Am I the only person not surprised to read that Gratzi closed?
The brief article offered up a single theory, courtesy of Danny Jones, as to why the restaurant didn’t prove more viable:
(H)e wondered if the fact that the restaurant was not part of the main thoroughfare that runs through the Town Center hurt its prospects.
I can’t wait to read more of Danny’s wisdom in his forthcoming book, “A Trust Fund Baby’s Guide to Failing in the Restaurant Business.”
Here’s another, simpler idea. Ready?
MAYBE THE FOOD SUCKED.
I think there’s an unwritten rule in Newspaper Land that says that you can’t just come right out and say that a restaurant’s food isn’t very good. I’m reminded of the Food Guy’s review of Top Cats, a place which, to no one’s surprise, stayed open for less than a year. On second though, I’m surprised they even lasted that long.
Or in the case of Gratzi, here’s another, incredibly obvious idea: maybe the food was so-so, but no where near decent enough to justify the price. Hell, I think Susan Williams, staff writer, got to the bottom of it in the second half of her first sentence:
“…Gratzi, an upscale restaurant in Charleston that specialized in Italian food.”
Now actual upscale Italian food is notoriously hard to pull off, even for the likes of Mario Batali. But in the case of Gratzi, we all know that “upscale” just meant “expensive.” There was nothing upscale about their food at all. Overcooked pasta smothered in gooey red sauce is not something you pay top dollar for. So wonder of wonders, it turned out that the good people of Charleston didn’t want to spend 40 bucks a head on mediocre food. Because when the good people of Charleston do spend top dollar on mediocre food, they do it at Tidewater, where all the other mall shoppers can see them spending their money. So on second thought, maybe Danny was right…
Tags: Food
January 2, 2008 at 10:09 am
I never ate there. Went to the Chop House twice. Very Expensive, but very good. At Tidewater once, not as good.
HK, did you eat at Grazi? If so, what was your experience like? What did you have?
Small town papers never want to really review they do the traditional opening article, they do the “Its been here forever so it is a “Tradition”.
Another small town trick is to do a “Best of” article or poll. Who has the best Pizza? Who has the best burger? ect, ect.
January 2, 2008 at 10:21 am
I certainly never ate there, but then my idea of “fine dining” excludes “mall restaurants.” I’ve eaten at Tidewater and Outback, but never dropped $40 a plate either. I’m cheap!
Yeah, nothing like unscientific popularity contests to replace real journalism, and to give businesses another reason to buy an ad in the newspaper. (”Voted Best of…”)
January 2, 2008 at 10:56 am
Gratzi was disgusting. Everything you ordered was DRENCHED in oil. I was always sick after eating there.
January 2, 2008 at 11:43 am
The food really did suck. I did eat there once. Mostly just to sit on the patio and drink wine. We ordered bruschetta and they brought us slices of bread with chopped tomatoes, basil and olive oil. Ungrilled. When I asked about this I was told “that’s the way the serve it in Italy.” OK, but since then I’ve actually been to Italy and that is so not true! The olive butter was about the best thing there.
January 2, 2008 at 11:56 am
Well that’s really fucking hilarious, especially since the word “bruschetta” actually means “to roast over coals.”
There’s another article about the closing in the Gazette today. Front page, no less. Again, it never fails to amaze me how people interchange the concepts of “expensive” and “upscale.” There’s nothing “upscale” about steak and mashed potatoes. It might be delicious though — but for $75, it damn well better be.
“Great Italian food in an inviting setting.” If it was so goddamn great, then why did they close their doors?
January 2, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Speaking of things that Blow, Fluffy Kercheval had the man who either paid for Heather’s disputed credit hours or didn’t on his show a few minutes ago. Did Fluffy ask? No.
January 2, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Susan might be one the friendliest and most pleasant people in the world (and quite funny)–sadly, she also might be one of the Gazette’s weakest writers. This article is very adulatory with a clear tone of mourning Gratzi’s passing. (As you pointed out, HK, how can one talk about the food Charleston residents so dearly loved when the restaurant is closing–it’s not like it burned down a la Delish.)
I would not venture to say the food at Gratzi’s “sucked”–I’ve certainly had worse. Then again, I’ve had better for far less. I regret that the modern synonymity of “expensive” and “upscale” (in other words “expense without quality”) is a common conception not limited to dopey Appalachian cities where no one knows the difference. The relation of these words stems from a premium on superficiality where the expense is what’s important, not the product (Tidewater and the Chop House embody this same principle). People don’t buy Cadillac Escalades because they’re really great cars, but because they boast of wealth. The most common manifestation among restaurants seems to be among flashy upstarts spawned more from a desire to live a trendy ‘Friends’ lifestyle than from any culinary interest or talent. The motto: Do very little and charge a lot for it. Unfortunately, good restaurants–cheap or expensive–take a lot of work.
January 2, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Ah, the Chivas Regal Effect…
January 2, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I’d agree with Oy - I’ve had worse, but I’ve had a lot better for a lot less. Unfortunately, my wife loved one of their appetizers, so I’ve been a few times. I won’t miss it - I prefer Top Spot. Hate Tidewater - crappy frozen food for a bunch of $. Always wondered how it stayed in business - the “look at me” angle must be it. Chop House early on was at least good enough to make the price a bit more acceptable, but we went there for a “function” recently and it was at best average. Thats way too much $ for average. Seriously, I’d had better at Outback. And it certainly wasn’t as good as Blossom (my favorite in town - of course I haven’t been lately, but I assume its still good). The comment about Top Cat reminded me - I’m pretty sure I’ve not paid for worse food - and the owners experience prior to starting a restaurant? He sold cotton candy for Ringling Brothers for 10 yrs. Thats it. I appreciated his desire and the fact that he had a dream, but good grief that food sucked.
Since we’re on the subject - I’ve desperately wanted to like Joe Fazios because of the “tradition” thing, but the last few times we’ve eaten there it was really not good. Is it just us, because the place always seems busy? Does anyone here like it? Am I just ordering the wrong thing?
January 2, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Fazios,Bad food,High price, cannot understand the crowd!!
January 2, 2008 at 2:00 pm
At least Fazio’s has some kitsch appeal. I only ate at Gratzi once, when they first opened. I have no memory of what I ordered, but I do remember that it was mediocre at best. For the price, I was never willing to go back to see if they improved. From the sound of it (and the closing of the restaurant), apparently they didn’t.
And yeah, don’t get me started on the inability to criticize restaurants in the newspaper. Don’t even get me started.
January 2, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I ate at Gratzi’s only twice, for pizza, and ordered anchovies the first time. The waiter looked at us like we were from another planet. Yeah, anchovies are salty and weird and not everyone’s favorite, but am I wrong to think most people, especially those working at an ITALIAN RESTAURANT, might have at least heard of the concept of an anchovy pizza? Well, we got our anchovies, chopped and scattered thickly ALL OVER the pizza, rendering it salty, inedible and generally disgusting. Any restaurant serving pizza that doesn’t know that (at most) one anchovy per slice in adequate doesn’t need to be in business.
Leonoro’s is it, as far as Italian in Charleston goes.
January 2, 2008 at 3:34 pm
There are much better restaurants in Huntington…both in terms of price & quality. Arthur’s is expensive with a limited menu, but it’s good quality food with a good wait staff. Hall of Fame Cafe is good too, especially considering it’s practically a sports bar. The re-opened Pizzeria Uno (without Jack Whittaker’s ownership, this time) at Pullman is MUCH better than before. Max & Erma’s is a chain place, but after 15 or so meals there over the past year, the food is consistently good no matter what the dish.
Even the average place is better. Boston Beanery isn’t nearly as good as the one in Morgantown, but it’s better than most places in Charleston.
Sorry to hear about Fazio’s…haven’t eaten there in years, but it always was good before. How about the 5th Quarter? Is that still good?
If anyone travels, check out Muriale’s in Fairmont. Really good Italian food at a decent price. Also in Fairmont, check out a place called the Pokey Dot. Real good food.
January 2, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I love Fazio’s based almost solely on tradition. It’s exactly the same as it was when my grandparents used to take me there. (When we didn’t end up at the Sterling.)
Gratzi totally blew. I remember thinking, “wait a minute… I thought Olive Garden moved. Isn’t this the Olive Garden?” when I walked in for the first time.
But, I hate the mall in general. I don’t like eating there and I don’t like to shop there. Couldn’t they tiptoe into the present day by at least giving us a Banana Republic or a Pottery Barn? I mean, if I’m going to subvert my individuality and sell my soul to a mass merchandiser, couldn’t it at least be one that doesn’t sell denim jumpers and sweatshirts appliqued with the American flag???? Jesus.
January 2, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Something is seriously wrong with that mall’s management. Has anyone figured it out what it is yet?
January 2, 2008 at 4:09 pm
A mall should be a sense of adventure, if you are into that. That mall has become nothing more than a glorified office building. A mall should have upscale stores and a variety of restaurants. It should be a place to spend the day.
That malls has dime and dollar stores and government offices. It is a failure. It has no vision or a plan. Corridor G is the new mall.
The marketing at the mall is super poor. Close it down.
January 2, 2008 at 4:43 pm
“And yeah, don’t get me started on the inability to criticize restaurants in the newspaper. Don’t even get me started.”
Might you be referring to yours and HK’s brief stint as restaurant reviewers for the gazz? You guys did good work. I remember some backlash, but for the most part I’d say the gazz blogs are woefully disorganized (and only pay $50) and that drove you away.
January 2, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I don’t envy them in the least.
January 2, 2008 at 5:27 pm
The pay didn’t drive me away. I knew it was only 50 bucks a month (that’s for both of us, not each), so I wasn’t doing it for the money to begin with. I was doing it for something fun on the side. When it wasn’t fun anymore, I quit. If I had been getting paid more, I would have put more effort into it and I would’ve stuck around longer, but I would have ended up quitting anyway. When you think Gratzi sucks and it happens to be your editor’s favorite restaurant in town, well, you don’t get to be as frank as you’d like. (I kind of knew it wasn’t going to work out when I was asked to write a post about Gratzi’s new early bird specials. Ugh. That made me feel a little dirty.) When your editor keeps encouraging you to do posts about where you can get the best margarita or the best salad or the best whatever in town and the answer is always “in my own kitchen,” it’s annoying to keep getting those requests. What’s the point in being a critic if you can’t criticize without totally sugarcoating everything you say? Anyway, it wasn’t the money. I considered the food blog to be a hobby, and hobbies are supposed to be fun. No fun = I quit. No hard feelings, it just wasn’t for me. Aw, you got me started. I said don’t!
January 2, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I really enjoyed the atmosphere at Gratzi’s but was always disappointed by the food….i cant tell you how many times i went there and they were out of lasagna (what italian eatery would ever be out of lasagna!?!?) The prices were similar to Outback (which i hate as well, but moreso due to the southern WV loud and crowded factor) and never considered it “upscale. Perhaps Jones made a good point about the location, because I couldnt imagine Tidewater surviving, much less than if it were located where Gratzis is…i believe it would fail there as well.
January 3, 2008 at 9:36 am
Raging Red, is that why the Gazz can’t keep (or even develop) a decent Art blog? It’s pretty much sucked from the beginning, and these mystery writers (both the Sweet and Sour duo and whoever was ghost writing before that) are REALLY bad.
January 3, 2008 at 11:34 am
I think Sweet and Sour are hilarious and mostly right on the mark. They say the catty things Bob Schwarz (or anyone else) can’t or won’t.
January 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Bobs was pretty catty about RRS when he first got promoted to Commissioner. He even set up a slam dunk in catty for a Renay Conlin Conlin quote about RRS in the article.
January 3, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Big Red, I think it’s hard to find people who will really dedicate themselves to creating a good blog when you don’t have the budget to pay them much of anything. (I make no judgments on the current blogs there, because I don’t read them, except for checking the food blog every so often. Oh, and I read Tracy’s World once. WTF?) Also, you know, Charleston’s not exactly a cultural mecca, so finding new & interesting things to write about is a challenge. (For some reason it always gives some people the vapors when that’s pointed out.)
January 3, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Oh, everyone’s a critic! FYI, most people accuse us of being Hippie Killer and Raging Red…….and we are flattered! We are big fans of yours. S & S
January 3, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Because Charleston has no art scene. Or rather, the art scene Charleston does have is dominated by an entrenched group of vapid, South Hills Plutocrats. Everyone else wallows in obscurity. I probably know enough about art to write a decent art blog, but day I had to write something favorable about Susan Fucking Poffenbarger’s goddamn pastel drawings would be the last day I write. And that would probably be about 3 posts in.
No thanks. I’m good.
January 3, 2008 at 2:50 pm
R.R. and H.K. would be “Sour and Sour-er”.
January 3, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I get the subtle impression that people think I would be the sour one.
Don’t be so sure ;-)
January 3, 2008 at 2:56 pm
No comment.
January 3, 2008 at 5:00 pm
And you don’t read my Gazz blog? Argh… the pain, the agony, the um… well, fuck… No idea where I was going with that. I will be featuring pictures of urinals in upcoming blog posts, if that helps.
But Red, one of your comments and I’m not going to say which one, yeah… that sort of happened to me, too.
January 3, 2008 at 9:47 pm
In an upscale downtown related note: The first arrest was made Tuesday at Janet Amores’ new “upscale” nightclub Impulse:
http://dailymail.com/policebrfs/200801030191
The great thing about Fazio’s is the location. You can just see someone stepping out of their car and getting whacked in that neighborhood.
January 4, 2008 at 9:35 am
I still really like Fazio’s steaks and seafood, I’ve always had good luck with those.
January 4, 2008 at 9:46 am
Nothing personal, Bill. Too many blogs, too little time. And I’m trying to read 52 books in 52 weeks, dontcha know!?!
(Confidential to Sweet and Sour: Thanks for the soup!)
January 4, 2008 at 11:56 am
What do you rate the soup? Joe’s Yugoslavian Fish Stew is an A+ for us. The visit to see the murals at Fazio’s is worth the trip itself. What are some of your all’s (as they say in Lincoln County) best and worst murals of the region? Rio Grandes are consistently psychotronically horrible! Blog in here or at the thegazz.com at ArtAttack or to Bill Lynch with thoughts. Send picts of anything interesting to sweetandsourwv@gmail.com. Back to Fazio’s, Joe’s and Nelle’s “Specialitas” are B+ for us. You MUST try a GOLDEN CADILLAC dessert drink. Patti Fazio bought us one for free for XMAS! For a real Italian splurge, we love Cafe Cimino in Sutton (and stay over in one of their new pricey but cool rooms). Tim and Melody are good sorts and good hosts. Plus, they discovered and promoted Echo McCallister, one of WV’s living treasures. Ask for the wine Tim gets from his family’s home in the Old Country. It’s not that expensive and it’s good.
January 5, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Hey, love you guys and dolls, nobody made us give Susan Poff a nod……honestly, she had a breakthrough in the last few years……..SOME of her newest stuff is great………..almost surreal and actually really F***cking good. And we love that she warred with the art bitches around town. Don’t hate her because she’s well connected. Pastel or not, she’s for real and we stand by it. Ps. Hippe, want to see some new art from YOU! Love your earlier work! Standing by………S & S