The pet peeve thread

[oblong]

My favorite local deli was bought in January of this year. The owner died in 2023 and the kids didn’t want to keep it. No problem there.  But now the new owner is a young guy and is on the surface keeping it the same but now their social media is about getting the influencers. They are hyping up DoorDash and uber eats. The counter is littered with business cards from local people. That cheapens it to me. This is a place that’s been around since I was in high school. It’s a legend among Ford workers at lunctime. And frankly any “infuencer” not familiar with this place is an amateur foodie.  This guys is acting like he discovered something.  And I know they have changed suppliers because the pickles are different. The napkins are. Even the wrap on my sandwich is a little off.   I’m giving them a few more weeks before I bail on my Tuesday tradition.  This was literally my favorite thing to eat all week.  
 

 

[CMRivdogs]

38 minutes ago, oblong said:

My favorite local deli was bought in January of this year. The owner died in 2023 and the kids didn’t want to keep it. No problem there.  But now the new owner is a young guy and is on the surface keeping it the same but now their social media is about getting the influencers. They are hyping up DoorDash and uber eats. The counter is littered with business cards from local people. That cheapens it to me. This is a place that’s been around since I was in high school. It’s a legend among Ford workers at lunctime. And frankly any “infuencer” not familiar with this place is an amateur foodie.  This guys is acting like he discovered something.  And I know they have changed suppliers because the pickles are different. The napkins are. Even the wrap on my sandwich is a little off.   I’m giving them a few more weeks before I bail on my Tuesday tradition.  This was literally my favorite thing to eat all week.  
 

 

Not in the same boat but our favorite local winery changed hands about two years ago. The owner and founder was in his 80s and it seemed his sons had no interest in continuing the enterprise. It was and still is a nice upscale place with a small hotel and nice restaurant. It was also a nice place to hang out on a Friday afternoon or take out of town guests to lunch or dinner.

The principal owner is an investor type, he owns another winery on the other end of the state that is just starting to produce wine. He also owns the minor league hockey team in Norfolk. It's being managed by a former Marriott resort manager in Virginia Beach. It's all well and good, the atmosphere has changed however. The original winemaker also left, I'm not sure if he was pushed out or left on his own. He had been there since Patrick opened the winery in the 1980s.

The new guys want to do big events, prices have gone up, and things like the member tasting room and the outdoor tasting areas have changed. As have the members tastings. That started to change near the end of Mr Duffler's ownership and instead of informative talks from the winemaker it seems that most of those who attend now just want to see how much they can consume.  
  We ended up not renewing our membership, we had too much wine on stock anyway. The wine maker has moved to a winery closer to us and it will be interesting to see what direction that place heads.

[oblong]

I understand that part of the change could be a reaction to needing more revenue. In the case of my deli and with most small businesses that change hands… the new owner has to cover two nuts now. The purchase plus themselves.  Someone spends a lifetime building something and they need their payoff, rightfully so.  Just doing the same old thing might not be enough.