Good day to All!
I received a nice note this past week from Robin Wilkinson. Robin and her husband Les are frequent visitors to the Dine-ah. I asked Robin if I could have permission to reprint the note and she was more than fine with my request, so here it is:
"I just had to tell you about what I overheard during a recent breakfast at the China Dine-ah. After they had eaten and were ready to leave, an older man was waiting for his friend to return from the men's room. He walked over to the doorway that leads into the back room, which was closed at the time, and was looking upward. I thought he was examining all the beer bottles above the door, but he was actually admiring the crown molding. When his friend joined him, he pointed out the workmanship that went into it: "Somebody cared. Somebody cared when they made that."
Just a snippet that you wouldn't have heard, but I thought you'd like to know that people appreciate things you wouldn't even realize."
Thank you Robin for sharing this with me. We receive many wonderful compliments and we also receive letters from those for whom we did not meet their expectations. It tickles my heart that these two gentlemen recognize the fact that somebody does care. Not only did we care about the crown molding and the detail that went into custom fabbing of it, management and staff also care about every patron that comes in and every plate of food that goes out. I trust that our attention to detail shows during your visits.
Leslie and baby Devi are doing fine, no new pictures this week but I promise when I get them, I will forward them along.
Our weekly features have been a big hit and I plan on mixing the menu up a little once Labor Day is here and things get back to a little bit more normal.
Still have not read a newspaper since June 24th and once September hits, I'm taking a day and I am going o read the oldest paper first (a little history)
and make my way up to the most current newspaper.
My heart goes out to all the farmers who are having a very difficult time getting their hay in. If it's not raining, the fields are so wet that the heavy equipment does too much damage to the fields as they try to cut, rake and bale the hay.
Always thinking of you Jeff, Beth, Jeff Jr. and Jake of Whitefield.
Fair season is upon us, days are getting shorter and we no longer need the AC at night to sleep. Fall is just around the corner, my favorite time of the year. I will be closing the China Dine-ah Too on September 2nd at 8 pm for the season. The plan is to reopen around the first of June next year. This will allow me to concentrate more time back at the flagship Dine-ah and give Sherri and Meagan the support that they deserve. Thanks to both of you for all of your efforts this summer, I know it has been hectic and that I can be a little firm when we have a customer whose expectations we have not met.
The entire staff at our flagship Dine-ah has done a good job but they will welcome the slow down come Labor Day. When December hits, staff will be asking for more hours and it is not possible with lower cover counts in the winter. I'm beginning to realize it is hard to "win" in this business. We are seasonal to some degree, and very dependent upon the weather. I try to tell staff to take all the hours that they can when they are available, for it is a long off season. I have taken all the hours I can get! But at my age, I really feel it. Take a look at the picture below:
Partial staff at China Dine-ah Too, 363 Route 3, South China
Norm, John, Chris, Chrissie, Mal,
Sarah and Kayla
I hope you are all enjoying your summer. We still have a lot of good weather left to do all those outdoor activities, that so many of us enjoy. For me, this summer has been put "on hold" and also filled with what you could call milestone dates- the first being the opening of the Dine-ah Too on June 24th, the birth of my first grandchild on July 24th, the seasonal closure of the Dine-ah Too on September 2nd, and an upcoming visit from my daughter where I will get to hold baby Devi for the first time in September.
You have three weeks left to enjoy dining on the deck at the China Dine-ah Too! Come on out!
Hope you all have a good week.
