A Penticton restaurateur is ready to serve up slices of humble pie, or cake as it may be.
With much anticipation, the Block 300 Casual Steakhouse opened in downtown Penticton on June 7 to a lineup of 60 people outside their doors, however guests were left with a sour taste after an underwhelming experience. It continued in the following days as the restaurant went into crisis management.
“I come to you with a humble pie story in which everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” said Fred Trainor, owner of the restaurant.
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| Block 300 Casual Steakhouse owner Fred Trainer serving up a piece of humble pie (actually cheesecake) after he had to close his downtown Penticton restaurant due to underperformance. He said they have reset and are asking the community to give them a second chance. (Mark Brett – Western News) |
Trainor explained that he made some regrettable decisions leading to what he is calling “inconsistent food and lack of proper systems,” along with other mistakes that he is publicly taking ownership of. He also alleges they were victim to “major thefts,” that were investigated by RCMP but charges were not brought forward.
“I had invited my best friend and his wife that opening night and I had to apologize for the experience … it was just a gong show. It was terrible and I feel so badly for the people that tried us in the beginning and I want them to come back,” said Trainor. “When I think back on bad days, I can’t think past that one. But we suck it up and if it isn’t right, we make it right.”
READ MORE: Busy opening week for Block 300 Casual Steakhouse
So one month after opening the doors, after some friendly advice from another Penticton restaurateur, he made the decision to shut down and reset. For 12 days, in the height of tourism season, Block 300 Casual Steakhouse closed to bring in people who knew how to right the ship.
“For those who haven’t tried us yet and those who think we are not here anymore, I want them to come in too because we will knock their socks off. The bar is very high now,” said Trainor.
READ MORE: 300 Block Casual Steakhouse to replace The Elite
It is why for the week of Sept. 16 to 22 he is inviting the public to give the Block 300 Casual Steakhouse a second chance.
“We want to devote this week to acknowledge that you know what, we under-performed for you, but please give us a chance to perform better for you now. I will eat the humble pie for all the mistakes we made and I will serve a slice of it to you when you are finished your dinner. I will be here every night until closing and everybody who comes is getting a piece of Freddie’s humble pie at the end of the evening,” said Trainor.
The owner said if he was to do it all over again he wouldn’t have set an opening date after renovating what use to be The Elite into a modern restaurant. He now believes they have the proper staff and policies in place to provide the level of service that the community deserves.
The Block 300 Casual Steakhouse is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (or until the last customer leaves) and on weekends they will open at 5 p.m. and will close at 10 p.m. An express lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and happy hour is from 3 to 5 p.m.
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