My wife and I host a monthly supper club that visits interesting places all over the metro.

Tonight, Gabriella's provided my worst experience ever in a restaurant.

We had reservations for 8pm (called in two weeks before and verified the day before) and the group of 12 showed up at 6:30 to enjoy the bar and hang out together. I have to say the Banana Bread beer was really good. Around 7:50, I went to check on the reservation, just to make sure everything was going okay. I was reassured by the hostess that everything would be fine.

At 8:10pm, I checked in again with the hostess and was told that they were waiting on a table of 18 to leave and then we would be seated.

At 8:30, I checked in again with the hostess and became frustrated when they were still waiting on the same table and were not willing to seat us at other tables. They were seating plenty of walk in customers but did not have any plan for my group of 12 except to wait on the one other table to leave. The grandson of the owner went to find the owner to let him know what was happening. When asked, they offered no other alternatives and were resistant to doing anything but waiting on the one table.

At 8:50, I found the owner and asked about our situation. He and a waiter were preparing a table that seats 8 for our group of 12. So, their plan was that after waiting an hour past our reservations that we have had for two weeks, my group would cram together for our meal.

I noted that I understood that they were behind and I get that it happens. But, I didn't understand why they were not willing to put other tables together. The owner just looked at me. I asked what the plan was to make the group happy. At that point, the owner became upset, hostile, and started to tell me about the one other table they were waiting on and that because they wouldn't leave it was my problem. I understood but said he had many many opportunities to make this right and he has done nothing. The owner would do absolutely nothing and offered no alternatives. We basically got a big 'screw you' from him.

Shortly after 9 with no relief, no table, no apology, and no help from the restaurant, my group walked and went to another restaurant. As we walked outside, we ran across another group that had been waiting almost an hour past their reservation times.

In researching reviews online for Gabriella's tonight, I have noticed ALOT of complaints about poor service and indifference or hostility from the owner and staff. I've seen it first hand and will never go back to it again.

I understand when things go differently than expected for a restaurant and things run behind. We were having a good time in the bar and were willing to wait. But the hostility and 'screw you' feeling from the owner left my entire group upset about our experience. Personally, I was embarrased about hosting the supper club at Gabriella's. I won't do it again.

You have to be patient with a new restaurant. They are overwhelmed by the popularity of the restaurant. I am waiting to go on a week night to see if it is as good as everyone says. The menu looks great! I can't wait!

Loving to cook and creating delicious food does not automatically translate into a great restaurant...and 'word of mouth' is the best and most reliable advertising any establishment can get. Sounds like Gabriella's is on a cusp. They need to get this thing turned around. Who cares how good the food is if you can't get seated? And, given the reviews on this board, who would plan their evening around going to eat there when there's no certainty you'll find a table even with reservations?

I ate there on a weeknight and we got a table fairly quickly. The salads were average to below average, as was the bread. But I had lasagna, and wondered why I ordered it, as I've had a lot of mediocre lasagna in my life. This time I was very pleasantly surprised. The lasagna was outstanding. I'm getting hungry thinking about it. But it is true that no matter how good the food, you can't turn off customers, especially as it's not in a very convenient location for many of us.

My advice, if you can't get in at Gabriella's, then drive to Venezia in MWC - they ALWAYS have lots of empty tables and the food is really good and much cheaper.

We're looking to try Gabriella's again next week. Previous visits were good.

In addition to BBates' fairly solid recs on Venezia, other good alternatives are Bella Vista on the south side and Italiano's, especially on Saturday eve after 7:30, on N Lincoln.

I haven't been to Gabriella's yet, but I still feel I do need to change that.

I went in on a Tuesday night a few weeks ago and it was about half empty. We got there at 6:45. We did not have a reservation but were told we would have to wait til the next seating which was at 7:30. Once again half empty. The hostess seemed very annoyed we didn't have a reservation and promtly gave us a business card with the number on it. Still haven't gone back.

I met and spent a good amount of time with the owner just before they opened and he was an incredibly nice man.

This is a family operation with his wife and daughter in the kitchen. They put a great deal of thought and money into this place.


I suspect they are just completely overwhelmed.

I'm sorry Pete but I completely disagree with your sentiment. When I talked to the owner, I expressed that I understood that they were behind and that was fine. We were patient. But, when he was a brick wall and offered no alternative and then became hostile, I lost complete respect for him and his operation.

I had been looking forward to hosting the supper club at Gabriella's for months. But it became a personal embarrasment because of the owner's attitude.

Good food cannot overcome indifference and hostile service. He may have alot invested but his attitude is going to be the thing that brings it all down around him and that is a shame.

I'm sorry Pete but I completely disagree with your sentiment. When I talked to the owner, I expressed that I understood that they were behind and that was fine. We were patient. But, when he was a brick wall and offered no alternative and then became hostile, I lost complete respect for him and his operation.

I had been looking forward to hosting the supper club at Gabriella's for months. But it became a personal embarrasment because of the owner's attitude.

Good food cannot overcome indifference and hostile service. He may have alot invested but his attitude is going to be the thing that brings it all down around him and that is a shame.

You met him when he was under pressure and Pete didn't. People often present very different faces in that kind of situation.

Krebs cooking isn't even close to Italian food, which is a fact. Krebs cooking is terrible, and that is my opinion only. Don't know about this place, but the owners playing up "Krebs connections" isn't a good sign for what I look for in a dining experience. What you guys are describing from the front of the house sounds exactly like Giacomo's in Mcalester, and to a lesser extent, The Isle of Capri. While I think Pete's is terrible food, they do run the front of the house restaurant efficiently.

If anyone is interested in Italian cooking, I suggest Googling some of The Minimalist's (Mark Bittman) New York Times recipes. Using Bittman as a jumping off point and a handful of ingredients, you can cook something more delicious than offered at most of the Oklahoma "Italian" restaurants. Any schmuck can cook something that tastes fine if they use pounds of beef and cheese, like a lasagna. Personally, I would prefer a dish with a pasta with olive oil, perhaps wine, a couple of vegetables, maybe garlic,, a couple of fresh herbs, and maybe either a seafood or dairy addition (not both, please).

You met him when he was under pressure and Pete didn't. People often present very different faces in that kind of situation.

Pressure comes with the job. I hope things turn around for him but to be honest, since he's been in the business a long time and has run a successful operation, I have to wonder what he was thinking and also whether it is worth my time to go all the way out there. Sorry this is happening because I am one of the people very excited that they came here. It is one thing to have a bad waiter or even a bad meal - those things happen. It is another to have this sort of response to the public.

Krebs cooking isn't even close to Italian food, which is a fact. Krebs cooking is terrible, and that is my opinion only. Don't know about this place, but the owners playing up "Krebs connections" isn't a good sign for what I look for in a dining experience. What you guys are describing from the front of the house sounds exactly like Giacomo's in Mcalester, and to a lesser extent, The Isle of Capri. While I think Pete's is terrible food, they do run the front of the house restaurant efficiently.

If anyone is interested in Italian cooking, I suggest Googling some of The Minimalist's (Mark Bittman) New York Times recipes. Using Bittman as a jumping off point and a handful of ingredients, you can cook something more delicious than offered at most of the Oklahoma "Italian" restaurants. Any schmuck can cook something that tastes fine if they use pounds of beef and cheese, like a lasagna. Personally, I would prefer a dish with a pasta with olive oil, perhaps wine, a couple of vegetables, maybe garlic,, a couple of fresh herbs, and maybe either a seafood or dairy addition (not both, please).

Agree, I never understood the love affair with Krebs and have always thought Pete's was the worst of the bunch. I'd rather eat Chef-Boyardee than their bland red sauce smothered goo.

I'm sorry Pete but I completely disagree with your sentiment. When I talked to the owner, I expressed that I understood that they were behind and that was fine. We were patient. But, when he was a brick wall and offered no alternative and then became hostile, I lost complete respect for him and his operation.

I had been looking forward to hosting the supper club at Gabriella's for months. But it became a personal embarrasment because of the owner's attitude.

Good food cannot overcome indifference and hostile service. He may have alot invested but his attitude is going to be the thing that brings it all down around him and that is a shame.


Obviously the table where they planned to sit your party of 12 at was being hogged for the majority of the night by another group of self important yuppies. You said it yourself, the large group just sat there for hours with little to no concern that an entire restaurant of people was operating around them.

Its not that they didnt have a table, its not that they forgot your reservation, its that the section of there restaurant devoted to large parties was being hogged. The owner was irritated with them, the waiter/waitress was irritated with the group by cutting down on customer flow, and on top of it (rightly so) you were also irritated because you wanted the table they were sitting at. After trying to wait out the group the owner tried to setup plan 'b' for your group and that wasnt to his satisfaction or yours either.

I've never understood why people get irritated when they go out with large groups and act surprised when they have to wait for a table or service. Its like going through the drive through with 5 different orders then getting irritated when one comes out wrong.

Was wondering what most restaurants do when tables have paid and just sit around and jabber...They normally hint around and then say you gotta go?...Sure the owner didn't want to upset the folks at the large table but at some point you gotta man up

People can spin this all they want but bottom line Gabriella's dropped the ball on this one. There is simply no excuse for the way the OP was treated. It's just that simple.

Yeah. I'm setting here thinking about what Chef Gordon Ramsay would probably have to say to the restaurant owner on one of his Kitchen Nightmares shows for something like this, and I don't think it would be pleasant.

yeah. I'm setting here thinking about what chef gordon ramsay would probably have to say to the restaurant owner on one of his kitchen nightmares shows for something like this, and i don't think it would be pleasant.

"donkey!"

People can spin this all they want but bottom line Gabriella's dropped the ball on this one. There is simply no excuse for the way the OP was treated. It's just that simple.

Lettuce be cereal for a moment....

You know the OP and his wife cant possibly like all 10 of his guest, he needs to thin the herd on his dinner club entourage or start taking all of his dinner buddies to Sirloin Stockade, The Sizzler, or a church funeral banquet.

A GROUP OF 12!!!!!!!!!! COME ON!!!!!!!!!

2532

Lettuce be cereal for a moment....

You know the OP and his wife cant possibly like all 10 of his guest, he needs to thin the herd on his dinner club entourage or start taking all of his dinner buddies to Sirloin Stockade, The Sizzler, or a church funeral banquet.

A GROUP OF 12!!!!!!!!!! COME ON!!!!!!!!!

2532

Then its very simple: The owner should never accept a reservation for such a group. Better to turn down a large group if you know you can't handle it rather than make the reservation, and have the result as disastrous as this one has been - and plopped on fairly popular message board for lots of folks to see...

I think the OP did the due diligence by making the reservation two weeks in advance. A walk-up group of 12? No way, lotsa luck; but 14 days in advance? Either the restaurant says, "Sorry, we're just ready to handle a group that large, or we already have a large group booked for that night," but you just don't blame the customer for your own inability to serve your own product IMHO.


Yeah. I'm setting here thinking about what Chef Gordon Ramsay would probably have to say to the restaurant owner on one of his Kitchen Nightmares shows for something like this, and I don't think it would be pleasant.

You BEAT ME TO a Ramsay reference :) Darn you, Questor :D . Ramsay would have had a stroke. The scenario described does sound all too familiar, eh?

I will agree that it sounds like they are presently unequipped to handle the volume of service they are experiencing, and need some better front-of-the-house management to get things in order. I hope they do.

My wife and I ate at Gabriella's for the first time this weekend and absolutely loved it. Everything was awesome. It may have been that we were only a group of 2 though. We are planning to go back with another couple next week and willsee how that goes.

Yeah. I'm setting here thinking about what Chef Gordon Ramsay would probably have to say to the restaurant owner on one of his Kitchen Nightmares shows for something like this, and I don't think it would be pleasant.

I've been thinking the same thing, only it sounds like the food is good, but he needs to come and chop some egos and clean up the service.

My wife and I ate at Gabriella's for the first time this weekend and absolutely loved it. Everything was awesome. It may have been that we were only a group of 2 though. We are planning to go back with another couple next week and willsee how that goes.

Can you be more thorough with your review please, this doesn't help us much.

They could have 'moved' the large group out by giving them the bill in a fair amount of time. When they started to extend a reasonable time, that's when the wait staff should have made their move....they can only blame themselves.

Trying to move people out of a restaurant is tricky business.

Sure as you try to do that, you get someone posting: "I'm never going back! We had a large group and were enjoying ourselves and then were rushed out the door. All they care about is turning over tables!"

I've never understood why people get irritated when they go out with large groups and act surprised when they have to wait for a table or service.

Because the diner has met his part of the bargain - he made a reservation, arrived on time, and brought a dozen people. When the restaurant can't seat them when promised, then they've not met their part of the bargain. Getting inconsiderate, boorish diners to give up their table when others are waiting is all-in-a-day's-work for restaurant owners and managers. One way: "Excuse me, but we have other diners waiting for your table. Can I buy you an after-dinner drink in the bar?"

Trying to move people out of a restaurant is tricky business.

Sure as you try to do that, you get someone posting: "I'm never going back! We had a large group and were enjoying ourselves and then were rushed out the door. All they care about is turning over tables!"


I understand the owner's position and I think its commendable of you to try and defend him. However, this man is in the customer service business. Its his job to make his customers happy. There will, of course, be times, whether through human error or acts of God, that threaten to ruin his customers experience. The one large group not leaving, in cj's story, is one of those times. It may not be the owner's fault. However, its his reaction and handling of the situation that is going to determine whether his customers, both the first group and cj's group, see the experience as positive or negative.

I'm not in the restaurant business itself, so I can only guess what actions might be appropriate in this situation. Several of the suggestions put forth so far seem acceptable to me. However, I think cj's largest concern was the owner's reaction to his complaint. From cj's post, it seems to me that if the owner had just acted with a little more grace and humility the situation, while not ideal, would not have been the deal-breaker it turned out to be.

While I haven't been to Gabriella's myself, I do hope it pulls itself together. The reviews on the food seem to be good and there have been enough posters with good experience that the operation as a whole is obviously not broken. It seems to me the owner himself needs to further embrace customer service, or hire someone who can better handle that facet of the business.

Was wondering what most restaurants do when tables have paid and just sit around and jabber...They normally hint around and then say you gotta go?...Sure the owner didn't want to upset the folks at the large table but at some point you gotta man up

I'm wondering why they would reserve a large table and expect the ones served before to move on. You get that many people in there, I wouldn't think you'd be able to count on them to clear out in under three hours.

Lettuce be cereal for a moment....

You know the OP and his wife cant possibly like all 10 of his guest, he needs to thin the herd on his dinner club entourage or start taking all of his dinner buddies to Sirloin Stockade, The Sizzler, or a church funeral banquet.

A GROUP OF 12!!!!!!!!!! COME ON!!!!!!!!!

2532

He had a reservation, though. The restaurant could have declined to accept a reservation for that size. Once they did, seems like they would have an obligation to honor it.

Making a reservation isn't signing a rental agreement. Finish the meal and give up the table.

He had a reservation, though. The restaurant could have declined to accept a reservation for that size. Once they did, seems like they would have an obligation to honor it.
Exactly. It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Jerry had a reservation for a rental car. Moral of the story, if you don't plan on honoring the reservation, what's the point of taking them in the first place? I would never go to a place that takes reservations then doesn't honor it. What a complete joke.

The one thing that I remember distinctly about my visit was that we were told, "It will be an hour and a half before we can seat you." At the time, I was incredulous, as there were only about 8 people waiting in front of us and there were at least six or seven empty tables.

I asked about the open tables and one of the waiters casually came up to me and said, "Look. If you sit in one of the empty tables, you'll get served." I immediately took the cue and we seated ourselves by the window in the south dining room, completely bypassing the host station. Within moments, we were being served. Total wait: five minutes. It was hilarious, and like I said above, our food was excellent and we were particularly pleased with the pizza and beer menu. One of the things our waiter told us that night was that they didn't have enough dishes and silverware to serve everyone, so they were not seating tables until they could wash dishes. This was a wrinkle I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that they would easily iron out.

One wonders if there were empty tables the night the original poster visited with his party. Could they not have accommodated them?

Does Gabriella's have adequate dishware to handle the crowds it's getting? Does Gabriella's have staffing issues?

Waiting for Tuck to explain how it's supposed to be done....

one of the things our waiter told us that night was that they didn't have enough dishes and silverware to serve everyone, so they were not seating tables until they could wash dishes.

not enough dishes?????????????????????

He had a reservation, though. The restaurant could have declined to accept a reservation for that size. Once they did, seems like they would have an obligation to honor it.

Exactly. The restaurant could have also offered complimentary drinks to the waiting party. Write the expense off as good will and a lesson on accepting reservations. The cost would have been small compared to the lost business of pissing off 12 who had a reservation.

not enough dishes?????????????????????

I've heard enough. If that is true, they have jumped the shark.

Guys, they haven't even been open 2 months.

Give them some bloody time.

Everyone - FWIW

do yourselves a favor and try Bella Vista on the south side. It is incredible. I don't even care for Italian food all that much and I've actually had a dream about the place! The best marinara you'll ever taste ziti ala vodka...oh my goodness!!!!

Guys, they haven't even been open 2 months.

Give them some bloody time.

Pete, I know you like them and wish them well, but, well ... this reminds me of someone I knew who was fired about a week of being hired because they never got to work earlier than an hour late. They actually fought to keep their job because they hadn't yet gone to orientation and claimed that they just didn't know they had to show up on time. Lack of enough dishes in a restaurant, if true, doesn't get better with time. It isn't like this is a lemonade stand. Honestly, though, that sounds so insane it is hard to believe it. Maybe the waiter just made it up?

I'm sure they have enough dishes... Getting them clean and back out again was undoubtedly the issue.

And of course I wish them well. They seem like great people, spent a ton of money on a beautiful old space, seem to have excellent food and are a family-run business, including the cooks/chefs.

We aren't talking about an Olive Garden here.

I'm sure they have enough dishes... Getting them clean and back out again was undoubtedly the issue.

And of course I wish them well. They seem like great people, spent a ton of money on a beautiful old space, seem to have excellent food and are a family-run business, including the cooks/chefs.

We aren't talking about an Olive Garden here.

But, but, but Pete - how can a restaurant not have enough dishes to feed a full house???? They said it would be a long wait - they could run down to the local Target and get more dishes if it came to that. Of all the things I would expect them to run short on, clean dishes would be the last thing.

Waiting for Tuck to explain how it's supposed to be done....

Everyone should give them some more time to get things in order...tough business! I assume they didn't expect the crowds that they are having. They put a ton at risk here; they deserve another chance. Some operators are better than others, but we all expect to get better in time.

It's settled then, I will give them more time. I'll put it on my calendar to give this place a try in August 2013. That should be plenty of time to get through the learning curve.

I ran into a restaurant owner at WalMart one Saturday, hurriedly buying glasses in order to serve his customers. Sounded like a plan to me.

Thanks Tuck. Good reminder. I suspect there's a big disconnect in the understanding of how much heart, passion, work and pain are involved in starting up a restaurant. God bless those who take their best shot at it.

Just checked urbanspoon. Gosh, horrible reviews based not just on minor things - big stuff. I still would like to go but, really, especially for a restaurant that has successes elsewhere, this is so unexpected. http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/46/1681662/restaurant/Suburban-Northside/Gabriellas-Italian-Grill-Pizzeria-Oklahoma-City

Everyone - FWIW

do yourselves a favor and try Bella Vista on the south side. It is incredible. I don't even care for Italian food all that much and I've actually had a dream about the place! The best marinara you'll ever taste ziti ala vodka...oh my goodness!!!!

I've tried it. And while it is wonderfully homey and charming, it is limited: there is no wine and only 3.2 beer on the menu. It is good, but the owner leaves to go to Greece for the entire month of August, and the restaurant shuts down, as we learned on a recent attempted birthday-dinner visit. That said, as good as it is, Gabriella's is better, if they could only get their $hit together.

But, but, but Pete - how can a restaurant not have enough dishes to feed a full house???? They said it would be a long wait - they could run down to the local Target and get more dishes if it came to that. Of all the things I would expect them to run short on, clean dishes would be the last thing.

I agree. But my party (family) thought it was charming in a way. Charming in the sense that they didn't know how popular they would be, and were unprepared. The charm wears off, however, if they don't fix this entirely fixable problem. Like I said, the food was very good and we had a great time. Hopefully, they will fix this front-of-house management stuff, because the food and concept is very good and it could be one of OKC's institutions. And if you know me, you know I wouldn't say that lightly. The food is very good and if they can get their $hit together, this could be one of OKC's all-time great restaurants.

Not to change the subject, but Tuck, the last time I was at Red, my party could not have been seated promptly at the time of our reservation, and we had to wait around for our table for 20-30 minutes. We were also a SMALL party, just 3 people. That was not acceptable. So, for you to say this restaurant needs more time, I disagree with that. They need to get their act together, and until I see a positive change at Gabriella's, I won't risk it there. Anywhere that does not honor its reservations promptly doesn't get my business.

We aren't perfect, but we do care about every single guest. We will always go above and beyond to make sure we have done everything to make your experience a positive one. I wish you would have notified me at the time this happened.

Don't even get me started on Olive Garden...LOL

Well, in spite of all this discussion, I've heard too many positive responses from those who have managed to actually GET a table at Gabriella's to dismiss them entirely. Given my current, ahem, reduced-calorie-plan, a big Italian dinner isn't exactly on my menu, but on a splurge day I sure would like to take my family there and give it a try.

Surely they will evaluate their logistical/organizational issues and get things straightened out. I always knew that starting/running a restaurant was a brutally difficult operation, and the majority fail in the first year, but after watching how incompetently run some are on the various restaurant overhaul shows (which I realize are exaggerations and/or heavily staged, but the underlying point remains), its a miracle ANY of them survive. If they have any restaurant-running chops at all, which they surely seem to, they've got to be given a chance to get their house in order. But it won't take too many dishonored reservations or "we're out of dishes" to turn the world sour on them, that's for sure. One way or the other, those issues have to be fixed.

And I'm all-in on the idea of if you're out of plates and knives, and people are waiting an hour-plus, there's no reason you don't tell someone to head to the nearest walmart and pick up something in the way of generic dishes. Even serving food on "generic" or "inconsistent" dinnerware is less embarrassing than telling customers "uh, we're out of plates..." I mean, geez, that just sounds awful...like a McDondald's running out of hamburger buns....?

I actually plan to check the place out when I get a chance. I won't take my husband, who isn't a red sauce fan, but I figure if I go alone or with a girlfriend, I'll be able to get in. If/when I do, I'll report back.

Well, in spite of all this discussion, I've heard too many positive responses from those who have managed to actually GET a table at Gabriella's to dismiss them entirely. Given my current, ahem, reduced-calorie-plan, a big Italian dinner isn't exactly on my menu, but on a splurge day I sure would like to take my family there and give it a try.

Surely they will evaluate their logistical/organizational issues and get things straightened out. I always knew that starting/running a restaurant was a brutally difficult operation, and the majority fail in the first year, but after watching how incompetently run some are on the various restaurant overhaul shows (which I realize are exaggerations and/or heavily staged, but the underlying point remains), its a miracle ANY of them survive. If they have any restaurant-running chops at all, which they surely seem to, they've got to be given a chance to get their house in order. But it won't take too many dishonored reservations or "we're out of dishes" to turn the world sour on them, that's for sure. One way or the other, those issues have to be fixed.

And I'm all-in on the idea of if you're out of plates and knives, and people are waiting an hour-plus, there's no reason you don't tell someone to head to the nearest walmart and pick up something in the way of generic dishes. Even serving food on "generic" or "inconsistent" dinnerware is less embarrassing than telling customers "uh, we're out of plates..." I mean, geez, that just sounds awful...like a McDondald's running out of hamburger buns....?

I agree. I think we will give them some time, then check them out. I talked to a friend yesterday who had been a week or so ago, and she loved it. Although, I must admit, she and I rarely agree on "good" restaurants. She often wants to go to lunch at places I just could live happily without ever setting foot in again. Went to breakfast with her yesterday at a place that she just loves, and I will probably never go to again.

As for the McDonalds comment, I couldn't help but laugh when I read it. We were traveling through Louisiana a few weeks ago and stopped at a McDonalds for breakfast. They weren't out of buns, but almost as bad, they were out of ketchup. Completely. No packets, none in the self serve spigots, none in the back where they assemble the food. How is this even possible? I thought surely the earth must be about to spin off its axis. Hubby and son were so mad, they walked next door to a Whataburger and got ketchup from them.

Debzkidz: when I worked at various fast food joints (Wendys, McDonalds, Hardees, Taco Bueno etc) we weren't allowed to run out of anything, certainly not basics & not until the next truck came in...you either borrowed from another location...a competitor (yep we did it, we would sometimes borrow cleaning supplies from McDonalds when I worked at Wendys)...or you went to Walmart or Sams or someplace and got enough to get by. While you wanted to control inventory costs, you didnt want to run out either and spend more money sending an employee around town to get the stuff and/or paying retail either. granted I always worked in a larger metro area where there were a few options and not in a rural location.

... granted I always worked in a larger metro area where there were a few options and not in a rural location.

What Larry said. I was in the fast foodie world in the late 70 and early early 80's. I was single and mobile at the time so I worked units in communities with less than 5,000 population and units in places like Tulsa and MWC. If your planning was inadequate and you were actually out of something, you resolved the situation, right then. Not in a day or three when a truck was due, right then. You also took your lumps explaining how you failed to know you were going to run out instead of only running low enough to require stepping outside the norm to fix it before it became obvious to anyone other than staff.

Granted, Gabriella type venues should never be mistaken for fast food ops, but the same basic readiness concept should still apply to any unit in the food industry. Sure, anyone can have an off day. I don't care how good the shop is, it can still happen. But if it happens more than very, very, very rarely, somebody needs to get a firm grasp on the why and how of it and resolve the matter instead of simply accepting it or worse, letting the problems impact a customer.

I hope they get it together and go on to be wildly successful, even if I rarely venture to that part of the city.

I've tried it. And while it is wonderfully homey and charming, it is limited: there is no wine and only 3.2 beer on the menu. It is good, but the owner leaves to go to Greece for the entire month of August, and the restaurant shuts down, as we learned on a recent attempted birthday-dinner visit. That said, as good as it is, Gabriella's is better, if they could only get their $hit together.

An Italian restaurant that does not serve wine is like a BBQ joint that does not serve pork.

Sheesh. Sounds like they need to get their act together, and fast.

I deleted a bunch of posts that were way off topic.

Back to discussing Gabriella's please.

Wife and I went there last Friday with a couple of friends. We were seated when we walked in the door (had a reservation).

The food took right at one hour to arrive after ordering. The salad was lettuce on a plate. Food was subpar for me. But that's a taste thing. Just wasn't to my taste. I didn't care for their marinara (too sweet). But my wife and the other two in our party LOVED their food. Wife got pizza, said it was wonderful.

I will give them another shot in a few months...I guess I will get something without marinara sauce. Lol.

I have heard that Oscar works there. Best waiter, EVAR. I'm going to set aside my dislike of Krebs food just to sit in his section.

An Italian restaurant that does not serve wine is like a BBQ joint that does not serve pork.

You nailed it.

I wonder if they let you bring in your own bottle and do the "corkage fee" thing (as do several Thai/Oriental restaurants in the metro, plus, allegedly, The Mantle and Deep Fork).