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Started By
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why did commander's fail outside of new orleans?
Posted on 6/21/12 at 11:22 pm
Posted on 6/21/12 at 11:22 pm
destin and las vegas each lasted a couple of years? why?
discuss
:inb4chocula:
discuss
:inb4chocula:
This post was edited on 6/21/12 at 11:23 pm
3
Posted on 6/22/12 at 12:04 am to bee Rye
The Vegas location was in the Aladdin hotel,which went through a slow transformation into the Planet Hollywood. That couldn't have done much for business. The casino remained open for most of the renovations but the rest of the place was pretty desolate. They may not have been able to renew their lease during all that.
The Destin location was awesome but probably too ambitious. The size was enormous and you felt like you were in trendy Vegas club. shite, now that I think about it, the Vegas location maintained the facade of the original. Weird.
Also, it went under the fall of the oil spill - I guess they didn't do that well that summer. I ate there during the last weeks and there were no signs of shutting down. It was in the same development as the failed Camelia Grill. And down the road from the failed Pat O'Brien's.
ETA: I just pulled some Slumdog Millionaire shite to answer that - completely randomly I saw both locations during their last days.
The Destin location was awesome but probably too ambitious. The size was enormous and you felt like you were in trendy Vegas club. shite, now that I think about it, the Vegas location maintained the facade of the original. Weird.
Also, it went under the fall of the oil spill - I guess they didn't do that well that summer. I ate there during the last weeks and there were no signs of shutting down. It was in the same development as the failed Camelia Grill. And down the road from the failed Pat O'Brien's. ETA: I just pulled some Slumdog Millionaire shite to answer that - completely randomly I saw both locations during their last days.
This post was edited on 6/22/12 at 12:11 am
Posted on 6/22/12 at 12:07 am to bee Rye
bad marketing really. if they made an amusement attraction like emerils on city walk in orlando then it would have taken off.
commanders brunch will always be my number one
commanders brunch will always be my number one
Posted on 6/22/12 at 12:52 am to GaryMyMan
Commander's is a huge place. It can't just be replicated on the same level anywhere.
Destin is a tourist spot. No business during the winter. And from what I hear, the food wasn't up to snuff compared to the "real" one anyway.
Trying to replicate something like that is a huge endeavor. You can't just copy and paste Commander's Palace somewhere and expect it to work. Even in a big market.
Destin is a tourist spot. No business during the winter. And from what I hear, the food wasn't up to snuff compared to the "real" one anyway.
Trying to replicate something like that is a huge endeavor. You can't just copy and paste Commander's Palace somewhere and expect it to work. Even in a big market.
Posted on 6/22/12 at 4:13 am to bee Rye
Commander's relies on two types of customers in New Orleans. Tourists and regulars. The regulars in New Orleans are few enough that they get personalized service when they dine at Commander's so they dine there regularly. The two other locations were based solely on tourists who were more likly to be one and done customers who dined there for the experience, and went elsewhere for similar once in a lifetime experiences for other meals. Thus they didn't have the repeat customers that the New Orleans restaurant depends on.
I ate lunch at Commander's in Las Vegas on two occasions. The location was in the shopping galleria at the Aladdin. It was difficult to get to. You had to drive down the Strip to get there. There was no convenient access to and from the parking lot. The lunch was served at a leisurely pace. The entire lunch experience, including transportation, took slightly over two hours. This it was impractical for business people having lunch, and got only tourist traffic who happened to be in the galleria when they decided to have lunch. Since the Aladdin was a discount property at the time, there just weren't enough hotel guests who were going to shell out Commander's type money for dinner to carry the restaurant. And the discount status, combined with the difficulty in getting there, kept away patrons staying at other hotels.
I ate lunch at Commander's in Las Vegas on two occasions. The location was in the shopping galleria at the Aladdin. It was difficult to get to. You had to drive down the Strip to get there. There was no convenient access to and from the parking lot. The lunch was served at a leisurely pace. The entire lunch experience, including transportation, took slightly over two hours. This it was impractical for business people having lunch, and got only tourist traffic who happened to be in the galleria when they decided to have lunch. Since the Aladdin was a discount property at the time, there just weren't enough hotel guests who were going to shell out Commander's type money for dinner to carry the restaurant. And the discount status, combined with the difficulty in getting there, kept away patrons staying at other hotels.
Posted on 6/22/12 at 6:53 am to Poodlebrain
I ate at the Commanders in Destin several times. I think the issue was not the food, but a culmination of things. Bad location. They were too far west into Destin. During the height of season it is a beeyatch to go west on 98. Also, the majority of the folks that can afford a place like this stay much further east closer to San Destin or beyond. And finally BP. I think they shut down right after or during the spill. It's a damn shame, but I bet they got some nice BP $ or maybe not if they shut her down.
Posted on 6/22/12 at 7:15 am to Lambdatiger1989
i always thought commander's saw the oil spill as the perfect opportunity to abandon ship, save face, and pocket a few $$ in the process ... it wasn't really doing well from day one over there .. like others said, destin is a very seasonal place .. and from october through march it's almost just a sleepy little town .. they couldn't make it on april through september business ...
Posted on 6/22/12 at 7:57 am to TigahRag
I can't disagree with anything posted yet about the Destin location.
You are right I believe TigahRag, the BP spill just accelerated what was already going to happen by giving them the chance to close.
Outside of the other issues mentioned, I think they opened during the prime of the economic downturn and Destin was hit pretty good during that time, especially for the target customer who maybe would be living there fulltime or doing the snowbird thing from up north.
You are right I believe TigahRag, the BP spill just accelerated what was already going to happen by giving them the chance to close.
Outside of the other issues mentioned, I think they opened during the prime of the economic downturn and Destin was hit pretty good during that time, especially for the target customer who maybe would be living there fulltime or doing the snowbird thing from up north.
Posted on 6/22/12 at 8:20 am to TigahRag
I love Commanders but it has never even crossed my mind to go there when I'm in Destin.
Last time I went I was kinda disappointed when they sat a table of westbank trash next to me in jeans and button down shirts not even tucked in. they probably split their meals. And this was the one uptown.
Last time I went I was kinda disappointed when they sat a table of westbank trash next to me in jeans and button down shirts not even tucked in. they probably split their meals. And this was the one uptown.
This post was edited on 6/22/12 at 8:21 am
Posted on 6/22/12 at 8:31 am to Elleshoe
yeah .. people really don't go out of town on vacation to eat at the places they can eat at anytime they want to at home ...
Posted on 6/22/12 at 8:31 am to Elleshoe
The one in Destin was good. We made it a point to go there every trip down there. What did it in was all of the stuff down below it being so crowded and a lack of parking. We could go there and eat, then walk around afterwards at the shops and other bars/restaurants but only if you could land a parking spot. Or we could go to a similar type of restaurant that sat alone somewhere, park right at the door, get excellent service and great food for the same price. And what others said about it being almost in Ft Walton. Had it opened in San Destin at the Baytowne Wharf it would probably still be open.
Posted on 6/22/12 at 9:50 am to Elleshoe
quote:
Last time I went I was kinda disappointed when they sat a table of westbank trash next to me in jeans and button down shirts not even tucked in. they probably split their meals. And this was the one uptown.
Did they mention whether or not they dropped $400 at August the night before?
Posted on 6/22/12 at 10:48 am to TU Rob
quote:
Had it opened in San Destin at the Baytowne Wharf it would probably still be open.
How's the Acme Oyster House doing over there?
Baytowne Warf is a place I would normally find cheesy and fake, but it's done so well that I can't help but love it.
Posted on 6/22/12 at 11:12 am to GaryMyMan
quote:
How's the Acme Oyster House doing over there? Baytowne Warf is a place I would normally find cheesy and fake, but it's done so well that I can't help but love it.
Always busy when we were there. I love it. Best thing about that place is all the stuff for the kids. Playground. Trampolines. And there's a good selection of live music for the adults.
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