Jul

Yancy’s Expands Downtown Options

Traditionally as new restaurants open and diners have more variety, the diners get so excited with their new options that they abandon what they used to love. Thankfully in downtown Raleigh there’s a place where you can still get some down-home cooking in a modern, clean setting.

Yancy’s has been discussed a lot recently, and indeed, the restaurant is open . Ever since opening two years ago they’ve offered a nice lunch buffet and a plethora of sandwiches. The menu has been pared down, but still contains burgers, barbecue sandwiches, and some other staples. I chose the buffet option, so I could sample more. Here’s what I ate:

Tossed Salad – decent, basic salad bar with 4 dressing choices
Smothered breaded pork chops – a bit salty for my palate
String beans – excellent
Baked spaghetti – not bad
Barbecued pork medallions – excellent, almost western north carolina flavor
Red beans and rice – cooked for a while, these beans were about to fall apart
Stewed corn – fine
New potatoes – delicious
Fusilli pasta in red Italian sauce- surprisingly peppery.

While the food won’t be confused with Sarah Chase’s food in New Orleans, I still enjoyed my lunch (and isn’t that what it’s all about?). Food + Coca-Cola was $13 (about normal for a sit-down, nice, pleasant restaurant)

The restaurant was on the quiet side, but I was excited to be dining among Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West , who were in town on business. It was good to see that they were unaffected by erroneous reports that appeared online recently. (A business deserves the right to terminate underperforming employees. If these former employees wish to maturely prove their mettle, they can get on with their lives by helping some other restaurant in the area that needs excellent help.)

Yancy’s is an important part of downtown Raleigh’s fabric. Hopefully their business will get stronger as summer ends. Downtown needs a restaurant like this to maintain a healthy offering to everyone who’s hungry.

http://viridari.wordpress.com Magnus

Unfortunately this is a very underwhelming article. It probably would have been a lot more useful to try to ask some questions, get some answers, something with investigative qualities. This looks more like… well… damage control. Shilling for a PR company. There is still talk of things going on there, but nothing concrete supporting or refuting the rumors.

Then the petty snipe taken at the former employees further undermines any point to this piece.

Ask tough questions of everyone involved and put together something more objective that tells both sides of the story.
http://www.danamccall.com Dana

Magnus,
Let’s put the burden of proof on the slanderous article that still goes unretracted. You are free to your opinions, though. I went there on my own, paid for my meal, and left when I felt like leaving. Don’t “shilling” reviews talk more positively about the food than I did? It’s exactly as reported here: food that’s pretty good, hard to find in a place this clean, and a great piece to the downtown palate of restaurants.

I’m going to write more about where I ate and what I honestly thought. This just happened to be a good time to get proof for myself that Yancy’s is open and let people know how my lunch went.

To be honest, had the incorrect article never been posted, I probably wouldn’t have gone there this week.
http://viridari.wordpress.com Magnus

Dana,

See, the thing is, I haven’t seen much to refute the original stories of trouble at Yancey’s. N&O made a weak effort but didn’t really investigate both sides. They just posted something opposite of what the blogosphere was saying.

Restaurant reviews are a good thing to have in the local blogs, no doubt. I just think that given the specific venue, a food review isn’t necessarily the kind of story we needed right now.

With the N&O gradually getting itself out of the local news business, there exists a real opportunity for local bloggers to make the difference.

-M
RaleighRob

I agree with you that downtown needs this restaurant to stay and am glad that they are indeed still open. Thanks for your review!
http://www.raleighmsa.com Ernest

I surely hope that Yancy’s remains part of our downtown’s fabric. It is a great establishment that adds value and provides excellent food – judging from my own experience.

Provided I know nothing about the whole case, I will not say anything against one side, or another. With my 16+ years of experience in restaurants I must say this: Bad employees can be found in abundance, just as it is common to witness poor management decisions. It is not only about how employees represent their employer to the customer, but also how they deal with each other. It is about their work ethics. Things can look good on the surface, yet the opposite may be true behind the scenes. From the way the food is handled, to the errors that may take place without the customer’s knowledge, the management may have to deal with massive layoffs, or at least with displeasing most employees.

Again, I am not suggesting one side is right, or wrong, but I wouldn’t rush into conclusions as to what went wrong in the case of Yancy’s. I surely hope that it was nothing more than a series of misunderstandings and that everything goes back to normal… soon.
TSnow27604

Magnus, I look forward to your findings after your investigation is complete. As for the article, it does state why I have an issue with Yancey’s. I have been there about 3 times (none of which were withiin the past year) and my first visit was most memorable. I was handed a massive menu and was also told there was a buffet available. When I surveyed the offerings on the buffet I was very disappointed to see that there were little or no Cajun/Creole offerings!? Huh? I’m glad to hear that the menu seems to be smaller but the buffet still sounds like it belongs at a Golden Corral knockoff. Red beans & rice, shrimp creole, gumbo, andouille sausage, cornbread, … I would think that these would be popular, low-cost buffet options for a New Orleans styled restaurant. Not spaghetti and french fries.
J

The News and Observer just posted that Yancy’s is now officially closed effective today.

gogoraleigh.com

Yancy’s Expands Downtown Options

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