So second try on opening week for the Town Center Tap House in Daleville,VA. The first time was just for a couple of drinks after dining with a large party at a corporate restaurant in Roanoke and finding out that even though I had quite the delay at my restaurant closing out 17 tabs my friends here were still yet to be served their entrees even though they arrived nearly the same time with their four top as my 20 top in Roanoke 15 minutes a way. So we made a break for it! New bar? In Daleville?! Hell yeah, I need to check that out. So we made the drive to find them finally with food only to ask if we should go to the bar for a drink only to be assured that the service was the only redeeming quality in this place thus far. After 15 minutes I get up to go order my own drink and have my friend stop me and go fetch his waitress. Well he bought our drinks that was a plus. My glass was empty for periods longer than I prefer on each occasion, with a mis-ring/ double pour arriving at our table only to be not at all what we ordered. That was Friday night.
So here it is Sunday afternoon and I am feeling like getting out of the house for a bite.... Tap House! Lets give it a solid try, it is Sunday they should have their ducks in a row by now. I mean if you run out of food on a Thursday to the extent of not being able to open for lunch on Friday, you would fix that right?
I roll solo thinking this is just a quick bite, maybe I will have a beer, give it a once over and be out. Not so likely. I am greeted by three bartenders standing around bullshitting all friendly and hospitable, but unfortunately the first thing they have to say when asked for menu, is "I can tell you what we have to offer, unfortunately we are sold out of most everything, growing pains you know." So between the buffet sans meat or nachos or crab dip I went with nachos. Other than the hair I immediately retrieved from atop of them, they were delicious. I constantly wanted to give them shit for the building of them but in the end slop equalled chips so they get a pass on that.
So while I will continue to give the bar in my back yard a shot to work out their growing pains, it just goes to show, don't underestimate your appeal. I would rather throw away food I didn't sell, then appear unprepared. While I feel I am being lenient for the fact that they are in my backyard, this place has work to do. Learn your POS system, know your product and quit staffing from Blacksburg, and maybe you won't have to make lame excuses to your clientele about how just because you run the joint doesn't mean you can handle a cooks line when 3 out of 4 call in opening weekend. But honestly I will go back, everyone was friendly they fed me full of free beer ( again, not how you make it in this biz) and they are local. My number one true complaint is that one of the drink jockeys talking to an out of towner referred to Daleville as the new Salem. Lets get something straight real quick: Daleville was cool long before the Tap House showed up and will be long after it is gone. Salem... Can eat a dick.
