OMG y’all!! That food was bust’n with flavor!!!!

I have acknowledged here that I am slowly eating my way across Pickens and Anderson counties, going from restaurant to restaurant, seeking culinary nirvana. Wife, Nancy, and I took a side trip to Greenville this weekend to attend a trial run for the opening this week of Tavern 24 a sister restaurant to the Fatz which graces Easley’s restaurant row.

The opening line to this piece was my basic gastric response to the place. The back story to the business development is also a fascinating tale. We got a piece of it directly from the horse’s mouth, the horse being Jim Balis, president of the company, who sat at our table with us and talked about his ideas for the new restaurant and another sister company coming along in a couple of month.

Both new initiatives were announced in April at the local Fatz, one of the better producing Fatz in the company.

The food at Tavern 24 was exceptional. The staff members were on their game. The objective of the invitation event was to show off the new dining concept to people who would talk, both about the new restaurant in their own communities and to staff to determine angles of improvement.

Nancy has a degree in restaurant management from the University of Wisconsin, has co-owned a couple of eateries and was not shy in speaking up to President Balis.

He had already begun addressing two minor issues she raised. Its a restaurant opening, something is going to go astray. The important thing is that Balis was on top of the issues, was concerned about our issues and knew the answers to all of our questions.

He took a recommendation to check with a local farm about supplying goat cheese. The company plans to use locally grown food in the new restaurant soon to come.

Although Tavern 24 is a chain anticipated to cover several states, the approach of this manager was much like going into a locally-owned restaurant in Easley, Pickens, Liberty or Pendleton. You see the owner. If your cheese burger isn’t right, you say something and he fixes it.

Training for the last week at Tavern 24, he said, stressed that quality was paramount. The answer about quality in the kitchen could not be, “that’s good enough.” It had to be right he said.

It was.

Anyone who has run a small business knows the difficulty of finding people willing to work. The management team at Tavern 24 had searched and found a goodly number who were jazzed about being at work Saturday night. Everyone smiled. Everyone treated guests like VIPs. I do hate going into a place where I am going to lay down cash for most anything and not receive an acknowledgment that I am present and the reason for them getting paid.

Balis’ example of quality is a lesson for me to love what I do, believe in what I am doing and make it the best. The news and website business is a challenging one these days. I endeavor to make it the best I can in the changing landscape.

Let’s sit down and talk about what you need to see in a newspaper and informational website. Or drop me a line ladamson@heartlandpublications.com.