Comments on: Closed: Macaroni Grill and 2 Cold Stones

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:13:48 +0000

i loved The Macaroni Grill. I guess it just didn’t get the traffic that Olive Garden does. Speaking of being surprised when trying to go somewhere for dinner……i was taking my (ex) wife and kids to Chi-Chi’s one late afternoon and instead of getting out of the car we sat and watched as the Rescue Squad carted someone off on a stretcher and then someone put a sign on the door saying it was closed for business. I miss Chi-Chi’s.

By: Ryan Goodrich

Ryan Goodrich — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:19:06 +0000

“I cannot believe that Macaroni Grill is gone yet Olive Garden still lives.”

I said the EXACT SAME THING when I read this article.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:56:12 +0000

Correction about Bella Notte being a chain – according to that link in my last post:
On October 21, 2006, Sun Capital Partners Inc. purchased Fazoli’s for an estimated $100 million price tag, replacing CEO Kuni Toyoda with Bob Weissmueller, a veteran executive of McDonald’s.[1] Toyoda will maintain ownership of Bella Notte.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:53:12 +0000

Thanks to Amy for her enthusiastic response! Whenever possible we try to hit the local places and avoid the chains. I won’t list the obvious “pros” regarding hitting a local places, but one thing we intend to investigate more are the places (local and chain) that use locally produced food.
We are not radical about the local thing, and appreciate the convenience factor and the “least common denominator” factor (important with diverse dining groups) of chains. You can find anything you get at chains at a local place, and it is not any more expensive.
Hopefully people are going to Giuseppe’s just down the road from Macaroni grill, as opposed to Olive garden. Bella Notte is also just down the street – even though owned by same company as Fazoli’s (http://www.answers.com/topic/fazoli-s) is a great alternative.
That said, we did go to Macaroni grill once a year, and liked it better than Carrabba’s and Johnny Carino’s (both over in Hamburg). The other times we go to chains are when we are out of town and don’t have the time to search for a local place. We should make more of an effort to hit tripadvisor or something for local recommendations, or at least google independent restaurants for that location.

By: Dave Flaskis

Dave Flaskis — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 05:58:38 +0000

The management rats are jumping from the ship as hundreds of Cold Stone locations are now collapsing around the US. Why? Because the “concept” of mixing stuff into ice cream has always been a fad, and the fad is now over. The product isn’t that good, is grossly overpriced, and consumers are flocking back to properly formulated ice cream from other chains like Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry’s.

The Cold Stones have been largely sold to Yuppies with too much equity in their homes, who jumped into the stores to be “business owners”. But since the labor costs are double the competition, and stores are too big and too expensive to run, the number of unprofitable stores is skyrocketing with the results we have here. Sad for the owners who have likely lost a couple hundred thousand dollars EACH.

By: DJ Inphinity

DJ Inphinity — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:54:16 +0000

Too bad… I agree with Thomas – Macaroni Grill is MUCH Better than Olive Garden – and a lot more classier.

By: twps

twps — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:27:59 +0000

Macaroni Grill is so much better than Olive Garden!

Thomas

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:19:42 +0000

See, until I read John’s response I was getting really excited that maybe Lexington was one of the most progressive cities in America! I figured since they didn’t go to these stupid, crappy, ‘wannabe’ chain shops (I’m really just talking about Macaroni Grill, Stone Cold’s not that bad), they were giving a … to the corporate chains, choosing instead to eat out at mom-and-pop, independantly-owned eateries instead. I was going to stand up on my couch and clap, screaming BRAVO, LEXINGTON!!!! But, instead, I’m depressed again with the knowledge that it’s b/c another nasty, wanna-be CORPORATE CHAIN is the reason for the demise of these other chains. Die, Olive Garden! You give Italians (and it’s delicious food) a HORRIBLE name. Amy @ neverfull.wordpress.com

By: John

John — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:55:23 +0000

How many more restaurants are we going to lose in Lexington? Macaroni Grill is a staple in chain Italian restaurants. I cannot believe that Macaroni Grill is gone yet Olive Garden still lives. Thanks for the heads up Sharon; you saved us from the shock of showing up for dinner and coming to the realization that a staple is now gone.