Salutations™!!
Tonight, The BCPF, Beer Dad Paul, his wife Susan, Ray from TMWATT and his wife Whitney all went to hang out at Carrabba’s Italian Grill with my pal, the Proprietario Daniel Butner. You’ll read more about this later this week on the food blog.
I want to say that yes, I have a problem with restaurant chains. I have for the last 10-15 years. There are many reasons why. Inferior food. Usually crappy service. The money is generally part of some corporate entity that ships a great chunk of the revenue the restaurant makes to someplace in the midwest, removing most of it from the local economy. And, probably the biggest problem is that the restaurant is only about money and not about the community.
I can tell you that while Carrabba’s is a chain, Daniel is all about the community. I know what you’re saying, sure, Sure he is. Well, let’s go with this, then. His last name Butner and his 3-4x grandfather was one of the Butners that moved from Pennsylvania to Bethabra and then on to form Salem. He was the founder of the bakery in Salem and his great-great-great something uncles were Butner’s Hat Shoppe owners. So, fast forward these many years and he is owning a franchise in the town that his family helped to found. And, he does a lot of charity work for non-profits and other community needs. He’s a remarkable man. And, he has a beard that even I am envious of.
I’ve not really touched on the food because I’m saving that for the food blog, as I said. I just wanted to talk about how this “chain” changed my mind on what a chain is, or in Daniel’s words, “what a responsible chain looks like.” I will be back at Carrabba’s soon. I recommend you try it, too. Let me tell you one thing, the filet is to die for!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“Carrabba’s Italian Grill was founded in Houston, TX by Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola in December of 1986, who set out to create a restaurant experience where people felt like guests in their home.” – Carrabba’s