Has no one proofread this before posting?
Must have been all that Blind Pig.

regardless: Bonne Chance, Chef!

@Josh you wanna know why chefs don’t like vegans….because you feel it’s your right to tell someone how to run their business, and what food they can and cannot put on their menu. How dare you. Maybe the reason the people at Local 44 need to put some PR out there about their change of chefs is because of people like you who don’t know how to correctly patronize a bar/restaurant and they need to generate more business that works for THEM, not YOU. Ive never been there and I consider myself thankful for that considering the place is loaded with a bunch of hipster vegans.

@Maf, not sure where anyone said chefs don’t like vegans. Most restaurants now actually have options for many different diets–vegan, gluten-free, nut allergy, etc. It makes good business sense to not want to try and kill people, who can’t eat certain kinds of food.

I’m sure that you aren’t reading this post, however, as you’ve probably crawled down into your bunker with your pro-NRA stickers, awaiting the federal government’s raid on your militia and/or doomsday’s arrival. Kinda stinks, now that the US is no longer an unfettered playground for white men, doesn’t it? Hopefully, you’ll stay in your little hole in the ground (circa 1947), where the rest of us modern-folk don’t have to deal with the likes of you. Oh, and if you plan to go all whack-job, like your supremacist friends in the midwest and south, please go to a psych ward first and make sure they do a “workup” on you: a) you’d probably enjoy it (lots of pretty lights and gowns and electrical probes! yay!), and b) it would help keep the rest of us “normals” safe.

@Josh…most restaurants have a “vegan/veg” option not because it makes business sense…it’s because vegans/vegetarians have bullied enough people into that option. Vegans have an agenda to go into a meat friendly restaurant, demand there should be vegan options, tell the server or manager they are horrible people, then complain on yelp that there is no vegan option. And you can’t tell me that doesn’t happen because I’ve seen it done too many times. I’m stating to you how vegans are viewed in the restaurant business. Come at me all you want about what you think of me personally, I don’t care. Just keep pretending you’re saving the world when you and ten of your vegan friends go into a Local 44, probably fifteen minutes before they close, and order three mac and cheese between the ten of you….and not tip, then over stay your welcome. And since you “practically live there” I’m sure that’s what’s going on.

Here’s your business lesson for the day: “The menu changes will be rolled out slowly with the goal being to step up the food game at Local 44 and become more of a food destination.” Stepping up the food game doesn’t mean catering to vegans. And when a business puts money into PR about a new chef, whose resume above didn’t include a vegan restaurant, it means they are most likely stepping into an arena dominated by meat friendly establishments.

I didn’t start out disliking vegan views but your crowd has made it more and more difficult for even a reasonable person, who works in the business, digest your drivel. Next you’re going to tell us that foie gras is evil….oh, wait you already have. Maybe vegans could threaten chefs and their families welfare if they don’t conform…oh, wait…that’s been done too. So who’s holding the gun now Josh?

I commented on your post because in my eyes it seems unfair to tell someone how they should run their business, which is what you did. The majority of restaurants fail because they have no idea what the business is like or how to run a restaurant. Not because they don’t listen to comment cards. If they need comment cards to tell them how their business should be run they shouldn’t be in the business in the first place. Plain and simple. Comments on yelp don’t give the true measure of success for a restaurant.

@Maf, wow. Not sure why I keep responding to trolls. They seem to exist everywhere on the internet, just wanting to egg people on and not really contribute much productive to the debate. But I guess I will reply, anyway. Interestingly, you don’t know anything about me, nor do you know anything that I’ve ever said or done in any establishment about my dietary constraints. Remember, some people have medical reasons for eating the way they do, right? But you’ve certainly inferred and generalized a WHOLE lot beyond what I actually said, didn’t you? Is that something you are willing to admit?

I’m honestly sorry that you’ve had bad experiences with people who have views different than your own. That said, I was (indeed) rude to you and I should not have been. I agree with you that dogmatism is dogmatism, regardless of whether it is conservative or liberal. And I agree with you that many customers are rude and demanding. That’s the nature of the business. How do I know this, because (no) I don’t show up five minutes before closing time at 44. I’m actually pretty well known to the owners and the staff at all of their establishments. We have a good relationship and can debate about these things. I’ve never told anyone how to run their business or how they should live their lives. You have to live with your moral conscience and I have to live with mine. As the previous poster noted, I am providing positive feedback about something that I like at the establishment that is already a regular part of their menu (and has been for 4 years). I am hoping that they can keep some of the quality items that many customers like (and not just me, by the way), while improving in the ways that they desire. Food and restaurants are expensive, and not all of us live privileged lives (like I’m assuming you do) and so I was also making a plea to keep prices reasonable. But I understand they also have to make a profit.

It must be difficult for you, though, and I am sympathetic–to carry around all that anger at a stranger(s) you’ve never even met. To get so angry about, of all things, OTHER people’s dietary preferences? Whew. Makes me glad that I’m not one of your colleagues. Might want to check with your peers and see how well-respected you are at work. I’m not suggesting that sarcastically; I think that it might be a good (and humbling) exercise for you. These situations are complex and nuanced and deserve thoughtful discussion, not black-or-white one-sided thinking.

Rory, any particulars that you didn’t enjoy? Have you offered the owners your feedback? What are the other restaurants (in that price range and casual atmosphere) that you do enjoy?

@josh…I’m confused…I haven’t, in the least come at you with any anger. This would be coming at you with anger!!!!!! See? Also I’m confused because, in life, when one calls someone names, and shows their childish nature while doing so, and then apologizes it usually means you stop the name calling and insults. Then you go on to respond to another email stating “we might learn something from each other”. Really? You call your name calling responses “thoughtful discussion”? Please.

I stated facts about the restaurant business and how it feels about vegans, the WHOLE lot.

the food sucks, there. that was by design, the food sales there are incidental; you know, order a burger or wings after having a few.

it also is not affordable – $12 for a chicken and mozz sandwich on shitty bread? there? please.

brendan and leigh knew it, they were ok with it.
what changed? who knows.

but, i’m pretty sure this chef was hired reluctantly, brendan doesn’t like being told he’s wrong.

Jason, quit being a crybaby and eat your meat.

@Maf. I am a meat eater, but I also appreciate vegan/vegetarian dishes. I will often try a veggie dish at a restaurant because I like to have variety in my diet. Nobody has ever “bullied” me into ordering it. Why is it such a big deal for a restaurant to have a variety of dishes that will cater to multiple tastes and likes?

Chris: Thanks, but no thanks. Don’t speak publicly for Brendan or I ever please.

Vegan haters: Whatever. Vegan and Veg fare has always found a home on our menus and always will. Our priority has always been inclusivity, and that includes vegans.

We’ve spent 4 years eating at Local 44 and liking it just fine. The food was never an afterthought, just not the main focus, the way the beer has been. Plenty of people seem to like joining us for dinner.

You can only get a table if you’re eating because we have so few tables and so many folks who want to eat. It helps make this possible. This, I do not think, is a crazy new concept.

Our prices are in line with what food costs, and if anything we battle to keep the costs low so that more people can visit us more regularly. We’ll keep on doing that.

The stepping up of the menu and hiring of a chef who will facilitate this is an effort to grow with the neighborhood.

Easy enough to understand. If you’re finding a scandal here, it’s because you’re in need of one.

Leigh

Ha! (Only annoyed at being spoken for by a stranger. It colored the rest of it. Apologies.) Will not be trying your suggestion…