Saltgrass

26,825 Views | 152 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by cledus6150
SARATOGA
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Went with wife to Saltgrass for Happy Hour beverages.

First impressions.

Busy.

Sat at bar at 505 and found a couple of seats, but restaurant was already full for seemingly 3 reasons.

1) New restaurants are attacked here. Because "hey new restaurant"

2) There is lots of eager south college stationers happy for a sit down restaurant out our way.

3) This Saltgrass is SMALL. Like really, really small. It will always be busy. Cause it is small.

Service was good. Beverages were fine. Though other Saltgrass' have Happy Hour menus, we were told they won't have that until October because they have been so busy, and don't need to have it.

95_Aggie
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AG
According to MyBCS rules, it's impossible for a restaurant in South CS to be successful.
Kitkat72
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We also went last night @530. Thought we would be early. It was a 45 min wait. We waited and it was worth it! Hopefully it's not just because of the 'opening restaurant' crew that travels around! Hoping it stays good!
Bigderk21
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AG
I enjoyed it! We did have a 30 min wait but thought the food was worth it and the service was great!
PrincessButtercup
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AG
If you went today and it was busy, I think it's because of game weekend stuff. I drive by everyday, and today was way more packed than normal at this time.
Fleen
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TL/DR

Waiting for GregD...
spike427
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AG
We went this week for lunch. Got there right at 12 and they weren't packed at all! Really enjoyed it and can't wait to go again.
Tradishun
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quote:
According to MyBCS rules, it's impossible for a restaurant in South CS to be successful.

I don't know anyone who's ever said that, AGnCS. I mean, as far as I can tell, the Taco Bell down there is just jam-packed with SUVs and F-150s. I see it every time I drive to the HEB.

Can you point to a spot where anyone ever said a restaurant in South CS can't be successful? Link? Maybe I did miss that post.
95_Aggie
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AG
Do a search for Flyrod's posts.
justalocal
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You haven't been to a small Saltgrass unless you've visited the one on Shepherd @ I-10 feeder. It has one small dining area and a bar - that is it.
FlyRod
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I didn't say "a restaurant" could not be successful in south CS. I did say it was unlikely a fancy high end one could be. And I'll man up and add I'd be delighted to be proven wrong.
AggiePirate
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AG
I just want to say that I had a slightly uncomfortable experience at a Saltgrass in Austin before. A member of my party spoke to the waitress and she ended up mentioning that she has never liked her name and he said something along the lines of "I'm sorry 'bout ya". It was awkward at best but the food was great.
PLC guy
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aren't you the one who compared their menu to dog food? yet you're one of the first people to go after it opens. errrr ok.
KL08AG
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AG
Try the Mav Maragarita or the Tropical Sangria, as with everything else in the last two visits, I was impressed.
Orlando Ayala Cant Read
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AG
their Range Rattler appetizer is awesome. a must try for anyone who goes there.
techno-ag
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AG
quote:
3) This Saltgrass is SMALL. Like really, really small. It will always be busy. Cause it is small.


Sounds like they made the typical corporate mistake of underbuilding for our area.
RafterAg223
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AG
It's the exact same footprint as the Cypress store and all of their recent traditional stores that were not built in tourist locales. They put this store in based on a prototype they have and it is almost 8,000 square feet. It's not a small restaurant. There are 3 separate dining areas and a sizable private event room in the back. How much bigger does it need to be?
FlyRod
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quote:
Sounds like they made the typical corporate mistake of underbuilding for our area.


Oh do elaborate, please. I thought corporate chains didn't make mistakes, let alone "typical" ones. As I understand it, such outfits are very good with preliminary market surveys. I imagine this Saltgrass is exactly and precisely what was envisioned for this area. They have, after all, built quite a few of them in the state, and I bet they know what they are doing.
techno-ag
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AG
quote:
It's the exact same footprint as the Cypress store and all of their recent traditional stores that were not built in tourist locales. They put this store in based on a prototype they have and it is almost 8,000 square feet. It's not a small restaurant. There are 3 separate dining areas and a sizable private event room in the back. How much bigger does it need to be?


Ok. Maybe Sara was wrong (not the first time).
techno-ag
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AG
quote:
quote:
Sounds like they made the typical corporate mistake of underbuilding for our area.


Oh do elaborate, please. I thought corporate chains didn't make mistakes, let alone "typical" ones. As I understand it, such outfits are very good with preliminary market surveys. I imagine this Saltgrass is exactly and precisely what was envisioned for this area. They have, after all, built quite a few of them in the state, and I bet they know what they are doing.


Yup. Sad but true. National corps. don't understand our area well. Often they'll look at College Station's population & fail to consider Bryan's and vice-versa. They'll also not realize the regional significance of BCS, and that many people drive in from out of the county to shop & eat. It's led to some mistakes like the new Target not being bigger.
FlyRod
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I guess it's hard for me to see a mistake based on a few complaints about observed space. Are diners being turned away in droves?
mgreen
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Their biggest mistake is the SMALL bar. There are a total of two small tables and maybe a dozen seats at the bar. The trend in restaurants is BIG bar areas like Outback with booths for first come first serve customers. Cafe Eccell is another good example of a nice large bar area. Went Thursday night and could not even get close to the bar to order drinks while waiting for a table. Saved me some money.

Never thought I would day this but seems too expensive for this market for what it is. Best queso I have ever eaten.
95_Aggie
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AG
Or maybe business will drop off after the newness wears off and it will be the "perfect" size.
Picadillo
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All major chains make the same mistake. They follow a set formula that looks at demographic numbers, etc, and end up building their smallest footprint.

They fail to factor that BCS serves over a dozen counties and has a relatively high amount of disposable income.

justalocal
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Someone on my FB posted the bar was empty yesterday evening but there were a half dozen bartenders.
Tanya 93
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quote:
quote:
quote:
Sounds like they made the typical corporate mistake of underbuilding for our area.


Oh do elaborate, please. I thought corporate chains didn't make mistakes, let alone "typical" ones. As I understand it, such outfits are very good with preliminary market surveys. I imagine this Saltgrass is exactly and precisely what was envisioned for this area. They have, after all, built quite a few of them in the state, and I bet they know what they are doing.


Yup. Sad but true. National corps. don't understand our area well. Often they'll look at College Station's population & fail to consider Bryan's and vice-versa. They'll also not realize the regional significance of BCS, and that many people drive in from out of the county to shop & eat. It's led to some mistakes like the new Target not being bigger.


And your expertise comes from...? What national chain do you do these studies for?
halibut sinclair
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^ Asking questions like that of you-know-who will get you the big ban.
95_Aggie
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AG
He's the expert on everything.
Tanya 93
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quote:
^ Asking questions like that of you-know-who will get you the big ban.

Oh well. I just think if he is going to proclaim they don't understand the area, I wanted to know why he knows better than a successful multi-million dollar chain.
Tanya 93
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quote:
He's the expert on everything.
You forgot "thinks he is."
FC12
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It sounds like the back of the bus crew needs to give eachother a few high fives and chest bumps to confirm their coolness.
PS3D
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I'm so disappointed in this thread. Lupe Tortilla, Flip & Peel, heck, even Napa Flats I think got these long, multi-page threads.

I miss those times. (Sigh).
techno-ag
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AG
quote:
quote:
quote:
quote:
Sounds like they made the typical corporate mistake of underbuilding for our area.


Oh do elaborate, please. I thought corporate chains didn't make mistakes, let alone "typical" ones. As I understand it, such outfits are very good with preliminary market surveys. I imagine this Saltgrass is exactly and precisely what was envisioned for this area. They have, after all, built quite a few of them in the state, and I bet they know what they are doing.


Yup. Sad but true. National corps. don't understand our area well. Often they'll look at College Station's population & fail to consider Bryan's and vice-versa. They'll also not realize the regional significance of BCS, and that many people drive in from out of the county to shop & eat. It's led to some mistakes like the new Target not being bigger.


And your expertise comes from...? What national chain do you do these studies for?


Natch, Tanya. My "expertise" on this subject comes from MyBCS.

http://texags.com/forums/35/topics/2438931/replies/38417421

quote:
Originally it was supposed to be a much larger Super Target. It was feltthat it was too close to another Superstore. It was scaled back. Once Target opened, story has it that the feeling was that they goofed not opening a Superstore. There was no room at that point for them to expand.


http://texags.com/forums/35/topics/2161366/replies/32823810#r32823810

quote:
Some of the "market testing" and "marketing strategy" is very flawed when it comes to this this town.

Prime example here is Home Depot. I know someone fairly high up in Home Depot, Houston Region and they told me that the Home Depot in CS is a mess. Part of the reason was when they did their "market research" they didn't include students in the survey. They did it by Zip Code and the population within the local zip codes etc but excluded the student population.

However, when they did Huntsville they ran the same Zip code test and found a huge population living there. What they didn't know, because they did this from Atlanta was that the majority of the ones in Huntsville were locked up Felons.

So, they got a huge Home Depot that does almost no business and we got a small one that can not keep up and doesn't have room to store extra inventory etc. Managers at this Home Depot don't last very long either, because once it was discovered that our real population was much higher, they expected much higher numbers from a smaller store.
TsunamiVox
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Techno-ag is Greg D???
halibut sinclair
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quote:
My "expertise" on this subject comes from MyBCS.


Quoting hearsay on a message board is a great substitute for actual expertise.
 
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