Cannot agree more. Take Thomas Keller, I’m sure the laundry is still amazing but really everything else in the valley at least is horrendous. HORRENDOUS. Almost a con if you ask me.
Some of my favorite restaurants anywhere are Keller's Surf Club in Surfside, Florida and the Las Vegas Bouchon. TKG is an example that you can grow the brand and maintain excellence.
My business partner and I were just contemplating this over a dinner at Jaleo in Orlando last night. Some great dishes, but definitely a lot of middle of the road and some outright misses. And for the price point, this shouldn't be the case.
Several months ago I was receiving ads on instagram to invest in this restaurant. It was weird to me since it had just been built out. And I thought with Gibsons and Jose Andres as backers, it was a sure thing. So why did they need to resort to crowdfunding? And why was the prospectus so vague on why it was needed? They said they wanted to upgrade the kitchen. It was brand new!
Andres food has not delivered for me of late. We have been to the speakeasy and restaurants and .. way overpriced and no longer creative or special. I wish it were different. I’ve never been to bar mar or bazaar meat and .. maybe never will.
The internet seems pretty scrubbed of references to the crowdfunding, but here is one example on LinkedIn
"Bazaar Chicago seeks an additional $2M in exchange for a 3.85% membership in GRG TFG Wacker LLC. Proceeds from the investment will be used for capital expenditures to enhance and expand the kitchen equipment and the furniture and furnishings. We encourage potential investors to reach out to bazaar.chi.investments@joseandres.com for further questions and inquiries on the investment opportunity and any other pertinent information you may require."
That the email address was actually with Jose Andres' company was the part that surprised me the most.
FWIW, back in late 2022 we tried to use a Think Food Group gift card at Bazaar/ BarMar and were told that we couldn't use them because this location was wholly owned by Gibson group and only licenses Andres' name and recipes.
I have also noticed this place go downhill over the years, my wife and I used to be very regular there. I have a theory: I think Chicagoans are very hostile to out of town chefs. I think if they re-banded the place as Gibson's Espanola then its business would immediately pick up by 30% and stay picked up.
Having said that, Jaleo is a Think food group property, but it is also going downhill. It has 69'd half of its menu, because for years the cafe barbariba across the street gets three times the customers. The food has traditionally been much much better at Jaleo than at cafe barbariba, but Chicago's homer attitude prevents people from finding that out for themselves.
I will breathe a sigh of relief when Jaleo in Chicago finally closes for good. It's an embarrassment, especially as the ones in New York and DC were still great in our (much less extensive) experience.
Any recommendations for a place similar to the old Jaleo? Asking the whole group
Cannot agree more. Take Thomas Keller, I’m sure the laundry is still amazing but really everything else in the valley at least is horrendous. HORRENDOUS. Almost a con if you ask me.
Some of my favorite restaurants anywhere are Keller's Surf Club in Surfside, Florida and the Las Vegas Bouchon. TKG is an example that you can grow the brand and maintain excellence.
Never been to Florida, not sure if I agree with Bouchon in Las Vegas… personally I’ve never had any luck with TKG. Maybe it’s me.
My business partner and I were just contemplating this over a dinner at Jaleo in Orlando last night. Some great dishes, but definitely a lot of middle of the road and some outright misses. And for the price point, this shouldn't be the case.
Would live to see him run though
Omg.
Several months ago I was receiving ads on instagram to invest in this restaurant. It was weird to me since it had just been built out. And I thought with Gibsons and Jose Andres as backers, it was a sure thing. So why did they need to resort to crowdfunding? And why was the prospectus so vague on why it was needed? They said they wanted to upgrade the kitchen. It was brand new!
Andres food has not delivered for me of late. We have been to the speakeasy and restaurants and .. way overpriced and no longer creative or special. I wish it were different. I’ve never been to bar mar or bazaar meat and .. maybe never will.
The internet seems pretty scrubbed of references to the crowdfunding, but here is one example on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hospitalitymultiple_bazaar-meat-bar-mar-chicago-activity-7148373873720270848-WVLX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
That is very odd.
Found the prospectus on the internet archive, it has some big graphics so you have to scroll down a bit for the the text.
https://web.archive.org/web/20240423103725/https://hmxus.com/invest/bazaar-meat-bar-mar-chicago/
"Bazaar Chicago seeks an additional $2M in exchange for a 3.85% membership in GRG TFG Wacker LLC. Proceeds from the investment will be used for capital expenditures to enhance and expand the kitchen equipment and the furniture and furnishings. We encourage potential investors to reach out to bazaar.chi.investments@joseandres.com for further questions and inquiries on the investment opportunity and any other pertinent information you may require."
That the email address was actually with Jose Andres' company was the part that surprised me the most.
FWIW, back in late 2022 we tried to use a Think Food Group gift card at Bazaar/ BarMar and were told that we couldn't use them because this location was wholly owned by Gibson group and only licenses Andres' name and recipes.
I have also noticed this place go downhill over the years, my wife and I used to be very regular there. I have a theory: I think Chicagoans are very hostile to out of town chefs. I think if they re-banded the place as Gibson's Espanola then its business would immediately pick up by 30% and stay picked up.
Having said that, Jaleo is a Think food group property, but it is also going downhill. It has 69'd half of its menu, because for years the cafe barbariba across the street gets three times the customers. The food has traditionally been much much better at Jaleo than at cafe barbariba, but Chicago's homer attitude prevents people from finding that out for themselves.
I will breathe a sigh of relief when Jaleo in Chicago finally closes for good. It's an embarrassment, especially as the ones in New York and DC were still great in our (much less extensive) experience.
I'm sorry it did WHAT to half the menu?
Poke bowls for life.
Openly laughed more than once with the “street hawker” line. Great writing and spot on commentary.