a tip of the hat for helping Decatur move past the meat and three …RTs came in much later. I am unhappy anyone is out of work, but never wanted to go to RTs in Decatur–too many other choices.
Buck’s opened a good 20 years before this Ruby Tuesday opened. It introduced me to Oreo cheesecake around 1989 or so, and my young palate was entranced. Then it became Mick’s then something else then Parker’s.
Mick’s and Buck’s were both owned by Peasant. I always saw the switch being more about branding (Mick’s was more widely known than Buck’s), but I somehow always preferred Buck’s. I don’t recall what went in between them and Parker’s, though. Wasn’t it something that involved some of the employees making a go of it? I seem to recall it didn’t last long at all. And then the space sat empty for a while before Parker’s rescued it.
BTW, I was introduced to Buck’s around the same time you were – my friend worked on the square and I’d meet her for lunch from time to time.
I see more snobbery on DM now than I used to. The ugly comments on the closing of RT are just the latest example. What is it with you very-special-people that makes you the arbiters of taste and preference for the rest of us?
Ahhhh….the hypocracy of *liberal* Decatur. So long as you are well educated, make good money, and can afford to spend more to buy everything from indie stores, you are welcome here. If you embrace chain stores/restaurants for what they are (inexpensive and convenient), don’t talk about it for fear of being ostricized.
Everything has its function and place in society. We shop locally as much as we can, but I love The Wal-Mart (GASP!), Target, and Kroger. I will also shop at the Family Dollar. Oh, and then put my savings into my child’s college fund.
” If you embrace chain stores/restaurants for what they are (inexpensive and convenient), don’t talk about it for fear of being ostricized.”
Sort of reminds me of that Portlandia skit in which Fred Armisen is nearly ran out of town for forgetting his reusable shopping bag.
Oh the hypocrisy of the “regular” crowd. Don’t disparage me with your opinions of what is quality and what isn’t! How dare some people prefer some things over another. That somehow makes people feel bad.
Give me a break.
How about this: I thought it was pretty bad food, value and service, and would rather eat somewhere else.
I am sorry its gone because any business in Decatur is good business. We still have Ted’s for a chain fix, and hopefully they can find a new tenant soon.
Ted’s is where I take the out-of-towners who aren’t interested in cask beer or quinoa salad. It’s a chain, sure, but it’s founded by a local icon. Plus,the emphasis on bison makes it more interesting than RT or even Parkers.
It’s maybe 10% snobbery, then 50% pride, then 45% desire for quality food and merchandise near at hand.
People want the town they live in to be a place that attracts visitors with money. They want it to be a place that makes them happy and proud to live there when they walk down the street. And since Decatur is a safe and friendly place, folks like to know the owners of local businesses.
I am a huge snob about ethnic food. I hate it when restaurants–chain or otherwise–take the cuisine of another country and dumb it down, like all Americans are too dumb to appreciate anything outside of a narrow comfort zone. The big menu chain restaurants are the worst offenders by far of this. As a member of a racial minority, I want my town/city to showcase its diversity by embracing it without so much compromise, and toward this end, the death of a chain restaurant is a step in the right direction.
So I’m a snob about food, but what I want for the town I live in, work in, send my kids to school and, and pay exorbitant taxes to, is not about snobbiness.
Sorry for the bad math and grammar.
What is it with you very-special-people that makes you the arbiters of taste for blog comments? We’ve got a bunch of holier-than-thou snobs around here who won’t let anyone get away with offering an opinion on Family Dollar, and now they are patrolling the Ruby Tuesday thread.
Is diversity of opinion no longer allowed?
My latest, unauthorized, unverified count using my own unvalidated classification of this thread’s postings:
– Negative comments about RT = 15, two of which were about food poisoning or spoilage events
– Positve comments about RT = 3
– Comments about snobbery, classism = 9
Plus lots of other comments that didn’t fit into my classification scheme about other restaurants and wait staff attire.
I vote for a Hooters in that spot.
+2!
Oh, yeah, great, another national chain to run poor local Pin-Ups out of business.
LOL! How did I miss this comment yesterday??? I just laughed my iced coffee out of my nose!
I don’t understand the belief by some of the commenters above that Ruby Tuesday is so inexpensive. Its not. You can eat at Brickstore Pub (minus an expensive beer, of course), Taqueria Del Sol or Big Tex, to name just a few local options, for the same price. In fact, Ruby Tuesday increased their prices a number of years ago when they redesigned the restaurants to make them more upscale.
When you think of it, there is a lot of vacant restaurant space in COD currently. Feast, Depeaux, Watershed, half of Isabella’s, the 5th Earl (sorta doesn’t count) and now Ruby Tuesday. The Decatur Diner, too, although there are plans for that space. When does Victory Sandwich open?
Decatur can only support so many restuarants, and if we aren’t at capacity, we have to be near it (at least until the economy drastically improves). Most of those are victims of the several new (and wonderful) restaurants that have opened in Decatur the last two or three years. What Decatur needs is some new businesses that aren’t restaurnats to fill that space.
“Decatur can only support so many restaurants.” I see this a lot. I agree with that in theory. I also agree that Decatur needs more businesses that aren’t restaurants. However, it’s not just Decatur (by a long shot) that is supporting the restaurants. Decatur is one of Atlanta’s major dining destinations, so I don’t buy that “Decatur can only support so many restaurants.”
I took into account that Decatur is a dining destination. The citizens of Decatur alone couldn’t support half of the restuarants here. But, that is just my opinion.
Certainly there is a tipping point where there are too many restaurants. I don’t think Decatur is at that point yet. I don’t believe most of the restaurants listed above closed due to direct competition, or due to diners not being able to support them. Depeaux closed because cajun food has never been in great demand and is a bad concept for a restaurant. Feast closed due to the owner’s cancer returning. Decatur Diner closed due to incompetence. Fifth Earl closed as a result of a fire. Watershed closed voluntarily and is still in business elsewhere. Etc.
All reasons for closing are understood (although I think the strain of operating Farmstead/Rail played a big part in Feast’s untimely demise along with Teri’s health). What surprises me is that there aren’t more restauranteurs eager to take a shot at spaces that would be relatively inexpensive to build out due to the previous tenants. Decatur is supposedly such a walkable town, but everyone brings up parking when talking about most of these locations and their inability to attract a successful restaurant.
Let’s get really insensitive and get a pool going on the next retail establishment to close its doors in Decatur.
Decatur is walkable if you live there. The need for parking comes from the fact that most of your restaurants and other businesses in Decatur would fail if it weren’t for people driving in from outside Decatur to dine there.
All I know is, when Decatur First Bank closed (because they made bad loans) there were conversations on this board about the tragedy of lost jobs. But there are people who work at every one of these businesses. At Ruby Tuesday, it’s lots of people who really need the money, and probably don’t have the same ability to just go wait tables at the new grass fed corn dog boutique. I’m just saying have a heart. Don’t dance a jig when people lose jobs.
+1 on the grass-fed corndog boutique
Yum corndogs.
I think you’re being very “liberal” with your compliments
Repeat after me:
“Guy Wong, Guy Wong, Guy Wong.”
Maybe if we all wish and believe hard enough, we can make it happen!
I don’t really understand why a distaste for chain restaurants (or dollar stores, for that matter) makes someone elitist or snobby. And everyone has their weakness. You wouldn’t catch me dead in a Ruby Tuesday’s or Applebee’s, but when I travel, I’m always looking for Cracker Barrel. I avoid fast food, but Chipotle is fresh enough that it tastes like actual real food.
Having a distaste for chain restaurants or dollar stores doesn’t make someone elitist or snobby. All that means is that you don’t frequent those places (or maybe in extreme cases never set foot in the door). But, a few of the comments here and on the FD thread exhibit a lot more than a mere distaste, and reek of elitism.
Yes. Elitism = self-perceived superiority…
IMO it is not a distaste for any particular merchant or type of retailer that indicates someone is elitist or snobby. It’s the compulsion to express that distaste in ways that imply — or baldly state — that anyone not sharing their viewpoint lacks taste, ethics and/or common sense. There have been plenty of examples in this thread, and in virtually any thread on this board that pertains to a restaurant. And as others have noted, dancing on the grave of a local business is unnecessary and thoughtless at best — at worst, it reveals an outlook that is either callous or surprisingly naive (or both).
I want to be clear that I’m not taking sides on any of this, but comments like yours show that the snobbery is a two way street:
“It’s the compulsion to express that distaste in ways that imply — or baldly state — that anyone not sharing their viewpoint lacks taste, ethics and/or common sense.”
In the same paragraph you followed with:
“…dancing on the grave of a local business is unnecessary and thoughtless at best — at worst, it reveals an outlook that is either callous or surprisingly naive (or both).”
So you’re allowed to accuse people of lacking taste, ethics, or common sense. But they are not.
This entire thread is a gem. The folks trying to police the anti-Ruby Tuesday commenters are coming off as the opposite side of the same coin.
Closing thought: We’re all human. We are expressing our thoughts and emotions in an imperfect medium. This thread and any other on Decatur Metro are reflections on those two things more than any kind of characteristic of our particular town.
That’s Number Wang!
Another thread hijacked by the intolerable PC police. The elitism-detectors are finely tuned today. Whatever you do, do not express any genuine happiness that an awful restaurant has closed its doors.
You are right. Perhaps we should throw a giant party and celebrate the fact that several people who work and/or live in our community are out of work. Definitely something to be happy about.
If you don’t like or think it is awful, don’t go there. Leave it at that unless you can explain how its presence in Decatur somehow negatively effected you.
No one is celebrating the assumption that people are losing jobs (which hopefully isn’t the case). You made that up. People are simply excited over the prospect of a better use for that space. It’s neither elitist nor snobbish to feel that way.
Great thread. would read again.
Ha!
I used to find such bickering amusing, until my kids started arguing about who was the most stupid, annoying, smelly, retarded……….etc,etc. Now its just tiresome.
Does that make me selfish, liberal, elitist, insensitive…….etc, etc?
No, but I think my children are better than yours.
(Now I’m trying to decide whether or not to put a little winky icon)
Now I’m trying to think of a tasteful little winky joke.
Now I think it’s better to tell you that I don’t even have children.
But if I did…they would be better than yours 😉
Three comments on your own comment. I wonder if that’s a DM record!
Dammit, Keith. You owe me a new keyboard. Thanks to your posts, I just laughed out loud and sprayed apple juice all over it. And my computer doesn’t have Siri like my iPhone, so I can’t talk to it and tell it what to do.
Decatur’s Token Apple Juice Drinker
I may have an extra keyboard laying around. Where do you want me to drop it off?
At least I missed my keyboard, thank heaven…
I’m amazed that *any* restaurant survives in Decatur, what with all the amateur food critics among us….myself included, sometimes.
Slowly backing up towards the door, hoping noone notices, and I get pulled into this knife fight. Like a train wreck though, I had to look.
Somebody should open up a families-only restaurant in the Ruby Tuesday’s space and we could ban kids from the rest of the bars in the City.
I remember when the Ruby Tuesday first opened. I remember thinking, “Decatur has changed forever…”
I was right.
When did it open?
I remember it happening during my time in college. I left for college in 1997-98 and it was soon after that. The growth during the years 1998-2001 was incredible and it seemed even more intense coming from NC back to my home in Decatur every few months.