Tim Westphal aka strugglinghomebrewer,
My wife Julia and I own Stella’s Southern Bistro
located in that “tiny strip mall on Fairview Road in Simpsonville, South
Carolina.”
After reading your Urban Spoon blog post and the
comments you posted on other restaurant review sites as well, I’m compelled to
reply. I can handle a negative review;
yours was not the first and won’t be the last.
However, there is a fine line between objectivity and maliciousness- a
line you chose to cross.
You stated emphatically that “Reason #139 why any
blogger who accepts a free meal…should not be taken seriously.” Seriously?
Do you honestly believe that this somehow exhibits integrity yet you
dine in our restaurant once (on a night when another customer had a serious
medical emergency in the dining room) then proceed to trash us in your blog and
on Open Table. Please tell me how this
exhibits honesty or legitimacy? You also
stated that a “consultant” of Stella’s contacted you and offered dinner for two
in exchange for a review. Our “consultant” develops our social media and
contacted you without my being aware. He
told you that he would send you a gift certificate, you could come in
anonymously, have dinner for two and after your meal was concluded, you could
redeem your all-inclusive gift certificate, and then write a follow up review
if you were so inclined. I can assure you this is not the norm. I most certainly would not have allowed such
an offer to be extended, especially after reading your previous blog posts, so my
first apology is that that happened in the first place. Rest assured; it will not happen again.
As you stated during your review, you researched
Stella’s through our website and social media and found us to be “your
stereotypical ‘Southern’ menu downsized.”
You stated you looked at the menu online fifty times in the past year
and found it boring & overpriced. It
seems hard to be a legitimate, reputable blogger and make up your mind about an
establishment before you’ve eaten there.
Maybe you should amend your blogger constitution to include Rule/Reason
#140.
Regardless, you made a reservation, proceeded to
find our little strip mall and joined us for dinner. A dinner that was not just any dinner but
your wife’s birthday dinner to boot. You also stated that you’re “not one who
typically makes reservations.” When I
take my wife out for a birthday dinner, I call the restaurant, speak to a
manager, and then request a table suitable for the occasion. And if you were disappointed in the size of
the table, why on earth didn’t you ask for a different table? We would have happily accommodated your
request, we understand that everyone has different seating preferences.
You also found fault with the size of my kitchen at
Stella’s. Yes, it is very small, can be
challenging at times, and isn’t ideal.
But we dance with whom we came.
Days before your visit, we managed to feed fifty people in our “small”
banquet room while at the same time running regular service in our main dining
room. It was challenging, indeed. The guests were all attending a Slow Food
regional dinner (I’m sure you’ve never heard of Slow Foods), and the room was
packed full of some of the most respected members of the local food
movement. You stated that “you get the
whole Farm to Table and local produce and farmers thing…but it is really pushed
too much at Stella’s.” You mentioned the
“fancy names and ingredients most people have no clue about.” That was probably the kohlrabi that got you
on that one. It was grown by Daniel
Parsons of Parson’s Produce. You ate a
few other things he grew as well, as well as food from Chris Sermons of BioWay
Farm, Happy Cow Creamery, Split Creek goat cheese dairy, eggs from Limestone
Farms, and the list goes on. Sorry if we
push the “local produce and farmers” thing too much, but that’s what we believe
in. Like our “standard overpriced shrimp
and grits.” We charge a little more for
our shrimp and grits because we ONLY serve domestic shrimp which, yes, cost a
bit more, but they certainly taste world’s better than the imported,
farm-raised stuff. American shrimpers
are a dying breed due to so much more shrimp being consumed in this country
that’s imported rather than domestic. So
yes, we support American shrimpers and local purveyors of vegetables, dairy,
meat, and poultry, and I’m sorry that that ruffled your feathers as well. I find it odd that you would criticize the
shrimp and grits without even tasting the dish.
I also noticed in your “review” that you would never
return for dinner but would for lunch, specifically to sample our Kentucky Hot
Brown. You stated, I quote, “not sure
how this fits with the whole Southern cuisine” and “just hope they haven’t
screwed this one up too much by adding personal (culinary ‘FANCY’) flair to
it.” Well, the last time I checked
Louisville, Kentucky is indeed in the South.
An expert reviewer like you would surely know the Hot Brown originated
there. I also originate from Louisville,
growing up there before moving to South Carolina. I also learned how to make Hot Browns there
as well.
I feel it best if you don’t return for a Hot Brown
or anything else either. Unfortunately,
you are no longer welcome at Stella’s.
You, Mr. Westphal, are the first and very hopefully the last person not
welcome back to my restaurant. As you stated,
there are “much nicer places” besides a strip mall to spend your money.
At this point, I would also like to sincerely
apologize that one of our valued guests suffered a seizure during your visit,
as this obviously further disturbed your evening. You opened your “review” with a photograph of
the ambulance conveniently located below our Stella’s sign. Kudos to you for creativity, nice touch, Mr.
Restaurant review guy. I also did some internet research on you and noticed on
your Facebook page that after returning home from Stella’s, your wife had
commented, “Some lady passed out and fell off of a high top bar stool. Hopefully it wasn’t the food!!” No, it wasn’t alcohol or food. She was having dinner with her family. She felt ill, got up to go outside for some
fresh air but fainted in the bar area.
She hadn’t consumed a drop of alcohol.
911 was called, and the Simpsonville Fire Department along with EMS
rushed to Stella’s to ensure a fellow human being was given necessary medical
attention as quickly as humanly possible.
You stated you were “annoyed” by the situation. While you were annoyed, all of our other
guests were concerned and were more than understanding about the
situation. Personally, I was impressed
with how quickly they arrived on the scene.
Not that you are concerned, obviously, but she is recovering well.
As far as your obvious extreme disdain for the fact
we didn’t have our children’s menu listed online, which you read “50 times”
over the course of the last year, if you had bothered to call the restaurant
one single time, we would have gladly mentioned our children’s menu. We are parents as well, graciously welcoming
children to the restaurant; we even partner with local schools to donate meals
to the “Terrific Kids” program which recognizes students who average good
grades. Again, you were obviously agitated
before you sat down.
During the course of your “review,” you also
referred to my server’s assistants as “water boys” and stated a member of my
professional service team rubbed “the top of my bald head like I did the day I
turned 21 at the local gentleman’s club.”
Nice comment to sneak in during your wife’s birthday dinner, and no
doubt, that made that hardworking, single mother feel like a million bucks when
she too read your “review.” You
mentioned that the front of the house, which is run by my wife Julia, is like a
“circus” and in need of “an overhaul in management.” Your comments were and are out of line. Maybe the emergency response team being there
made the ambiance a bit less relaxing than usual, sorry. You even shed negative
light on our recycling program. You were
so clearly determined to have a negative experience before even arriving at
Stella’s. Maybe Rule/Reason #141 should
be to not have a predetermined opinion about a restaurant before entering
it.
Again, I apologize if the food and service did not
meet your expectations. I saw your
little list of places you’ve reviewed, and I have to brag a little here, the
list of places I’ve dined at is a lot more impressive. That being said, I have never, not once,
ever, gone online and made negative comments about any restaurant in which I’ve
dined. I would rather, and have before,
simply asked to speak to a manager. That
night, you would have spoken to my wife Julia, and she would have most
certainly rectified the situation immediately.
You never gave us the chance. You
just went home and started typing. The
internet is permanent- mostly, and the legitimate review sites took down your
“review,” but you set out trying to damage my business and its reputation
without even having the courage to speak up while you were here or call the
next day to discuss it. You just started
bashing away at a business that I, my wife, and a lot of other people have
worked very hard to build.
As of this writing, Stella’s is rated the #1 Overall
restaurant in the upstate by Open Table as well as overall Best Food, fifth in service, fourth best “Fit for
Foodies,” and second in “Neighborhood Gems.”
Trip Advisor has us at number two and Urban Spoon, your personal
favorite, at number three. All reviews
compiling the thoughts of non-professional reviewers, such as yourself; the
majority has spoken.
One last note, we have written a check in the amount
of your bill and donated it to the Greenville Humane Society. Rule/Reason #142 is never accept money from
irrelevant, amateur and inexperienced food bloggers who obviously have no idea
what they are talking about.
Sincerely, on behalf of all the “water boys,” “head
rubbers,” servers, stewards, line cooks, server assistants, hosts, bartenders, firemen,
EMS responders and the rest of the staff at Stella’s.
Jason Scholz
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