Greg Auten says he's out of the Penguin deal and is focusing on opening his Pinky's Westside Grill in about three weeks. "We are 100 percent Pinky's, nothing to do with the place over there... It happened last-minute last week; some legalities are preventing me from participating."
The grill, at Freedom Drive and Morehead Street, will be fast-casual, he says, with fish tacos, falafel ("I took some lessons with a guy from Israel, so they'll be authentic"), burgers, sandwiches and some "healthier items," such as salads. But will there be pickles? "That's still up in the air," he says.
(The recap: Last week, Penguin current operators Jimmy King and Brian Rowe announced they'd be ceasing to operate the Plaza-Midwood restaurant. Lisa Ballentine, daughter of Penguin originator (in the mid-50s) Jim Ballentine, whose family retained ownership of the building and name when King, Rowe and Auten began running it about 10 years ago, said franchisor Martin Sprock and Auten would be taking over in late October. Later in the week, King and Rowe said in a press release they would not be "bullied" and that they were "not used to having lawyers," but did not elaborate. Auten had left several months ago to start Pinky's.)
UPDATE: Sprock confirmed Monday that Auten is out, but that other people will be coming to the deal ("Charlotteans who have been involved in the restaurant business for a long time"). He said the menu will be "90 percent the same," with some healthy-food additions, such as a salad. Other plans: a patio and new air conditioning. The only change that might "freak people out": ice cream or frozen custard. "I'm not saying I'm going to do it," but he's considering it; the Penguin was once an ice cream shop. He plans to emphasize family-friendliness, also. Asked if such an approach will preserve enough of the current diverse crowd to stay viable, he said: "It needs to be cool and hip, mixing the musicians with the investment bankers... (But) we've heard families say there's too rough a crowd at times."
Monday, September 27, 2010
2nd daily Penguin update: Sprock confirms that chef Auten is out
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24 comments:
Well this certainly changes things. So now the Ballentines have nobody except the franchising company. This should be interesting. If I was a betting man I'd say Jimmy/Brian are going to be back in the saddle.
I'm pretty sure it's a done deal for Jimmy and Brian to take over The Diamond Restaurant. Sprock said he'd only franchise The Penguin if Auten stays on...I hope this leaves the Ballantines screwed...
Seems like the Ballentines played their cards poorly. So let me get this straight, first they kicked out the two men who ran the place and were the brains behind the style and efficiency that made the restaurant fun and profitable. And now they have alienated the chef who created the menu. What you have left is owners of the property who don't know the first thing about the business and a franchisor who only wants to prostitute the name to make a buck, sounds like a winner.
KARMA!!!
Some readers noted this post disappeared for a time; I was trying to update and Blogger was uncooperative. Sorry.
Wow! This just keeps getting worse and worse. Looks like Sprock is going to run this thing into the ground.
HA HA HA HA!!!!! They are reaping exactly what they deserve. Greed is a bad thing Lisa......
Enough with FAMILY FRIENDLINESS!!! Children DO NOT run the world. If you can't escape the Ballantyne (or Ballantine, as the case may be) bratpack at the Penguin, where can you?
Can't wait to get sauced at the Diamond, lurch over to the McPenguin, and press my sweaty face against the glass, terrifying the 3-4 sellouts lame enough to patronize the joint as they slurp their custard.
LONG LIVE EL DIAMOND!!!
Cant wait to see the line outside The Diamond wrap around the front of an empty bird. What a shame too. Oh well, you reap what you sow.
"[T]oo rough a crowd"? I've taken my 85-year-old grandmother to The Penguin, and she loved it. Does it get loud when the teenagers come in? Of course. Doesn't anyplace get a little raucous when 50 happy people are crammed into a small space? And if "rough" refers to patrons with tattoos and piercings, the owners need to ask themselves if they're really asking to dictate who is privileged enough to spend money at their restaurant. Charlotte has enough places like that.
Anonymous 3:34, Perfect! I'll be right there with you.
It now seems that Brian and Jimmy were trying to negotiate the same franchise deal for the Penguin with Sprock...and couldn't pull it off! Would everyone be behind them if they did? I WOULD!! It's just business, don't take it personal! Maybe they'll FRANCHISE the DIAMOND TOO!
"Rough" crowd? To the unhip some may look a little "rough" but thev are the loyal people who have kept the place afloat this long. Let the "family" crowd come in and see if they can keep this place a viable business. I for one will take my business down the block thank you.
Once my friends know who are the "Charlotteans who have been involved in the restaurant business for a long time," WE WILL boycott their restaurants and encourage people to do likewise.
They can look for themselves on Facebook shortly.
If they join Sprock, they take sides in this. Lets see what a movement can do.
Who cares? It's a burger joint get over it people. Grand Opening Grand Closing.
Not a very smart move there Lisa... Vive le Diamond, a bas le Penguin!
"family friendly?" i've lived in Plaza-Midwood 20 years, my wife for 24. the last decade our family - my daughter's 17 now - has been going regularly. when my kid hit 14, she and her friends started walking up there to eat. the people on either side of us each have 3 kids under 8 - THEIR families go. our ex-baby-sitter used to work there for cryin' out loud. "family friendly?!!??" what an implicit insult to our entire neighborhood, 'cause a LOT of who you see in the Penguin is OUR neighborhood.
our entire street is pretty much coming around to the idea of never setting foot in there after this month. see you at the Diamond.
...... but but but you can't just "get over it". You're talking about the Penguin here, not some Shoney's Big Boy.
Not family friendly? Ummmmmm I have taken my young family there plenty of times...but I guess my 4 and 2 year olds are used to tattoos and piercings (mom and dad). So it really wasn't a culture shock to them to see someone waiting on them with either. "Rough" crowds...you want to know about rough crowds? I was there with my husband for dinner one evening and I could hardly hear him across the tiny table. All of a sudden I was able to hear him clearly. Ya know what happened? A group of about 8 men all in business attire got up and left....who's the "rough crowd" in this situation? But this is what made the Bird an institution...the fact that there were so many different types of people from so many different facets of the community in one place. This is something that people with nothing but dollar signs in their eyes will never see and their endeavors will fail. Diamonds only occupy my eyes now. Farewell dear Penguin.
all you hipster losers that want to "boycott" local restaurants for this or that reason should just move out of town and take your unemployment checks with you...you don't seem to have any money to spend anyway, just trouble to start
The Penguin will always be in our memories as a place where we stopped in before heading home after a fantastic night out with our friends...a place where the food (yeah some of you may just consider it a burger joint) was consistently delicious...a place where you went for the atmosphere of the many spheres of patrons and employees all around. The basis of any restaurant is upon the people that run it...without them it's not the same...period!
I know that the Diamond will be wonderful just how the Penguin has been...it's truly sad what greed can do to people...take a good thing and ruin it...and run it into the ground is what is going to happen...
I will definitely be at the Diamond. :)
This "hipster loser" happens to be a working chef in the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood. I support independently owned restaurants with my hard earned money. The point of the argument is that greedy people want to swoop in and make the quick buck off the backs of decent people who have put in 10 years of blood and sweat to make the Penguin what it is today. It's not just the food that makes the place, it's the whole atmosphere. THAT can never be duplicated.
Wow, if that isn't an over-generalization...so everyone who went there and decided to remain loyal to the people who made it what it was is unemployed. Why don't you move because you can enjoy your taco bell fare anywhere in the country and be relatively happy you literary scamp you.
Agree with earlier comments -- why does every single restaurant in Charlotte have to cater to families? On franchising -- all you have to do is visit that half-a** Flying Biscuit on Park Road to see what happens when a local favorite (Atlanta) goes franchise. Ick.
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