That Was Fast!!!
Establishment: Urban Farmer
Location: The Nines Hotel
Well, they finally opened (after 12 billion date pushbacks), received some middling reviews—and two weeks later they’re already looking for a new executive chef! This is particularly interesting given that the chef was A) once again a middling NYC transplant (complete with undeserved local tongue bathing) and B) rumours had already started swirling (on portlandfood.org–amazingly!) that staff were not receiving breaks, working long hours and this was BEFORE they opened.
On the break issue, of course portlandfood.org posters took the position of "you should be grateful to never, ever receive remotely the same considerations that the federal government mandates for everyone else (including us) because YOU have the privilege of sweating away for $9 an hour, with no guarantee of schedule, etc. so we can stuff out faces". But that’s a different story.
Back on the chef being gone—anyone know anything else? Though I suspect we’ll be seeing, amny, many more postings from Sage in the next few weeks…
Comments
I interviwed last week for a grunt overnight line cook. They still seem to be somewhat disorganized. I bet Zumpie would have something to say about the whole “boondoggle” that is the Nines. How ’bout Zumpie, jump in.
bob down, I am zumpie and I started the thread! The only stuff I know is what I posted (since I’M currently not working, I’m a titch less connected than I used to be–and the election has really captured my imagination this fall). But there’s definitely a “we’re super special here” upper management vibe there (though we’ll see—but then I know of people working there (in all levels) and can’t help thinking “THAT moron??? They hired him/her????”)
BUT, I can say I did a bit of research the guy who heads Sage’s restaurant division attributed it to, “management differences” so let’s see: even with cutting corners on labor all over the place and charging absurd prices they’re still not hitting numbers or someone told someone else where to stick it.
On the hotel side, they’re apparently asking just ridiculous prices–like $59 for a gallon of coffee at meetings (though that revenue would go to catering, not the restaurant). The hotel GM’s kinda a moron (think puffed his way into the job by talking Jon Lovitz-style, “my girlfriend, Morgan Fairchild, yeaaaaahhhh, that’s the ticket”), so I can easily see him subscribing to the idiocy of, “we’ll charge waaay high prices, then people will know we’re super classy”. Except the economy’s gone from bad to worse–with no end in site. And people in Portland won’t pay those prices.
But that’s really all I know (and hope others have things to share). And it’s good to have our forum back and to be complimented! 
Hi Zumpie, good to see you back. Sorry to hear about your job vacancy these days. I just assumed you had a pretty secure thing going. Knew you were on the consulting side of the industry and kinda in the know. That might be the downside of all the down spiral in the economy and financial chaos. There is presently a lot of people out of work, and suspect there will be more. Regarding the hospitality markets, we have always suspected that employee cut-backs and many closures. Keep on posting. Perhaps some of the old regulars will come out of the woodwork. Best of luck to you.
I work at Urban Farmer and the nines. I cook on the line. Couple of things. A. The chef new his shit from a to z, his food is great. B. Since I just moved from NYC it is nice to work somewhere that everyone was so committed to excellence and did not want to cut corners. C. As far as cutting corners on labor no way. We have a team of 32 cooks in the kitchen. D. The GM, Mark, is a greaseball. He has some mid level crappy Northern Cali casino experience and that is what they want this place to be. E. As far as the prices go, please check out the real menu, not the mock up that was on portlandfoodanddrink. I think the pricing is reasonable. F. As far as the old chef he is great to work for. Hard as shit worker and is now looking to open his own place.
Thanks
Bennie Blanco
I worked at the Urban Farmer for a brief time. I felt that alot of the people there went to work to pick up a pay cheack and not to Really work… This IS NOT the case for everyone there, but the night of the GRAND OPENING the dishwashers left at 11:30 and the cooks at 12am, I stayed till a little after 2am, washing pile’s of dish’s left behind….
It felt like the last day of school right before summer watching all the “KID’S” go home…
And to top it off I agreed on one wage with the “Chef” and payed less; second I was missing about 5 1/2 hour’s on my paycheck also.
I was really looking forward at working there, but after all that has happened to me there so far, I will NEVER work for there company AGAIN! EVEN IF THEY PAY ME WHAT THEY OWE ME! WHICH IS LESS THEN $100 OR A NIGHT STAY THERE!
I didn’t see the “commitment” there. I’ve worked in restaurants for 15 year’s, my godfather owner and chef of a few restaurants and I seen a under trained, over staffed kitchen there at the “Urban Farmer”.
I think you are full of it ‘ringo’
There was and is a great commitment in UF. Now as for not getting paid that is still a problem because accounting and HR are in such shambles. But as far as under trained, no freaking way. The ‘Old Chef’ was a maniac about training people. He was their at 20 hours a day, but now we have the fat guy from banquets and it is becoming a joke.
Thanks,
Bennie Blanco
Just curious as to why the chef at UF was relieved after only two weeks. What, no one in corporate does their homework on work history. They should stick with a chef that is familiar with the region. Good luck with paying off the debt
The guy had 10 yrs NYC experience and was a Sous for Keller at Per Se. He also worked at Ducasse for 3++ years. I think they did their homework. Somebody needs to find out why he had such problems with Sage. I hear their are lawsuits to come and some racial undertones.
I saw a posting recently that they were looking for an Assistant Manager. Anyone know what happened to the old one? What are pros and cons of working there?
Do not apply there unless you enjoy working for total douchebags. Sage Restaurant Group is already getting poor marks in Portland. Mark Woolford is the GM at Urban Farmer there and is a laughing stock of a majority of the vendors in town. Latest thing: Turning the place into a casino/lounge, complete with cocktail waitresses wearing open-toed stillettos. Beverage manager that doesn’t know a brunello from his butthole. The previous AGM got shit canned cause she had the gall (or the balls, depending on how you look at it) to call the GM on his shit. He didn’t like that very much. Then again, if you are a dude and a douche, you’ll fit right in.
Wow!!! Lots of information since I started this! And gotta say, ALL of it is exactly what I suspected. Sage appears to be a company that likes to hire (and keep) less qualified, but loud-mouthed people with rather mediocre backgrounds—and they appear to be quite out of their depth with a “luxury” property.
Most of their previous concepts were of the low to mid scale frachise concepts and turning around distressed properties by cutting everything to the bone. I suspect we’ll soon see lawsuits and given how overextended they are (and how far reaching their expansion goals and commitments were) probably bankruptcy.
aumporn, thanks for the warm words. Sadly, nothing’s ever truly definite or secure (especially on the sales side of things)—but eventually the economy will right itself!
And thanks for all the input here—please keep the gossip coming!
Oh–also: apparently the loser who heads Sage Restaurant Group, Peter Karpinski, A)has almost no actual F&B experience and B)was fired after 8 months with the Star Group, his previous employer.
Yet he’s the HEAD of the group! Guess Sage does things like Wall Street or a big 3 automaker!
Yeah thats why they got rid of the first chef. He was way too good for this place, and also Mr. Woolford wants to have a puppet in each of the restaurants. I’m still in the kitchen and it is truly pathetic. Karpinski had the balls to send an internal email asking all of the boh managers how we could cut costs with or without impacting the guests experience. This is turning out to be a joke.
I’m hearing from FOH that they are working doubles with no breaks. Servers and Bartenders are not making money. Most of them are looking for work elsewhere. It won’t be long before there’s layoffs.
And I bet if they veer into overtime, they’re asked to clock out (and work for free), too. Thanks for that info as well. I’m sorry for the staff there–who are no doubt seasoned professionals that were sold a ball of goods.
Actually we are very busy, but thats with the bridge and tunnel crowd, happy hour and late happy hour. As far as the hotel it’s dead occupancy rates are at about 20-40 percent. They do pay overtime to all hourly employees. We were told in the kitchen notto worry about labor dollars until after the new year, once the original chef left that all changed. The food is getting worse and worse. That Corvino is a clipboard carrying email sneding chef if you know what I mean, and I have to work directly under him. It is a sad state of affairs.
Bleech!! And I think I had heard some stuff over on portlandfoodanddrink from non-industry types of “well the happy hour drinks are cheap”. Gotta say, I seriously doubt that was thier original plan, but it might be their saving grace.
As for the hotel being dead, that’s quite pathetic. Their DOS has been there for almost a year and their sales staff is quite large (with agressive activity goals). Now they might have future stuff on the books, but given the crap economy, I doubt it. They also should get transient business by being a Starwood brand, but I guess that isn’t helping either.
Please let all of us know of any new gossip!
Someone internal posted the new happy hour menu on portlandfood.org. The new times are 3-6 with no indication of late night. Already cutting back.
Oh I’ll add about the decor—the whole atrium and open restaurant thing reminds me of a suburban Embassy Suites. I dislike neither skylights nor modernism, but in this case it’s unimpressive. And rather late ’80’s.
Just as Macy’s below ripped out everything and now looks like a Target with better merchandise, so The Nines and Urban Farmer looks like an upscale airport property. Is really THAT difficult to either preserve original details OR simply put in ones that look original? For all the millions both projects went over budget, you’d think there would be something, uh, nicer.
Sorry, I mean the second person to do their cheese cart. They had Amanda from bluehour, and then the person that replaced her just walked. Don’t know why, other than the fact that he walked off the job. Just the fact that they have gone through two cheese people before they have been open 45 days…not a good sign.
What’s goin on with the rest of the kitchen Bennie Blanco… Does the middle management suck too? Have they all been replaced to? Does anyone know their shit in that place???????
I noticed they now have a commercial out! It features some very, VERY pretty people posing about the lounge and then pans up to show the atrium and interior rooms. While it looks slick and cool while gliding over the gorgeous folks, once the camera turns upwards, even nice lighting and photographic techniques can’t hide the Airport Embassy Suites Effect!
Oh and either their sales and marketing department or (God I hope not!) the ad agency they hired are so lamely douchey, there’s actually text saying, “your coolness factor just went up 17%”. Gag!!!!
Hey, where did u see the infomercial at. Thats hilarious. These guys are sooo lame. Talk about corporate douche bags. Has anyone noticed that all SRG restaurants are knock-offs of Stephen Starr restaurants. As for little miss whatever. I can speak for Bennie, middle management in this kitchen is worthless. One is trying get the Chef job in Departure while another, who is expecting a baby is just ass kissing to anybody who will listen. It’s funny cause I work lunches and get to watch the PM guy talk shit when a month ago he was crying daily like a little girl.
I think the commercial was on channel 8. It’s possible you can now even find it on YouTube or Sage’s website (I’m sure THEY think it’s simply fabulous!). And of course it’s a ripoff of Starr Group, isn’t that the only thing linking Karpinski to the hospitality industry?
BTW, I almost wish I worked there, simply because the drama factor makes it seem quite exciting and entertaining (when you’re not completely stressed out, that is).
I work in the FOH at Urban Farmer and I’m ready to talk! I gave the place and the management the benefit of the doubt as long as possible, but they the only thing they do is fall short. Management is a strange kind of joke. They are nice and seem confident enough (when they aren’t blowing you off), but there is no effort to make this place better. They don’t even bother to hide behind the “this is a new property” defense. It is just apathy. Communication is deplorable. The kitchen will 86 an item or remove it from the menu and will not tell you until your order comes up. I thought that getting rid of that walking liabilty that was Ned Elliot would help, but no. I don’t blame the kitchen, but there is no F&B manager present to resolve these issues. Mark Woolford doesn’t count. Dynamic leadership is needed here to achieve the vision that they sold us in our lengthy training, but instead we have a bunch of people hired because of their looks, not their experience. Today I overheard some people trying to figure out who is posting on this site. Here’s a hint. I’m the one in the corner pulling his eyelashes out wishing that Mark Woolford didn’t exist.
Hey, work in the Kitchen over their. I would never say that Chef Elliott was a liability. He was way too much of a spaz for Portland. Someone would probably have gone to the labor board after one of his F bomb tirades but who cares, could cook. As for the issues with the kitchen, the sous chefs are in way over their heads. Check the middle of the line during lunch and you will see me.
Effinlost, glad you spoke up. From what I have heard, Mark Woolford is the person you have to thank for lack of leadership. He won’t allow it, but nor will he do it. As long as he is there, I’m afraid you are cruising on a sinking ship.
No, had a bunch of tastings this week. One was with the guy who owned Lazlows, his was pretty pathetic, another was with Chef Hyman that was a total disaster. He’s a nice guy but a shitty cook, Todd English wannabe. Enough Said
When I first moved to Portland, I met the guy who owned Laslo’s–his girlfriend (or wife, I’m not sure) worked at the same hotel I did. She was a complete, heinous nutjob. And he seemed pretty flaky and pretentious himself. Come to think of it, you’d think Sage would LOVE him!!!
Well, what with Lucier closing its doors tomorrow, there will be some out of work chefs/cooks that know how to butcher wagyu…Urban Farmer will be lucky to last as long as Lucier did.
I don’t give urban farmer that long. The hotel is at 30% and thats with the special pricing.Wait till they start trying to charge full price over 300 dollars a room.Who wants to pay for over priced bland steakhouse food.Dinner is overrated, lunch is an after thought thats way to long and breakfast is just executed poorly. I mean Really Badly done.I heard they are having trouble paying the loans back to the city for over runs and contractors are filing leans.I wonder how long Starwood is going to allow Sage group to lose their money. Kinda like the dussins with pascal.When enough is enough. I give 6 months.
While I agree that it sounds like they’re definitely in trouble—Starwood has very little to do with it other than being the brand Sage choose to buy franchise rights from. Starwood’s only issues would be if A) they don’t get paid their numerous franchise fees or B) lots of guest complaints, thus damaging their brand reputation (and it would need to be LOTS of complaints.
That said, luxury collection franchise fees and standards are very expensive to maintain (they were originally going to be a Marriott Renaissance, but got further carried away) and don’t seem to be doing the hotel a whole lot in the way of snob appeal. I wonder how long it’ll be before Sage declares bankruptcy???!!!
Okay. I thought starwood had more to do with backing. Now that i know they don’t and it’s just a franchise member.
It’s a little more troubling.
Apparently sage’s main investor (besides the city of portland) is JP morgan. How long is that gonna last?
Zumpie, what do you think or have heard about their banquets?
I was told not very good, organize and cold food.Last weeks large function had very mixed reviews namely the food lukewarm ( some said cold center)and the lag time between first guess served to last guest was extremely long.Is this place going to end up with ill conceived restaurant outlets and just another banquet hotel???
I’m pretty sure it’s just the typical franchise thing—Sage does a lot of (mostly lower to mid scale) franchise stuff. As for JP Morgan, Chase is one of the biggest banks now, but let’s face facts, banks are tightening credit in this market–and Sage isn’t looking like the greatest risk these days (an over extended company, venturing into unfamiliar territory in an industry typically hit first and hardest by economic reverses).
I’m guessing they might well see their lines of credit tightened or eliminated—which could mean abrupt shuttering or at least bankruptcy protection. And I still think the entire reason Lumier closed so quickly was because the banks cut off the operating funds for it.
As to their catering/banquets department: I know their prices were ridiculously high ($59 per gallon for coffee, when most clients balk at $35 or $40) and their function space, while new, isn’t nice enough to merit the extra $$$. And given their very low occupancy, it’s doubtful much of their biz comes from groups with meetings, so if their initial December foray (and note, they probably WERE fully booked for the first 2 weekends, EVERYONE in town usually is) was as weak as you say, they won’t be seeing repeat local biz.
I don’t know who their banquet manager is, but I do know their DOC was the DOC at the Lloyd Center Doubletree. Now while I’m sure she’s more than competent, it’s an entirely different client (they’re a mid-range convention hotel) and mostly administrative (whereas she’ll need to actually sell with Sage).
A lot of their sales staff are people who largely benefitted from being at good properties in a good economy. Given their numbers, I still think we should be expecting big turnover any day.
I still want to know who the bimbo is that’s the private dining manager at Urban Farmer…apparently she’s pretty useless, as well!
I did some detective work Zumpie, and her name is Susan Soto. She used to be at ten-01, and the internal word is she has made such a mess of private dining that she has about a week or two, at best, before she gets the axe.
Did you hear that the new restaurant Departure is desgined to look like the inside of a voyage ship? Complete with port holes, captains deck and asian fusion food thats suppose to take you on a journey.Sounds like a concept built for happy hour and nothing else. one more Starr restaurant group rip off. First Barclay Steak now Buddakan.
The eight months of employment for Peter Karpinski gives you bad copies of Starr Group success. I wonder, REALLY WONDER, did anyone do research census that Portland want’s
a high priced steakhouse ( that’s oddly misleadingly named)shouldn’t it be named something like urban high rolling rancher or high priced new york copy cat farms.What about another clubby asian fusion joint? will they pass out pirate hats at the entrance?Can we play Marco Polo? Im waiting to see a budda statue going up the freight elevator.Better yet a secret casino in the basement.managements already in place for that concept. They just have to convince the city it’s on a indian burial ground and not their own graves.LOL
Yeah, Karpinski is an idiot. We got a memo today from the corporate chef Michael Carr-Turnbough saying that we should be using cheaper cuts of meat and selling the dishes for more money. He says that is how you can tell wo is a real “chef” and who isn’t. We are doing an average of $123k in revenue a week right now and thats without banquets. I don’t think it will be going anywhere anytime soon.
OMG!!! You guys are great! I’m laughing all over the place on this frosty morning.
The thing about Departure that’s truly pathetic is that was their ace in the hole. A 4 seasons rooftop bar and lounge—who wouldn’t have wanted to check that out? But instead of making it lovely and sophisticated, they A)make it a cuisine style that’s passe by 20 years and B) theme it out in a manner that would shame Disney World. Actually, since Disney DOES actually know how to appropriately market and theme their food outlets (as in pirate theming would be restricted to the are around the attraction and a rooftop lounge would be appropriately elegant), that’s an insult to them.
And a “real” chef is able to fleece guests mercilessly? Guess I know where NOT to stay or dine in my travels…
I think that it is great you are doing that revenue Rhyno, but keep in mind that is more in booze than in food. Your food cost must be in trouble or else you wouldn’t have heard from the corporate chef. If you are losing $ on food, you can still get into trouble paying your bills. Especially since booze is COD and food is on credit terms. Don’t get too comfortable.
I also am hearing of people being overserved there, drug use in the library, etc and that will create a liability nightmare. If Urban Farmer lost their license, even for a short period, it would be devastating.
And shame on Peter for not being able to come up with an original concept.
Also is this $123K in revenue a recent thing? “Cause (obviously) that would be more about the Xmas rush (which is why it’s even more bizarre that Lucier chose to close now) and could very well change shortly.
But that really IS quite impressive, especially given that the hotel certainly isn’t bringing any of it in.
Sage hasn’t been able to supply a P&L statement yet. I think after a few restaurants you would have the programs in place to do P&L’s.So they don’t know where they stand on food cost’ labor cost. Just a rough purchase to sales comparison and this is a restaurant group.haha!You might have done a $123 for last week in revenue but what about the weeks prior. What’s the revenue for the month going to be minus starting inventory cost.On larger scale picture that gross profit including breakfast,lunch,happy hour,dinner and room service that isn’t alot, I bet, compared to sage’s projected revenue to their investors.hence the e-mail during your busiest time. What a make it while you can screw the patron method. I guess corporate chef Michael Carr-Turnbough learned that from his years with the Levy Restaurants.What a Hack….Why don’t you decrease your portion size and increase your prices also (Tis the Season)Ryno why are you still there!I hope you don’t need to learn the cobbler method of the hotel business. I would swim before it sank.
These are holiday sales and new business. What happens when the busy season ends.Thats 3 weeks away.After new years downtown is kinda like a ghost town except for lunch, happy hour and weekend dinner business. When the asian pirate voyage ship opens it will cut into your happy hour and dinner revenue with cheaper food prices and food costs. Nothing like two restaurants sharing patrons. Sage really needs poeple who can manage multiple outlets or their screwed.Manage being the key word..Maybe you can get some the great management staff from lucier…a marraige made in bankruptcy..
Who am i kidding Sage is doing a great job on their own..LOL
They’re now getting started staffing their third concept to be called “The Original” (or something equally foul, I deleted the email). It’s really, really sad when, on top of everything else, you beat Caribou Barbie in the really bad at naming things department.
The posting also notes that they have all kinds of “built in systems and programs” (or some other corporate double speak along those lines) at their uber-successful Urban Farmer. So now we know what Sage Restaurants excells at: Spin!!!!
The Original: A Dinerant
A Modern American Neighborhood Eatery
New 200+ seat, 3 meal a day restaurant opening in April is looking for a bang-up executive chef.
Chef will be responsible for all aspects of opening, including menu development and putting together a top notch culinary team.
This is a creative gig for a proven leader with strong management background.
Food must be of exceptional quality and execution will be fast and furious.
Candidate must have 5+ years experience in a culinary management role. High Volume experience and restaurant opening experience a plus.
Looks Good Makes me hungry for Dinerant Food…
Anybody Know what dinerant food is? I could’nt find it in wikepedia.LOL
As much as I fear it, I applied for the AGM position at UF 6 weeks ago and never even got a call for an interview with 15 years of FOH experience and 5 in management. It doesn’t sound like an ideal working environment, but it beats the job I have now which is NO JOB.
Do You have Casino Experience?haha….Apply through the sage website and call and ask for a in house recruiter.
Ask about the Agm for all three places. I heard the manager of the original is very nice but take your chances with the other… Good Luck I think..
Or if Job Seeker can take a cliched, worn out concept and pretentiously spin it as “new”, then (s)he’ll be fine as well.
“Dinerant”, Karpinski informed some lame article in AllBusiness back in April, is “creative, upscale diner food”. Of course we all know this was trendy back in the ’80’s (and done quite well, but eventually to death and then some, by Empire Diner in NYC)–but hey, if Karpinski calls it “original’ and “creative” well then obviously, it IS!!!
Even the term isn’t his, there’s already a quite decidedly DINER place in upstate NY called Hunter Dinerant. So he’s retreading an 80’s trend with a name he’s ripped off from a Fingerlakes eatery.
Anyway, oh, the theming! You’ll soon be able to have a “creative, upscale” short stack or bowl of navy bean soup, play Marco Polo as you imbibe your Pirate’s Punch and then get fleeced as you eat your Winco quality steak at a communal “farm” table for about $300.
Yet Karpinski has an impressive job and I’m unemployed. I wonder what the downside was when he sold his soul to Satan???
I just about spit out my lunch reading these comments about sage. Especially how (allegedly), how they put a spin on not only p&l and forecasting but how they word their business objectives, job descriptions and what they provide to the community, hotel & restaurant guests. Check out the job description for the Ex. Chef position for “The Original: Dinerant” (a cross btwn a diner/restaurant???? @ http://www.indeed.com. enter chef for the portland area. I thought all of you that really have been involved with this group might enjoy it. Happy Holidays to all of you jobless, more qualified people
Everyone take a mosey over the tripadvisor.com where both The Nines AND Urban Farmer are averaging some quite mediocre reviews at best. It’s to the point that the hotel GM is posting responses to the bad reviews. While it’s not a bad idea to do so, when someone complains about a lack of Holiday decor and no coffee makers you come off as pretty condescending when you respond with:
“The design style of the Nines is modern nostalgic. As part of this design style, we take a non-traditional approach to the holidays, decorating with an air of casual sophistication. As part of the luxury experience, we proudly serve Stumptown coffee through In Room Dining and as well as at our lobby restaurant, Urban Farmer.
Okay….so Kleisner is telling this PAYING GUEST: A) our decor is too cool for that Xmas silliness and YOU’RE not cool enough to get it and B) if you want coffee with your $400 per night room, you’ll pay extra for it.
To me, “part of the luxury experience” would be not having to pay extra for coffee (I think even MOtel 6 gives you a coffeemaker—and all the other nice hotels in town have in-room makers AND free coffee in the lobby). But I see since The Nines went with Stumptown, they also decided to go with their attitude.
And I bet they think using Stumptown means they really “get” the market here.
Kleisner is sooo way in over his head. Just cause Daddy was good as a hotelier doesn’t mean Junior can do the same. If he spent as much time doing his job as he does at the Red Star Tavern Bar, he might actually stay on top of things…
Well, Grandmasterflash, SOMEONE has to keep Red Star in business!! BTW, Given Kleisner’s painfully mediocre career (and his pattern of ruining every property he’s been at), anyone else think Daddy bought him this job—just to keep Junior away from REAL hotel companies?
And maybe that’s Karpinki’s story, too!
Gamble of the year: Urban Farmer. Does ersatz farmhouse comfort and a menu calibrated to please hotel guests and Portland’s dining cognoscente make for a winning equation? The glam steakhouse anchoring splashy new hotel The Nines will find out as it bears up to weather a terrible climate for a $60 Porterhouse. The dirt-cheap, twice-nightly happy hour — already a draw for the cool kids — may be the restaurant’s saving grace. (525 S.W. Morrison St., 503-222-4900) What’s the life span of a happy hour restaurant?? The restaurant citics picked up the smell and are on the hunt like chum in the water. Place your bets if it sinks are swims.What do you guys think??? A couple of bad reviews and your bait in this town.The reviews on citysearch and yelp are not so good and starwood preferred reviews are horrid. (Many more and starwood will launch an internal investigation…watch out for the six sigma’s..It’s a night mare when the cust. service police are notified.then you have to actually act like you care about your guests and diners.i see a hint of contempt already..menu to please hotel guests—Glam steakhouse—splashy hotel– Cool Kids–Thats my favorite…You see what i mean???Those are everything portland food scene is repelled by and loathe…
Enough complaints from guests and you can lose your “flag” altogether. Or as you point out, dirtymartini, at a minimum have all these uptight suits from uber-corporate visiting and “counseling” you in endless meetings, etc.
At this point, Sage needs to something significant, like completely revamp (especially at the top) their managment at the Nines to at leas tbuy themselves more time. At least THAT way, they’ll look like they’re trying. Of course I won’t even begin to touch on the flaws of a too upscale (but doesn’t have a swimming pool) property or all thier stupid F&B concepts.
Oh, or how management heavy the property is, especially given what crapass service they deliver. Or that that’s WHY coffee’s extra with your $400 per night room and Starwood Platinum Level Preferred guests can forget about upgrades.
Hello all you effin farmers! My apologies for offending anyone. Lately, which is a month after I posted my little comment, people have been pulling their eyelashes out wondering who would dare question management, and more incorrectly so-the ktichen. I will stick to my guns about the management, but I never said anything negative about the kitchen, just management’s role in interdepartamental communication and leadership. The Restaurant manager and the executive chef, which we have neither of, should be running a restaurant as a team. Anyway, that said, basically this problem is not just in the UF, it is the Nines. From housekeeping, the front desk, the restaurant, room service, concierge, something is lacking. Ask your co-worker in the break room how their day is going. Not good. I don’t understand it. Leadership? we have 2 managers for every 1 in any other hotel. Resources? We just spent 150 million and are budgeted for operating at a loss, just like any new hotel. Talent? There are thousands of qualified people in this city to fill these highly desired spots.
I understand that Peter Karpinski is seven, I mean Nine feet tall and can leap a dotted line in just a single bound. But sadly, even giants–visionaries– with their heads in the clouds, must still have a foot in the farm. “If you build it, they will come” only works with baseball fields and Indian Casinos, which explains the role of my buddy Marky Woolford. I just still don’t see any effort at improvement is my point here. Try. See. Do.
Its not hard. Its not personal. Its just business. Let’s try to run one.
Hey, I liked the “effin farmers”! As for the rest of it, I’m sorry to hear that morale’s so low! As to WHY, there are a lot of components but if I were to “fix it”:
1) Dump Karpinski and the the Sage Restaurant Group Concept. It isn’t really working (and contrary to their spin doctors, it doesn’t really work for Kimpton, either). They need to just return to a “traditional” hotel restaurant model and call it good.
2) Replace the upper management at The Nines. While I don’t know anything (even who are in those spots) about the Front Desk Manager, F&B Director, Operations Director, etc…it’s quite apparent Kleisner is completely incomptent. As is Woolford. Plus if they return to a traditional hotel restaurant model, they won’t need as many restaurant managers—saving $$$, as well.
3) Take a look at the HR Director. If morale is that visibly low, (s)he’s doing a crap job, too. Though we all know HR isn’t generally there for the employees.
4) Revamp the sales department. I know at least some of them–and they kinda suck. Sales isn’t about going to endless parties on the company’s dime and acting above all the operations people—it’s about bringing in business.
Basically, clean house a bit (primarily at the top–in this market, there’s no need for the upper spots to be filled with such mediocrity). And once that’s done, have employee events to improve morale. Offer more incentives to Starwood Preferred Guests (DUH!!!). Truth be told, The Nines probably isn’t even REALLY a luxury property—move it down a notch and have fewer extraneous pillow fluffing positions to save even more $$$.
And provide some damn coffee makers in the rooms, for crying out loud!
Sorry Zumpie. I put mt foot in my mouth again. Effin farmers is a reference to my handle effinlost, it wasn’t meant to be derogatory. Just a bad joke, that sounds worse when written. I’m a farmer too and the people there are great.
No, I meant I liked the comment—and I saw how it related to your handle! I meant I thought “effin’ farmers” was cute! So no need to apologize, keep up your super insider info for us!
The people who were originally hired there are great, effinlost, cause they were all hired by Meaghan and Gretchen. The new folks that Tool-ford is hiring..be careful. He has no ability to judge character, as exemplified by his sales and marketing manager/”private relationship counselor” Susan Soto. http://www.susansoto.org.
Can I get a three-way with my Christmas party? Oh, that will be extra? No problem. Put in on my tab!
Just checked that website, WTF!! Corvino and the night stooge are ruining the place. I just leave my head down and try to work as much in am as possible. Fired the am sous because he got into it with a nighttime line cook that is close to another sous. WTF, I just can’t wait until my new spot opens and I can get the heck outta here. Woolford, Jesus Christ he’s is bad. Also, check out what we are serving for New Years Eve, what a sham.
Well 23/6.com (an awesome spoof site, BTW) did have a blurb about slumping holiday sales. The last “example” they gave was “free hand job with every purchase” which the author of the piece praised for its innovative marketing.
Maybe now we know how she A) got the job and B) has kept the job…And maybe that’s the REAL “bargain” during happy hour. Okay, I’ll stop now.
RHINO-
You’re a tool. Still haven’t figured out which one you are in the kitchen but you don’t really have any inside knowledge at all, just like to think you do. Blake was already leaving… If you actually knew what was going on you’d see that Corvino and Ryan actually care about this place and are doing the best they can within the limitations placed on them by corporate.
Spanky, while I hear Ryan does care about the place, I’m sorry, all Corvino cares about is when he gets his next cigarette break. Sorry, but this is a town that talks, and everyone knows what goes on there. Corvino is as much of a tool as tool-ford, otherwise, he would be gone. Ryan, they just feel sorry for him cause he has a kid on the way. Rather than trying to figure out who Rhino is, figure out where you are gonna work when this place goes under.
Zumpie, I guess we’ll see you “bargain” hunting at the bar during happy hour tomorrow?
“And light me really carefully so I can convince myself that everyone believes me when I say I’m 39 (for the 8th or so time)”
Spanky, I knew that he was leaving but come on, to 86 because of an argument we got into and take the side of a couple of hack cooks really. Also, Ryan doesn’t care about anything but himself, explain his backstabbing maneuvers just to be able to do some of the NYE menu and the Christmas Eve menus. Well at least he and Corvino have each other.
fyi, yelpers are having a field day with the place lately. Your better off slinging hash at Super Dog then putting out crap food with your name on it. Congratulations Mark! You turned the place sideways in less than 3 months.
This place is ridiculous I work here and the place itself is made out of cardboard and the management within is just laughable.
First off spanky you should look up the insult definition of tool, its someone who forms their opinions by the establishments ideals (IE You). If there are any ‘inconvenience’ in a manager or employee they are ushered out by the HR department, the CIA of the building. One day they are there the next day they are gone with only the explanation of ‘Its an HR thing I can’t talk about it’. If I were rhino i’d watch my back it looks like they are internal investigating him. And just so you know spanky I think its legal to form your own opinion about the place you work and illegal to fire those who do so, as long as the worker does the work properly.
The managers really don’t give a crap about the place there is no communication from FOH to BOH or even to the hotel. FOH managers are focused on one thing, their egos. They know they can’t spend any money on anything and shrug off anything the servers NEED. On the BOH side ryan and corvino need an attitude adjustment. When a server tells a chef that a customer doesn’t think they got a particular side or something was missing on the plate and they get a ‘No, it was on the plate’ what is the server suppose to do then? Will is the only chef who seems to care about the place and has a relaxed attitude and takes things in stride.
The big thing recently is the major snafu where the management ‘forgot’ that they were SUPPOSE to offer the crap insurance instead of the somewhat decent insurance claiming that it was suppose to be this plan all along. Yeah nice one first lets screw the customers by bumping the price on food, then screw the employees by giving them less of a reason to stay.
Imo hotel restaurants are not suppose to be a money making business they are there to support the hotel stop trying to pretend like this place is going to bring in the money!
If anyone wants any more information going on in this place i’ll be glad to show my information point of view.
Id like to know more about the sous chef (or just lead cook?) who was recently canned/let go/quit?? does anyone know?
Good post KangarooSoap! I’ve always heard Corvino was an egotistical buffoon. Sad that it sounds like Ryan is falling in line. Neither one of them will ever be able to work anywhere else in this town again, so I suppose it’s good they have each other. On second thought, what am I concerned about!? They are perfect candidates for Senior VP for Sage Hospitality! What was I thinking…
AgentOrange, I believe that you are talking about one of the sous chefs, Michael Blake. From my point of view I didn’t have a clear point of view, but it may have been due to the night a few workers were staying in the hotel because of the snow and they were getting drunk and messing around in the hotel Michael was one of them.
I don’t know if they let that slide but he was preping in the back for a good week after that and then he was gone. This same matter came to a firing of a FoH manager on the spot.
Personaly I didn’t really have much contact with michael so i cant say anything about his character =/
And now word on the street is that private party coordinator/relationship counselor Susan Soto has been shown the door! Good Lordy, it’s a bloodbath…
So grandmaster, does this mean her replacement will also be expected to offer the Awesome Happy Hour Ending, I mean bargain???
Hee! Grandmaster, imagine if we worked together!!! How much fun we’d have (and how everyone would hate us as we snickered away at them in the corner)…but for all we know, maybe we HAVE worked together!!
Zumpie, this town is so small we are probably third cousins twice removed. AND we worked together! Happy New Year!
So I have held my tongue long enough and need to let it all out. I know way too much about how F@#%% UP this place is. I swear to christ the place is run like an eighth grade social club! a troop of girl scouts could run this place with higher standers and more class than the group that is in place now. The management here is a joke and now with all the heads rolling like the french inquisition its no wonder they are bigger pussies than before. I saw Michael Corvino and his gay lover get punked by a dishwasher they fired. Michael C was shaking like a crackhead jonesing for a rock he was so terrified. And he didn’t even stick up for his boyfriend. I bet they had a good cry over it at home while watching sex and the city. The new manager is a spineless jellyfish and has no balls. Plus he doesn’t even know what the fuck he is doing. Working here is like sinking on the Titanic with no orchestra IT SUCKS! Half the management staff are fucking the hostesses including the box of rocks that just got fired Michael Blake. He actually thought he had a place at departure, he did just not the restaurant. Susan soto was not treated right neither was Gretchen Wilcox or Sundiata White. They where all let go to trim the fat on an already bloated and dying beast that is this fu%$ed up hotel. No one knows what they are doing and no way do they know how to get to their goals. I am the one who makes himself quieter and quieter everyday and pray for when I can find a job in this god forsaken town that actually knows what and who they are doing. We as employees should wear dildos in our asses w/ no Vaseline so everyone knows we are employees. They should have no problem getting that Indian gaming license after they where certified Indian givers with our health care. F^%k em thats what sage is all about employee costumer it doesn’t matter we all get fu#$ed in the end and not even close to being in a good way. SCREW THIS PLACE!
The beverage manager, Ryan, just got the axe yesterday. Its too bad. He was one of the good ones. The heads just keep rolling.
Are you kidding me! I work at this place and would love to tell you how f uped this place is. The hotel and food are beautiful. The management are a whole other story! We are treated like second class citizens. They where indian givers with our health care and so many heads have rolled you would think it was the French Revolution. That is why I am urging all the employees to secretly see me and start talking to a UNION! I will be in contact with you one by one and will will show this place that the workers are the main ingredient in success and profit. They will pay and the UNION will help with this! UNITE WORKERS AND OVER COME THE TYRANNY OF THIS DICTATORSHIP!
I’ll be ready, backstabbed! This place could seriously use some help from the outside world. It’s completely overwhelming how frustrating it is to work for Sage and the super corrupt management. This is insulting. I put the majority of my waking hours into this place, and will still be effed if I get into an accident. It’s just another capitalistic venture with no regard for the people who actually do the damn work. Enough is enough. So, what’s the signal? Cough twice? Feign self-stabbing?
I never thought I would say this, but unionizing might be the best thing for you guys. Then you can control who manages you and who doesn’t, and you could get things that you are entitled to but don’t get, like schedules that are on time and reasonable hours between closing and opening. Besides the benefits that were promised to you, and a workplace free of sexual harassment (yes, it is a form of sexual harassment when whorey hostesses can’t keep their legs closed).
Besides, look around, are all the new managers, um, men? Hmmmm, add lady hater to Mark’s long list of attributes. Not that Ron Tenorio is that much of a man, but he still swings a dick.
I would call the Union TODAY backstabed101, and they will help you. Best wishes and Happy New Year! Glad you are all taking matters into your own hands.
What’s with the homophobia, grandmasterflash? This forum is for open discussion about work issues, and as we’re all (or at least most of us) are being mistreated by our workplace, let’s not be intrusive or judgmental on those grounds. It’s annoying and trite. Thanks.
what? You’re gonna call me on my comment on Ron when you leave backstabbed alone? I’m calling bullshit. That’s not homophobia. It’s truth. Mark Woolford is afraid of women, unless they swing a dick. Ron is femme, but he is a male. So he has a job in management, while no biological females do. Sexual discrimination is what it is. Get your terms straight (no pun intended).
OK RON is a phillapino Lewis but gay jokes aside lets foucus at the task at hand. I am contacting the union and will give info to any who wants it I work in the Farm. Glasses skinny
I helped open The Nines Hotel and currently work for Sage’s other property in CHicago. As a whole, it’s s corrporate hotel. This is my three hotel. They are all the same. Management is bad, people are disrespected, raises aren’t given to the desirved party, people are constantly thrown under the buss……blah blah. I could go on for days. BUT… I have a passion, love and absession for food! I love working 12-18 hours a day. I don’t need a break. I don’t want to stop learning. I don;t pay attention to the b.s., I focus on the food, the exsiqusion, and who I can run around circles next!! It’s easier said then done, just me. It has taken me 4 years to get there!!
As for Chef Corvino and Chef Price…they ARE talented chefs. I have had the pleasure to work for and with both of them for years. I respect that fact that they are humans too!! They make mistakes, they are constantly learning, teaching and pushing people. Are they yooung? HELL YEA! But inspiring! Anyone that is given an empty old ass building and can create a luxury hotel with 2 other people gets respect from me! That is the kind of kitchen I want to work in. Not the laid bake stroll across the kitchen Portland style kitchen!! Pack a smokes in the middle of the floor and then they’ll move!
Main thing is, if you are not happy at your job,for what ever management issues, recycling issues, miscommunication issues,then quit! Find a job that makes you happy and keeps your passionate about food! That’s what is important!
Cheers!!
Okay, firstly, I think Grandmaster was just being snarky (at which (s)he excells, BTW). Moving on:
ChicagoChef, good to know you’ve found things you both value and dislike about Sage…BUT, as far as “Anyone that is given an empty old ass building and can create a luxury hotel with 2 other people” I beg to differ. First, it’s been done for at least 30+ years…and already in Portland with the Hotel Monaco (and I’m no fan of Kimpton, BTW). The current, trendy name for it is “historic reuse” and it’s why there are restaurants, inns and hotels in old warehouses, trains, barns and yes, department stores.
It also took a great deal more than a mere two people–and was a project originally envisioned by the Portland Development Commission. Sage just happened to get the winning bid (and thus far between running grossly over budget, sitting at 20% - 40% occupancy and receiving mediocre at best reviews, they haven’t managed it particularly well).
As for the no disciplined chefs in Portland thing. While I still don’t think Portland even begins to touch NYC in the food department and many restaurants that are universally praised I think suck—I’ve still had to pleasure to work with many, many dedicated individuals in my time.
In other news, Sage just posted for a new Front Office Manager at The Nines. I guess given all the complaints they’ve gotten, Kleisner figured he’d hang the balme on that unlucky person. I wonder how long he’ll be able to play point the finger before Sage realizes HE’S the problem!
Hey now…I didn’t say anything bad about Sage. I like the company. I got a job. I can pay rent and feed my family! I got nothing bad to say about Sage or ANY of the employees. I was just hinting that some people can focus on food more than politics. That is it!!
Hey chitown I bet you where one of the fags that where there to promise us at the beginging of this f$%%ed up job that we where going to be pro staff! After I woke up and had a doughnut that wass the plast thing I ever got from th company besides false promises. bull shiznit you are a liiar just like the rest of this company. You are probably smokin Michael Car-Turnboas sweet sausage! the fact of the matter is your f uped company has done nothing but make promises they can’t keep. This company might as well be the pilgrams for all of the atrosities they have bestowed on the fine people of this establishment! You should be made to be Kar-kPenis-ski’s cock sucking first mate, come on take over Toolfords place by blowing the crap out of the management. But wait he has more class at least he is f-u-cking the hot “Head” cocktail waitress, I mean how else would she be getting $12 an hour!? You are soo far on the corprate tit that your testimony can’t even be listened to. Find a corpraste c-o-ck to suck don’t post here ever again.
WHERE THE HELL IS MY MEDICAL IN YOUR BONUS GO EAT SHIT AND DIE. THIS PLACE IS LIKE ENRON! get rich while we die. no one cares deffinate not you!!!!
are you serious?! its embarrasing to say that i probably work with most of these people. someone told me to check out this site to see what everyone had to say, and DAMN…i had no idea. it started out okay…complaining and bitching about people who got fired and the problems they have caused, but what the FUCK, some of you took it too far…
here it is, a short and sweet version:
Sundiata W (manager): fired. but he was sure as hell plenty happy about it. he didnt want to be there, he wanted to have fun. he was a great manager, he helped out and got shit done and knew how to handle a restaurant. he had a brain and a ton of cigarettes. and “backstabbed101″…im assuming maybe he is who you are talking about when your talkin about managment fucking the hostesses and cocktail servers and waitresses. yeah, thats dirty, i will admit. not a good idea. but then again, maybe your jealous, since your clearly the one not getting any.
Gretchen W (AGM): fired/quit. like sundiata, she was done with that place soon after it opened. those corporate fucks screwed her over. she was organized as shit and although many didnt care for her personality, we can all admit she did so much for this place. hope she is working somewhere better than the urban farmer
Meaghan G: employed (by sage) GM of The Original. She is the single person who made the urban farmer workable. she hired most of the current staff
Susan S (sales/marketing mgr): fired. was not the best at her job, and seemed to screw up quite bit. but a nice enough lady. saw her website….creepy!
Ryan C (bar manager): fired/quit. it was more so his choice. he wanted out of there too, he could be doing something much better somewhere else. great bar mananger, he really knew his stuff. great manager too, he got his shit done. he was one of the only sane ones.
Mark W (F&B director/GM): employed…for now. he has single handedly run this place into the ground from the get-go. who even hired him? either way, he isnt a good GM and doesnt know how to work with people or how to treat people. employees do not equal slaves. he seems to be trying to run a dirty business. he is always “too busy” to take care of things that really matter. at the same time, i take some pity on him. all of this shit is layed on him, which perhaps he deserves, but still, thats a hell of a lot to handle. but i do agree with what we all think–that he is trying to turn this into some sort of casino establishment with skanky women and strip poles…so maybe him and fred should just move to NY together and get studio with a pole…it’d be cheaper. what is his salary? fuck.
Ron A (departure AGM): employed. quirky and busy little guy, but gets everything done. doesnt seem to affect to many people. the new AGM of Departure.
Louis (mananger): employed. and is not gay. nice guy, pretty passive. he manages room-service and restaurant. and yeah, he is engaged to a hostess. not much else to say.
Ned E (exec chef): fired. he was a hell of a nice guy, and ridiculously hard to work for. some days, he made working almost unbearable. but we can call say we learned a lot and he knew how to run a place and knew how to teach, even if it involved plenty of screaming and f-bombs. he is too good for this place anyways…way too good.
Ryan B (sous chef): employed. trying to get the gig at The Original. kind of an asshole sometimes, but i would be too if i was expecting my first baby and i had his job. and you can tell he wants to have more control over the place. nice enough guy, but doesnt have the experience necessary to do this job. one of the three sous that got in over their heads.
Will (sous chef): employed. sous chef during afternoons usually. again, nice enough guy. knowledgable, and could be doing some other place a lot more use than he is doing urban farmer. pretty organized guy, but seems overwhelmed a lot too. he gets things done and does good work. and is better than urban farmer.
Michael B (sous chef): quit. one of the few who didnt actually get fired. used to be the am sous, and was going for the departure gig. nice guy, helpful, and understanding. like will, he is talented and can do a lot more for a different establishment. is better than urban farmer.
Michael C (uh…chef?): employed. where to begin? does he even know what he is doing? shit. him and mark w. seems to be good buds, which figures. who knows what they will trun this place into. and why are we making our banquet chef into our exec chef? michael corvino belongs in banquets. is he really good for urban farmer or is he making it worse? at this point, i guess we will take what we can get.
Garrison P (banquet chef): employed. nice enough guy, no one sees a lot of him. he works in banquets, so there isnt too much to be said.
Fred K (hotel GM): still employed. might be a good idea to button up his shirt.
Peter K (COO of Sage): opinions vary. seems to be fucking this whole thing up though….in WAY over his head, thats for sure.
now what? do we keep reading and bitching? or do we all quit?
Wow! such an interesting thread! The truth (as a FORMER employee) the opening staff FOH, BOH and Room Service was and is amazing. Many of the cooks and remaining Sous chefs are talented individuals. Servers came on gung ho and eager to kick ass! The bartenders are hands down some of the most impressive individual mixologist I’ve come across….all you poo pooers quiet my resume and experience is exceptional!!!
WHat happened? What went wrong? I would like to say it was purely MARK WOOLFORD current (for now) GM! I can’t! DAMMIT!!
The house started making money, surpassed many peoples expectations so rather than enjoy and tighten down and control service, food, mechanics…..rather than try and get BETTER, the powers that be said open the gates!!! Cut service style, cut food quality, cut labor…..make more money!! The Toolford (pun intended) whose only talent is creating a spread sheet, did just that! The efforts of the professional restaurant staff were neglected. The style and gastronomical accomplishments of Ryan Bliebtry, Micheal Blake, Will Cisa and of course Ned Elliot were sacrificed simply to squeeze a nickel further. Woolford and his lackeys ( yes that’s you Louis) and the asses he kisses (sometimes I think gladly) were, are and will always be corporate HACKS!
They will make money! Staff will be screwed and vulgar, crass, block heads like MARK WOOLFORD will be in place as long as the work of staff can turn a profit!
In case you haven’t notice I really do not care for Mark Woolford!!!
I wish the staff luck. I hope the idea of Union takes hold. As it is now they are defenseless in a field of vultures! Shame on you Sage!
You know I am going away from my ranting and raving to set this straight about this failing restaurant. I am normally talking shit about management here, but let me tell you why we WILL Fail! THE MENU SUCKS!!!! Ned leaving is and always will be a detrement! So we hired a new chef, for Departure!!! WTF! how about the farm, oh I guess it’s doing OK? I don’t think so! For as long we have steaks not dishes on the menu! We need starch and vegitables with CREATIVE IDEAS for plates. I mean fuck should we just put a Bloomin Onions al a cart on the menu with the Hot Pocket! Another Steak house! Stuart Anderson is turning over in his grave! I mean Stewart would order a steak, but change his order after it takes 40 mins. He would end up ordering a “Wedge” bid salad, just cuz it didn’t get called 8 times for a runner! But then angain is it really a WEDGE?! Good call guys. I mean EL goucho and Shulas are right around the corner! Are you fucking shitin me?! they aren’t doing any good! Not in this economy, not now. Why not come up with something original (no pun intended). say something like full plates that the servers(all of them)can get behind. (not like the managers getting behind the hostesses; oh I get enough;-) mellow yellow: Michael B., Louis! who know which others). Fuck! Let the cooks come up w/ something creative. I am tired of down-selling just cuz we got shit on our menu! Corvino is a shit cook and I know this cuz nothing good has come on the menu since Ned has left. Fuck Him! he sucks. Garison is cool, for the most part. At least he isn’t a punk kid! COME UP WITH GOOD FOOD! YOU HAVE SHIT FOR BRAINs if you can’t! Make this something good or it will fail Kar-penis-ski! watch your baby die; is that what you waNT?! i know the staff doesn’t want this. We want benifits like we where promised and the support we should be bestoed. If not I say fuck quiting! Burn the bitch DOWN! Not litteral but lets leave and tell all the too common guest we encounter not to go to this rip off, cocamainie establishment and leave fred and Mark(who can use a computer about as well as his 1 year old!) to bunker down in the Bomb shelter waiting for the fall out from: oh no bankrupt SAGE!
Mark Woolford is a bad bad man -
He threw everyone under the bus - provided no feedback, no support, no job responsibilities or clear expectations. To the contrary - he continually stopped the flow of progress and made doing any bit of work completely impossible. He doesn’t care at all about the guest nor is he very good at his bean counting.
As far as I’m concerned that place (Mark Woolford and Sage) steals people’s money and destroys peoples lives.
… Kind of like what you people are doing here! Nice job.
You know what this was ment for the betterment of our company. as far as I am concerned go fuck yourszelf nothing. i guess we sre rying to be something and you can continue to be all you can be… nothing you piece of shit you probably can’t even make 20% on a friday why so bitter… cuz you are garbage go fuck yourself!
wow backstab….
that was an angry post. some might say hostile. i suggest not hitting the bottle before venture into the blogging world.
but seriously, i’m just asking you to tone it down a little.
do you think that any type of employee mingling really effects the restaurant? how much do you REALLY know about the operation on a stellar restaurant.
I think some of you need to either ONE leave your job because it sucks, or TWO believe in the place and make some positive changes to improve the place.
It doesn’t matter that Garrison is a nice guy, Bleibtrey is sometimes an asshole, and this guys decent and I like him but think she’s a slut.
Shame on you for being so lame.
I say good luck Urban Farmer, but it seems some of the people that work there really don’t want it to work out.
IHeartNY, while I agree backstab was a bit hostile, I also think that nothing was a hypocrite for posting negatively about Sage in general and then condemning everyone else here for doing so.
Which brings me to YOUR post, there’s really nothing wrong with posting online to blow off a bit of steam, feel out the pulse of some place, etc. It’s precisely what this site is for. And in this economy especially, qutting is not necessarily a viable option.
Nor is trying to change things for the better always a possibility. If anything, frequently one’s input and efforts to improve things (even as the company is touting how they value your ideas) will be viewed as stupid or threatening (in the latter case the better the idea, the more pissed off your boss will be) and can lead you out the door.
This doesn’t just apply to line level employees either—you’re ignoring some very large egos and politics at play here. While well intentioned, your post is remarkably naive (and sounds a bit like something an HR manager says, as they carefully construct a reason to fire you).
I want to know:
1. How is the food now?
2. How is service executed? Are they fluid, attentive without being annoying….KNOWLEDGEABLE of menu, wine and restaurant in general?!
3. Are guests receptive to the idea? or is it still a case of everyone checking out the new kid on the block.
4. Are the staff professional from greet, to seat to exit?
5. what’s the timing like from menu to check?
I’m VERY familiar with many of the personalities at UF, new and old. It is fun to read the rumor mill….even about me! I’m flattered…thank you! I understand you need to vent and get it out but a lot of this (myself included) is just trash talking!
MARK WOOLFORD SUCKS!…oops sorry about that!
But from those inside….still, I ask what is the state of daily operations now? I had hoped UF would be a class act, paving a beautiful new gastronomic trend in a food savvy town. Is that the case? Or is it becoming a really expensive, kinda sleazy black angus?
I am not even in Portland , I live in NYC and I look at this thread every couple of days , it seems that its never going to die , so my question is, has any damage been done ? Anybody got fired ? Has anyone been harmed in any way ? or may be some good came out of this ? Why is this thread so active ?
I think this thread is so active, NY observer, because Portland is a big city with a small town feel, and we care alot about who comes to town and tries to employ a ton of great people and then treats them like crap. Sage came to town with this story of “principles” and “core values” and the managers that they hired bought it hook line and sinker, and then sold it to the staff, and it all turned into a bunch of lies. Now all the managers are shit-canned (except for one, who seems to know how to play the game) and no one seems to understand why. Mellow Yellow did a good job with trying to explain, but even some of his/her facts are false. The employees are afraid to speak out for fear of being fired (jobs are really scarce right now) so this forum is really the only thing they have to say what they need to say.
For the record, they are not getting rid of their current Front Office Manager. They are actually hiring another Front Desk Manager because they have been so busy. And no, it’s not because they’re struggling so save the “omgz it’s probably because their managers don’t know what they’re doing” comments.
It’s really sad to read the comments about this amazing restaurant. Right now so many businesses are suffering in the city, and I listen to my friends talk about how they have either been laid off or had their hours cut at work.
If you haven’t seen the hotel or the restaurant yet you should check it out. It’s freakin’ amazing! This brand new hotel has been steadily busy with high occupancy, which is a blessing due to tough economic times. The restaurant also does quite well.
If everybody that works there hates their jobs so much, I have an idea…… maybe you should feel fortunate to even have a job?
Or maybe life is what you make it.
Quit your job and find another one that you ACTUALLY ENJOY.
Just a suggestion.
Also, it might be a good idea to grow some balls and let your managers know how you feel instead of blogging about it.
Ah, Sharquifa and Sharquandra or should I say, Shill One and Shill Two? While it might be true that they’re adding another FOM (though they were already the most management heavy property I’ve ever heard of, especially given that they aren’t that large a hotel)—the middling at best critiques on Tripadvisor (most are specifically directed at the incomptence of the front desk and management, BTW), the guest room rates reduced to a quarter or less than the originally anticipated and the word about “high occupancy” of 20% - 40% speaks volumes.
Since The Nines now has an NBA contract, that might help your occupancy percentages a bit—but that was “ugly baby” (low rate, lots of free perks to the team, lots of extra staffing AND pissed off guests (who also get free perks)who have to wait for their rooms during the teams’ 6PM checkouts) biz that last summer you wouldn’t have even THOUGHT about.
It’s nice that you’re so fortunate as to be making $$$, happy in your job, etc—but if you read the posts on this board, there aren’t many Nines/Urban Farmer employees who feel that way. Also, you’re obviously either a manager (maybe HR) or perhaps one of the aforementioned slutty hostesses—because otherwise, tell your manager that you’re generally unhappy? REALLY???? Even as someone in management, I can tell you that’s the most surefire way to be shown the door (unless you have an “in”, like banging your boss).
While posting positive things is always good, at least make them REAL things and not the voice of the plant. And why are you so upset by people bitching on a site that’s specifically desinged for bitching??
I think maybe Sharquandra’s Kleisner and Sharquifa’s Toolford…. :-)Except that the sentence structure is actually coherent and the spelling’s quite good, so maybe HR (but specifically proofread to remove the typical corporate babble that HR is so invariably inamored with).
If you do not understand the importance of the simple concept, to voice your thoughts, opinions, YOUR PROBLEMS, and your issues, than you will fail at what you do. Fact not fiction. Every one who reads these posting knows that the peoples postings here have been a hand full of quit or terminated employees and managers, you know it gw, ne, mb, sw, recognise allya that had not the experience, readiness, dedication, self control, for what was so foreign to them, luxury, fine dining, big hotel shit, openings are always fucked up!, consistancy, not having a history of related work experience without “not eligable for rehire” coming up. Move On, make the most of the next opportunty you’ll be so lucky to have, it’s always guner be what you make of it,anywhere, specialy when it’s brand new!
And this is only bitching at you bitchers, zumpie, aaaaahh, have I become as pathetic as you losers, let us all take a look at ourselves and stop bitching about other people, so the rest of us can get back to work, 30 minute break from reality and putting up with bullshit to get the job done is over!
Eventhough the wind blows cold today, farmers rejoice! The sun still shines today. Nevermind the fact that the glare upon woolford’s bald head has shone for the bottom-line exclusively up until now. Change may be upon us. Don’t confuse my whiskey drenched optimism for being bribed with free doughnuts and/or books from our disjointed pep-rally today. Thanks to a few malcontents, management is listening. Thank you to my fellow posters. I think we are making something happen.
Things are actually looking up. Mark is listening, the kitchen is cooperative, by the way the new sous Ben is great, and the restaurant and hotel are busy even in January. The new manager from Luceir is supposed to be pretty good too. We still have a long way to go. the concept is still weird, but apparently successfeul, we are still getting screwed on the benefits, and it still just has a tense, stressfull vibe but it seems like less of hopeless situation than a month ago. Maybe its just the fear of the word “union” being brandished about, but I think we’ve got them them on the run. They re even creating an office manager so that we (and them) are less likely to get audited from all the shakey, mysterious tip-claiming practises. We even have a HD TV in the break-room now. To sum up, I think that the 100+ posts here have made a difference either directly or indirectly since even those who don’t post still read and comment at work about our situation. Keep it up! Next step, hotel level benefits for the department that makes a profit at this hotel!!
hola. i just needed to post for the record…i don’t DON’T post on blog sites. I’ve been reading this one for pure entertainments purposes. anyone that really knows me would agree that it’s not my style. i am a much more loving and forward-thinking person to dwell here on a past job. I left because i was not happy and didn’t have a way to improve MY job. NOT because i sucked (please…I am not cocky, but am confident enough to say that I didn’t suck, I had a lot to do with many positive things in that kitchen.)
I hope it all works out for you all there, I genuinely cared about UF, I was just dealt a shitty hand of cards in the last month of my work there. Good Luck!
-mb
Congratulations! I’m really excited for you guys. That is the purpose of a forum like this and I’m glad to see it worked.
mb, let it go. You are amazing! Don’t take the bait. That is all nouseforaname is doing, it’s bait, thrown out by the bottom-feeder that he is. Walk away my friend…you are in a better place.
I’m glad to hear things are improving as well. And yes, it’s quite apparent the same person is posting using their sock puppets, since it’s always the same “well, if you don’t like it leave or say something”, which we’ve all explained, perfectly coherently, why neither of these are necessarily an option.
In hotel news, Kleisner continues his responses to negative Tripadvisor reviews in the “I’m sorry you feel that way” (as in we’re perfect, the guest has the problem) mode. Three of their past four reviews have been quite negative—to two of them Kleisner actually says, “I’m surprised you had this experience” and then blathers about the luxury experience is “special”, etc.
Uh, DUDE 50% percent of your Tripadvisor reviews are mediocre to negative—it isn’t “surprising” when people do find fault, it’s surprising when they DON’T. Instead responding so patronizingly, try looking at what you’re doing wrong. Especially since most postings on Tripadvisor seem to go out of their way to praise and compliment (Inn at Northrup Station is the #4 hotel in Portland, REALLY??? Dumpy Hotel Deluxe is now #1???)
To be fair, it seems like some of the bad reviews on Tripadvisor were made by people who haven’t even stayed at the hotel. The way they describe the rooms make it sound as if they haven’t even seen the interior of the hotel. Just seems like a couple of disgruntled rival hotel employees to be honest. One review in particular was so bizarre sounding and didn’t seem real at all. Not to mention, whoever wrote it couldn’t spell worth sh*t and didn’t seem capable to write proper sentences. Maybe I am analyzing it a little too much as an outsider but it just seems a little pathetic.
Hmm, in the fake reviews case, it’s generally more the case of a hotel getting its employees to post fake POSITIVE reviews about it (I know for a fact both the Monaco and Vintage Plaza does so, as do many other properties in town). Poor spelling doesn’t always indicate an ex-employee, either (the review you refer to appears to be from a teenager and English might not even be her first language).
As for “eliott”, I’m female and have no idea who he is. I never worked for The Nines (and if I had: I’ve never been BOH, haven’t waitressed in almost nine years and haven’t been in operations for 5+ years). On the original board I frequently published equally snarky comments about many other places. I’m just someone who LOVES a scandal/gossip—and this is juicy!
Plus I’ve met Kleisner and found him to be utterly loathsome, so I do enjoy seeing someone so pompously obnoxious routinely fail, yet remain completely oblivious to this fact.
just curious: what are staff like? met a few of the cocktail staff….whew…..rough!!! what’s everyone else like?
little bitch, don’t get it…what does that mean?
how are the chicago chefs doing? at the pen in chicago and they were preety good! after reading this it may seem like they both loose their women and they loose their shit!!
No way , has this thread finally died ?
I cant believe it ,or is it that something dramatic happened?
Hello anyone there?
It’s Not Rocket Science
or
A Tale of Blood and Carrots
I have been the graveyard shift cook at the UF/Nines until last night.
I am not anonymous.
I have been in the restaurant business since I was 14 years old in 1977.
This is the first time I have ever walked off the line.
The bottom line is that food quality and service suffers when the employees are not respected.
Quality suffers when there are conflicting instructions and not enough management or staff cooperation.
My experience was a good example.
I walked off the line after being told that I could not handle cooking a burger.
The full story is that the prep was not done, nothing was stocked, and I have never been allowed onto the line to prepare until the rock star pm cooks are done and out, so when the tickets came in I was unsupported as usual and had to get prepared immediately or sooner, that is, both stocking and prepping and cleaning while cooking order by order while under pressure.
This is the normal changeover: Crisis every night, as usual, per nightly procedure.
I have been dealing with this unprofessional arrangement for months.
I have been disrespected from the start until the end, by (some, not all) staff and by management.
I am worth more than abuse.
I am gone.
Bye Bye!
The full story is as thus:
I was hired for the kitchen although my resume indicates fine dining FOH is my forte.
I was hired for the graveyard shift because they needed warm bodies to cover a shit shift. I was desperate,they were needy. I hired on willingly and I did my best to understand the confusion despite the poorest training I have ever had. It took me literally 4 weeks to get any information on the late night chicken sandwich presentation which eventually was described to me as “Figure it out, Its Not Rocket Science”.
Not Rocket Science should be a motto for this kitchen.
The sandwich still has no actual recipe, I had to find any kind of chicken and improvise a different way each night depending on what was leftover in the fridge. $16 for a leftover sandwich.
Dennys has a better training program, and their cooks are allowed to know what is expected of them. They are allowed to know what the dish is supposed to look like.
When a restaurant cant keep up to Dennys standards, can you really call it “fine dining”?
Well, as I continued on, I took more responsibility for my shift, eventually getting to a good rhythm while (by default) leading(ish) a crew of 3 cooks, 3 dishers, a baker, and making sure that all tasks were done and the kitchen clean and ready each morning.
Lately the staff was pared down to a cook or two, a baker, no dish.
I was also recently told that I was supposed do the overnight dishes with the all of the disrespect contained in the phrase “The dishes wont just do themselves”.
Well I have news for you all: My dick wont just suck itself either.
If they want me to do the work of 3 dishers, they can pay me the wages of 3 dishers.
Rumors will travel, and the rumors I have always heard were that overnight does nothing. Considering that nobody on this shift ever had their hands stop moving all night long, I would not call that nothing.
Evening cooks tend to the prima donna rock star wannabe type, they will let you know that they are important and you are not. You will not be allowed to set up your line until they are done, even if they are just killing time until clock out. Just ask the Princess.
When the menu switches over, you will have to set up, cook orders, clean up after the rock stars, restock, and do the prep simultaneously.
This is difficult for timing at best, and I have tried to be in several places simultaneously, but the laws of Newtonian physics apply, and I have not yet been able to transcend physics in the kitchen.
Its not Rocket Science, Its Quantum Temporal Bi-Location Physics, with a nod from Particle Theory.
So here I am trying to fill a simple order with carrot slices, not stocked, so I go to get the carrot, I start to peel it and slice it, and then another cook comes in and tells me to get out of his work space and bumps me, my thumb tip slices off, and there I am trying to prep the carrot for the order while filling several other tickets and trying to stanch the blood while working the rush with one hand.
Bread, unstocked and frozen, burning before defrosted. Rolls, frozen, sauces, unstocked, hidden. Salad items all hidden, burgers down to 2,cheeses, unstocked and hidden, chicken, not available, almonds, god knows where…the list goes on.
One hand, bleeding.
Yes, I was cussing all that night. Pain sucks.
Manager comes in to check up, I told him what was happening, so he said he would talk with the chef…
I got a call next day to come in early to talk to chef, who did not show for the meeting.
Am I in trouble for cussing? or is he going to ask what the problem is so the problem can be addressed and corrected?
No way to know.
So when it started up again last night with all of the signs that it was going to be the same again, I was ready for hell.
So it is no surprise that when the chef gives me shit for tying to compensate for the bullshit and get the order out, I cussed right back.
And then left.
I hate it when I get reprimanded for doing my job.
I am happy to be gone.
I would not recommend this job for anyone.
It is deplorable that employees must deal with profound levels of disrespect just because they are “lucky to be working at all”.
And this is the culture that has developed within 90 days of opening.
Urban Farmer is lucky to have staff at all.
Best wishes for the future!
Blue
Oh, yes, and to all of the friends I have made on the staff at UF,
Yes, I still love you.
I can be found at http://www.myspace.com/zbblue
Hello all. Does anyone have details on the status of “The Original” LOL. i.e, who’s the chef, what’s meaghan like?, when is it opening?, etc. Is sage really that bad? I’ve worked for a few so-called hospitality groups, but damn this one sounds bad for being in buiz for awhile. Speaking of which, I checked out the Sage website and there are two different dates of when Sage started up 1984/2005. Which is it?
Hi Michael! There is Sage Hospitality and Sage Restaurant Group. Sage Hospitality came first, then the restaurant group came later, hence the two dates.
Meaghan is freakin awesome, everyone loves her (according to many of my friends who are sales reps, industry folk, etc), and as long as she is free to do her job, you will like working with/for her alot.
Yet, most of the VP’s for Sage are idiots (well documented), as is Mark Woolford, GM at Urban Farmer/Departure/Nines. If he tries to flex his flaccid muscle in the Original’s direction, it will be doomed from the start.
If you are looking for reassurance, you probably won’t find it here…
more causalities at the farm? i noticed ads for managers and pastry chefs. with all the talented people who started and created much of that place why can’t they keep any of them. i hear constantly that this gm woolford is to blame. can one person be so inept? can one place really be so bad? this has been the most exciting thread. any new info.
Basically nothing too exciting has happened lately. Its kind of settling down here. Sure, management changes as often as the cast of Saturday Night Live with special guest managers brought in from other Sage properties in Chicago and Denver and Rhode Island,or where ever, but I guess that is a good thing. Some of them have made some positive changes here and taught the people in charge how to “play restaurant”, others just kind of move things around a couple of inches and call it progress, but que sera sera. With management, just like watching Saturday Night Live, I lost interest a long time ago. There are still jokes I guess, but lately I don’t feel like a comedy or a drama, just a job.
There is not too much to complain about, but just in case the people in charge read this thread anymore, I would like to say something. Transparency. I think some of the frustration of the past could have been advoided if the management let us know what they were thinking. Maybe if they just said– “Hey, you all remember December?, Yeah we fucked up!” Maybe we could see that they were only human and not the sustainable douche-bags that we pegged them for. Forgive and forget, but ultimately move on. Which brings me to my next point.
I see, (and not only me,) that there are people being hired, others being promoted (which is a good thing), for positions that the existing staff would have liked to have known about and had a chance to be considered for. Why not post the available positions in the restaurant? I’ve heard that there is a list in HR, but I only go there when its time to decline what could be mistaken for insurance. I know it as the place next to the place that tries to make me live on corndogs (cafetearia). There are servers being hired when server assistants would like the job, cocktail servers might like to be dining room servers, managers being hired when the majority of the staff has management experience, and thats just the restaurant. Hey and by the way, no one ever asked me if I’d like to be “The cheese guy.” Maybe a hostess would like to be a front desk agent. What if? Posting jobs is a sign of opportunity, which amounts to hope even if you choose not to pursue it, and we could all use a little hope. Maybe I’m a “Yes, we can man” in a job that says “let them eat corndogs”, but I say lets separate the weiner from the stick and the wheat from the chaff. Competition is a good thing and letting those who you trust to work your restaurant know who we need to hire so they can refer their friends and colleagues is a good thing too. Its amazing how few eggs you have to crack to make an $18 omelet. Even if the omelet has crabs, even if I have crabs, Why Not???
I know its a minor gripe, but I think that the point of this site is not just to vent, but to make things better.
I’ve always just wanted to make things better here. I wish that the other insiders would still say something here and there. Has the Rhino gone extinct? Spanky got spanked? Backstabbed bled out? Effinlost will never be lost.
effinlost, as you said, there just hasn’t really been much to comment on as of late. Things actually seem pretty good, restaurant busy, hotel busy.
New managers up the wazoo, still can’t figure out who is who, what their names are, and if they actually work here or are visiting from another property.
Rumor has it that one of the sous is leaving soon. I haven’t heard anything about the pastry chef leaving, think the ad was just looking for more pastry cooks, but who knows with the way people seem to come and go. New faces in the kitchen almost everyday…
Maybe they are hiring more people because they are busy? Or because they are opening another restaurant (duh)
just plain sick of this place. just want to yell out: shut up cook and f&@king serve the food! met many of the managers…eeh. met many of the foh staff…..eeehhh. excel, fail, whatever just shut up and be thankful for a job. I know too many talented FOH staff and amazing chefs who are out of work. Bugs me to read so many blah staff members bitching.
Be thankful and EXCEL! Kill the nay sayers with excellence or beige out into mediocrity!
thank you for letting me share.
Fred Kleisner Jr. is a fake and a certified sociopath!! That is what I was told by his physician. It is true he is an idiot that couldn’t run a dog kennel. That was the funniest thing I have ever heard. He gets all of his GM positions from his father.
Shakranda??
In the above comments?? I would put money on the fact it is Kleisner. Someone knows exactly what is going on. Sociopath and liar………
When they opened a few weeks ago, they seemed to have an Executive Chef secure. Today, they seem to be seeking to fill this position. What gives….??