Looking A Bit Closer at Vic's

Why Get Mad at Vic ? 

For the past week, the subject of the new Vic's Restaurant at Anthem Center has been a predominant topic in Sun City Anthem.

He's too expensive !

He should make the hours longer for the senior specials !

Guests should get the same deal !

He has to get outside customers !

It goes on and on and on...but why get angry with a guy who wants to make a living?

Here's the basic fact of the entire matter....

If no one goes there, his doors close....it's that simple.

....but when all the smoke clears, let's get something straight...

He's not the one who is the problem....

It's the ones who allowed this "Master Chef" from some TV program who has NEVER been in business for himself to even allow this to take place...those are the PROBLEMS.

When that survey was completed a year ago, while a number of us questioned the feasibility of a profitable venture...and GAVE STRONG REASONS as to WHY we should have refrained from MONETARY COMMITMENTS to AN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS....

Who listened?

NO ONE. 

It went full steam ahead and every aspect of good business judgment was violated...by a group of "know-it all" individuals, intrigued by someone who supposedly was a celebrity, with a preconceived notion that it was somehow important to "impress" the community with his presence in the kitchen...

...that the "name" of the individual was reason enough...

... to SPEND, SPEND, SPEND, by providing new equipment, a generous lease with NO FINANCIAL GUARANTEE, to a tenant who DEMANDED we play by HIS rules, or he would run like the wind elsewhere. 

It is a common business practice when leasing to a new corporation or entity to require a PERSONAL guarantee in a lease.  This forces the new tenant to strive for success...for fear of personal liability, should the business fail...

...and...

...PROTECTION for the landlord....to reduce losses, should the entity fail.

This board, SO INTENSE on obtaining an agreement with their restaurant choice, VIOLATED a major rule in effective business planning by refusing to DEMAND a personal guarantee in that lease agreement.

At the very least....

GOOD BUSINESS SENSE should have DEMANDED SOMETHING IN RETURN AS A CONCESSION from the tenant...

...something proper EXPERIENCE would have DEMANDED as part of a SOUND BUSINESS NEGOTIATION...something that PROTECTED the organization we, as the financier through our dues payments, are ENTITLED to receive.

...and perhaps the most obvious DEMAND....

,,,a complete examination of the business itself, not merely the financial backing, but attention to the proposed menu, corresponding prices, and marketing plan.

Do we have a right to tell an independent business how to operate?

No...but we do have the right to know WHAT their plans are in DETAIL, before we financially commit to them by forfeiting our only  protection....a FINANCIAL GUARANTEE.

And....what are we left with now?

A gourmet restaurant that to date, is pricing itself out of the market, and has become the butt of jokes, rather than the "toast of the culinary world".

It's about time that people opened their eyes a bit WIDER than in the past, and recognize that those who tried in vain with business sense to avoid this costly situation, were SCORNED and IGNORED.

Those are the ones who deserve your attention.......the ones who stressed CAUTION...not the group who told you what you wanted to hear, yet picked your pockets in the process.

Who is that group of "pocket pickers"?

...a board of directors that operated so far above their heads in dealing with such issues, that major problems weren't a possibility; they were a certainty.

Would you go to a barber to get your teeth cleaned?  Would you go to a dentist to get a haircut?

Of course not, but THAT is what we inadvertently determined should run this community...and make decisions which they were UNQUALIFIED to make.

Not ONE has a single ounce of business sense; not ONE has ever run a business; and not ONE has ever been faced with having to be personally responsible for a business loss.

And as a result....they are in a "devil may care" position to HOPE FOR THE BEST...USING YOUR MONEY...because they have done it in the past, and believe that they may continue this same philosophy in the future.

Is that acceptable ?????

Shame on all of us who voted for some of these people, because frankly, WE GOT WHAT WE DESERVED.

Another community blog is trying to convince us that Vic's is a MODERATELY PRICED  restaurant, and has tried to stress the need for capturing an OUTSIDE AUDIENCE in order for it to survive, as well as, provide us an EFFECTIVE RATE OF RETURN.

What utter nonsense ! 

WE, the residents, SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE PRIMARY MARKETING FOCUS...and..WE WERE LEAD TO BELIEVE THAT WAS TO BE THE CASE.

Pity the price conscious resident who, as a result of being enticed to Vic's as a MODERATELY PRICED eatery, sits down, and quickly realizes they have been HAD when they see the prices associated with what was deceptively portrayed as MODERATE....

...or that MODERATE means dining with a limited menu, during a restrictive timeframe, providing reduced food portions...that, after all is said and done, still amounts to somewhere around $50 for an unsuspecting couple.

Run that initial survey again, and I don't believe for a moment that people would have supported FINANCING an independent business to make Sun City Anthem money from people outside our community.

We wanted a MODERATELY PRICED restaurant that "Joe Public" could visit casually, on a frequent basis, when it is convenient to do so...not one with a VALET service !

...and what's next...removing the Arts & Crafts room and enticing a TUXEDO RENTAL agency...to make us "more" money?

Nothing would surprise me any longer.

We've had good board candidates rejected in the past, candidates with relevant experience,  and instead chosen organized groups or parties for our representation WITHOUT that needed EXPERIENCE....

...and our community has suffered countless unnecessary expense as a result.

Our association has been convinced by them, to elect our leaders from tightly knit GROUPS, who have predictably voted in "blocks", rarely showing ingenuity and independent thought, or seeking out and ACCEPTING the experience THEY LACKED.

That...is the difference between GOOD management and BAD. 

The GOOD, realizing that they are not all-knowing, seeks out the knowledge they do not have; the BAD, stifled by their ego and insecurity of admitting they are in need of proper guidance, is unable to admit the need to do so.

And the time to make this right is NOW, because if the true expenses associated with the various restaurants were ever FULLY disclosed, the sum would be STAGGERING.

Never look back...that's the nonsense we've been told for years...the nonsense so many of us swallowed hook, line, and sinker...year after year after year.

Now you know WHY...

WE HAVE THE WRONG PEOPLE making the decisions, and looking back would be an embarrassment at the waste created by those individuals.

Can this be rectified? 

Not entirely, but we can START...and START by slowly removing the odor of FAILURE.

...and that odor starts with JAMES LONG, a man who, through his lack of clarity in providing specifics as to his motive, is determined to give unimaginable control of our community to a management company alongside another Board Member, Jean Capillupo, through the Carver Management Model ...

...a man who worked behind your back alongside another board member who decided to flee to Texas, by approving the constant infusion of capital to this, and other failed restaurant operators...

...turning his back to the excess spending on several major contracts....

...and choosing to ignore the recent employee issues with RMI where our long-term residents have suffered humiliation and have been replaced with younger individuals, not members of our community...

...and, in the opinion of many, is in the back pocket of an association attorney with every move he makes.

Electing JAMES LONG means one thing....YOU WANT FAILURE TO CONTINUE.

So let's stop blaming Vic...and place the blame where it really belongs...a board who believes they are invincible, are above reproach, and  believe that they can do anything they please without penalty.

You won't change the world in this election, but one way to show your disdain is NOT to vote to re-elect the leader of this train wreck, JAMES LONG.