Ninfa's?

20,763 Views | 113 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Monywolf
txxwildcard
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I heard Gringos is taking over the spot in May.
Costa and Andreas
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I miss La Taq too. I'm afraid it's damn near impossible to replace the mystique of that old building with the grafted oak/pecan tree on the patio.

Maybe a pet project in a few years after some of the things we're doing right now. I've got some ideas about some older properties that are on the cusp of gentrification....
Carny89
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Put a pappasitos there. Oh wait....that's what's going there. And pappaduexs right across the highway. Cat is out of the bag.
meezermom
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I guess Uncle Julio's would be too much to ask for -- those sangria swirl margaritas are freaking amazing!
justalocal
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We went there in 2009. Like others, we were seated quickly but waited a long long time for service. We noticed at least 5 if not more employees sitting in the back section. After a very long time, us contemplating on leaving a number of times, emerged the only person that appeared to be working other than the hostess. The people seated after us had the same issue because she complained to the hostess and I told her that we had waited a long time as well. We never went back.
Prune Tracy
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It needs to be a franchise of Don'Key or nothing!
jja79
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AG
txxwildcard said:

I heard Gringos is taking over the spot in May.


That would continue the tradition of mediocrity.
Bullpen Chias
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I'm going to miss it. Ninfa's was my goto on busy College Station weekends. Knew I could still get in there even if every other place in town had a wait!
Anonymous Source
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S
The menu at the CS Ninfa's is nothing at all like the menu at the original in Houston on Navigation. It seems the original has generally steered away from the combo plate-type items and has always leaned on what got them there in the first place. More El Tiempo type grilled items in Houston than here.

This place would rather sell you a drink than make sure your food was worth a flip.
Gig 'Em
Anonymous Source
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S

Quote:

That would continue the tradition of mediocrity.

I dunno. I've eaten at 2 Gringo's and both of them were pretty good.
Gig 'Em
DBSwooper
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Bullpen Chias said:

Knew I could still get in there even if every other place in town had a wait!
Probably because of all the issues everyone else has mentioned.
Gigem314
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jja79 said:

txxwildcard said:

I heard Gringos is taking over the spot in May.


That would continue the tradition of mediocrity.
Speak for yourself. Gringo's blows away the majority of options around here.
Gigem314
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Carny89 said:

Put a pappasitos there. Oh wait....that's what's going there. And pappaduexs right across the highway. Cat is out of the bag.
That would be amazing, but Pappadeax hasn't made much progress and I don't see them putting in both places at once.
91_Aggie
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I just don't think this town is big enough for a Pappasito's to thrive.

Their prices pretty much eliminate the majority of students, and even many residents... at least to eat their on a regular basis.
techno-ag
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The "gracious" commercial running on the radio is a nice touch.
tb9665
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If there is not a Fajita Rita's, how about a large Waffle House? People would turn around for a Waffle House.
aggiepublius
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Love Gun said:

Good. That place sucked in both service and food quality.

Now if we can officially put Johnny Carino's on the clock...
No kidding. I hadn't been there in several years and went with some out of town folks a few weeks ago. It worst service I have ever had at any restaurant in College Station in 20+ years. The staff was rude, we were led to table that hadn't been cleared even though the place was empty and the food was partially burned. The whole vibe had changed from when it opened as a nice casual restaurant where one could meet someone for a dinner date or business meeting. The entire party all decided it was not long for the world.

I have a feeling Carinos is surviving based on the campus catering side of the business and not people dining in the restaurant anymore.
Txmoe
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Time to bring back Kerri's Stacked Enchiladas!
Captn_Ag05
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I remember the name and maybe even eating there a few times. Where was that?
PS3D
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Captn_Ag05 said:

I remember the name and maybe even eating there a few times. Where was that?
It was where Raising Cane's on Texas Avenue is now. It didn't last more than about two or three years.
91_Aggie
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Captn_Ag05 said:

I remember the name and maybe even eating there a few times. Where was that?
It was in the Old original Wing's N More location after they opened the one on University.
deh40
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txxwildcard said:

I heard Gringos is taking over the spot in May.
Gringo's usually goes in and guts buildings they take over so I would think it be longer than May if in fact they go in there.
ro828
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I'm wondering what happens to all that food in their walk-in cooler and the freezers. Will it just go to waste or, worse yet, wind up turning the place into a health hazard. There's the homeless shelter, plus lots of charitable organizations who could feed a lot of families with all that food.
Aggie
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91_Aggie said:

I just don't think this town is big enough for a Pappasito's to thrive.

Their prices pretty much eliminate the majority of students, and even many residents... at least to eat their on a regular basis.


Could not be more wrong
studioone
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Bring back Tom's BBQ and the aggie special on butcher paper!

Or 'The Texan'...

or maybe Mr G could branch out and open a second location..

91_Aggie
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Aggie said:

91_Aggie said:

I just don't think this town is big enough for a Pappasito's to thrive.

Their prices pretty much eliminate the majority of students, and even many residents... at least to eat their on a regular basis.


Could not be more wrong


If it was such a slam dunk money maker they would have done it already.
UmustBKidding
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They have other bigger more profitable locations in progress. And it's not just about resident spending. You talk about students can't afford upscale, it just the opposite, students with parents credit cards spend far more than local residents. Their spending is tied to incomes far larger than paid in the local market.
techno-ag
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ro828 said:

I'm wondering what happens to all that food in their walk-in cooler and the freezers. Will it just go to waste or, worse yet, wind up turning the place into a health hazard. There's the homeless shelter, plus lots of charitable organizations who could feed a lot of families with all that food.
Dunno. But since they have another location in SA, wouldn't be surprised if they salvaged everything they could for that location.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
techno-ag
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UmustBKidding said:

They have other bigger more profitable locations in progress. And it's not just about resident spending. You talk about students can't afford upscale, it just the opposite, students with parents credit cards spend far more than local residents. Their spending is tied to incomes far larger than paid in the local market.

Yup. That's one of the reasons restaurants make it here. CS has an extra 60,000 residents with a high level of disposable income. It skews the economics somewhat. Not to mention gamedays & other events bringing in people who are going out to eat somewhere.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
australopithecus robustus
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The fact of the matter is that Pappas general thinking on the matter is to generally not do Pappasitos outside of larger metro areas. The reasoning is that there are so many mom and pop Mexican that are 1/3 or 1/2 the price that its harder to compete without the larger metro to market to. I have this on good authority as it is directly from their VP of real estate.

Consequently, that's why you see Pappadeaux expanding into some smaller markets but not Pappasitos. Pappadeaux in Beaumont is a good example, and the fact that it's on I10 and halfway between Houston and Louisiana certainly doesn't hurt.
australopithecus robustus
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There are several events that bring people to town in the fall and spring. It must be noted that it is balanced out during the summer and Christmas holidays. Restaurants in town drop 25%-40% in sales at those times.

The town is actually artificially "propped up" by those events.
techno-ag
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australopithecus robustus said:

There are several events that bring people to town in the fall and spring. It must be noted that it is balanced out during the summer and Christmas holidays. Restaurants in town drop 25%-40% in sales at those times.

The town is actually artificially "propped up" by those events.

Yup. Summers can be tough around here. Thankfully the Firemen's Training School and some other events help pick up the slack.
Buy a man eat fish, he day, teach fish man, to a lifetime.

- Joe Biden

I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled.

- Kamala Harris
91_Aggie
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techno-ag said:

UmustBKidding said:

They have other bigger more profitable locations in progress. And it's not just about resident spending. You talk about students can't afford upscale, it just the opposite, students with parents credit cards spend far more than local residents. Their spending is tied to incomes far larger than paid in the local market.

Yup. That's one of the reasons restaurants make it here. CS has an extra 60,000 residents with a high level of disposable income. It skews the economics somewhat. Not to mention gamedays & other events bringing in people who are going out to eat somewhere.
Game days are about 6 to 7 weekends a year.
Bullpen Chias
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Game days
Parents Weekend
Graduations
Ring Days
New Student Orientation

They add up.
91_Aggie
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They can, but I really think you are over-estimating how much disposable income all these students have from their "rich parents"

I think many of you believe every college student is some entitled brat with really rich parents.

Beef fajitas for ONE (maybe two) is $35 at Pappasitos.

College students are not going to be the primary patrons of this type of restaurant.

If they build it the same size as every other one of their locations, they are going to be mostly empty on most days. They have to have business on Weekdays as well.

Their prices are almost in-line with Madden's and other high-end small 'boutique' restaurants.

And when college students have cheaper mexican food available like Fuegos', Torchy's, chuys, etc... they are going to go there to get the most food for their money.
 
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