Is there any context more depressing for a meal than this? There's a sushi place down the street from me that's under new management. I decided to go for a quick late night happy hour before heading home and see the changes for myself.

All the warning signs were there. New name, newly renovated decor, rows and rows of heavily promoted bottles of some rapper's vodka, same staff, same menu. Not a soul was at the bar, and the manager was skyping with a friend in a booth a few seats over.

I ordered a few things and tried a cocktail that was essentially rum and cranberry juice, then chatted with the bartender while waiting for my food. She'd been there since before the owner/name change and she's not optimistic about the place's future.

I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sadness throughout the meal. I hope someone puts this place out of it's misery soon.

Is there any context more depressing for a meal than this? There's a sushi place down the street from me that's under new management. I decided to go for a quick late night happy hour before heading home and see the changes for myself.

All the warning signs were there. New name, newly renovated decor, rows and rows of heavily promoted bottles of some rapper's vodka, same staff, same menu. Not a soul was at the bar, and the manager was skyping with a friend in a booth a few seats over.

I ordered a few things and tried a cocktail that was essentially rum and cranberry juice, then chatted with the bartender while waiting for my food. She'd been there since before the owner/name change and she's not optimistic about the place's future.

I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sadness throughout the meal. I hope someone puts this place out of it's misery soon.

you should write a short story with that.

I don't understand how quiet restaurants stay afloat, do they just get out a huge bank loan and hope for the best?

I don't understand how quiet restaurants stay afloat, do they just get out a huge bank loan and hope for the best?

Today's breakfast was truly depressing.

I decided to stop by Down House for some fish tacos and check in on some old friends. I learned about restaurant management here and the guys who own it were always Big Idea thinkers when it came to the industry. This place pretty much shaped my outlook on food and helped get me out of a huge rut in my adult life.

Anyway, this restaurant and their two sister bars are dying a very quick and public death. This time last year the owners operated seven brick and mortars and published a subscription based quarterly à la Lucky Peach. It's all crumbling now and the owners are trying to throw a few Hail Marys rebranding the still open projects on social media. Everything at Down House today felt like a bachelor pad immediately after a break-up; empty and quiet, half of the decor gone, charmless meals put together by folks who just don't give a shit.

I hope these guys bounce back. I really do. I still approach everything I do in my current job with the values that I learned at this place at the front of my mind. They had something there for a few moments and they developed/attracted a ton of talent in this city while they were booming.

Yeah, that's not the case here. This particular resto group's folly is the classic tale of Icarus. A lot of former employees got hurt along the way and I'd imagine they don't think the owners ever gave a shit, but ambition was clearly at the heart of it all. Ambition and misplaced priorities.