Custino's

[ou48A]

Oh, whatever. I've got a story being written up. There were no favors - both sides hated having me write that story. And if you're going to take a pot shot at me, have the guts to go ahead and name names. Also, dictionaries are still wonderful resources.

Are you the only journalist covering this story? I think not!
I believe I saw or heard about Custino's on TV several times!…..It was also covered in several publications! So no.

Objective journalism is a rare and wonderful thing when you can find it.
Oh, and writing has never been my profession.



PS: it’s good to hear that you have “a story being written up” any idea when it will be published?

[Steve]

This next week or so... waiting to see if Custino's on Britton closes....

[ou48A]

This next week or so... waiting to see if Custino's on Britton closes....

Ok thanks….

I should have been more clear in that it wasn’t just the newspaper covering the restaurant with fanfare at its opining, it was several media sources who should be in a habit of practicing journalistic integrity.

It’s a small world and given the back ground of the owners contacts in the general media that are of public record it makes me wonder how much favoritism this business was given from the start over other less connected business. Given the lack of coverage it made me wonder about local journalistic fairness across the board.

[RadicalModerate]

Coming Soon . . .

From the ashes of Custino's on Britton, two previous BBQ joints--and something else before that--arises

Phoenix!

Specializing in Nuevo Southwestern Cuisine
Mostly Chicken

(an elder the younger project)

[kevinpate]

This next week or so... waiting to see if Custino's on Britton closes....

Thought I had heard or read somewhere they were going to rebrand as Taste Bud's (or something along those lines.) The FB page for the folks on Britton doesn't really read like someone got recent bad news. I don't know the players, so nuttin' but speculation on my end.

[Hawk405359]

I know it's interesting for theater's sake because of the posts here, but is this whole name quibbling really that big of a news story? It's two restaurants fighting over the name of a restaurant that doesn't have nearly as much name value as they think, I wouldn't think it'd be more worth our time than any other routine civil suit

[pickles]

I know it's interesting for theater's sake because of the posts here, but is this whole name quibbling really that big of a news story? It's two restaurants fighting over the name of a restaurant that doesn't have nearly as much name value as they think, I wouldn't think it'd be more worth our time than any other routine civil suit

And yet, here we are, at fifteen pages. I don't get it either.

[RadicalModerate]

And yet, here we are, at fifteen pages. I don't get it either.

"W h a t H a t h C T W r o u g h t . . ."


(hint: ref. post #1)

[OKCTalker]

Everyone has stories that they'd like covered in the media with greater depth, and usually leaning in the direction they prefer. So reading that someone is unhappy about the coverage of the Custino's saga isn't a surprise, but calling into question Steve's integrity or tenacity as a journalist is.

OKCTalk provides all of us with a soap box with very few restraints, unlike professional journalists who are limited by available column inches, an editor's decision to assign a reporter, the time required to cover a story, the public's appetite in reading it, and an obligation to correct errors. As pickles notes, we've got 15 pages here, but a few stories elsewhere in the media.

So run this thread to 150 pages if you'd like, but don't then use its comparative length as a metric to disparage journalists who aren't devoting similar attention to it.

[ou48A]

Everyone has stories that they'd like covered in the media with greater depth, and usually leaning in the direction they prefer. So reading that someone is unhappy about the coverage of the Custino's saga isn't a surprise, but calling into question Steve's integrity or tenacity as a journalist is.

OKCTalk provides all of us with a soap box with very few restraints, unlike professional journalists who are limited by available column inches, an editor's decision to assign a reporter, the time required to cover a story, the public's appetite in reading it, and an obligation to correct errors. As pickles notes, we've got 15 pages here, but a few stories elsewhere in the media.

So run this thread to 150 pages if you'd like, but don't then use its comparative length as a metric to disparage journalists who aren't devoting similar attention to it.

I did not intend to directly challenge Steve’s journalistic integrity and attempted to clarify that in my most recent post. I apologies for any misunderstanding on that.

However, and in the interest of fairness, for those who won’t cover this story with the same attention as they did at the restaurants opening when the restaurant did receive lots of free publicity, those journalist and news sources should have their integrity questioned. What comes around should go around. If nothing else was available the TV folks could have given an update with a live report while standing in front of the restaurant.

As far as I know and to Steve and his newspapers credit they are the only news source that has offered any continuing coverage of this story that appears to be full of dysfunctional personalities.

One person was in the witness protection program, there were allegations of death threats and stealing and more. One of the key personalities made several post on this board. One person made many questionable commits in very public forms for all to see. These are not IMHO the actions of most normal business owner/ operators and that in its self is worth covering.

Yet for all the free publicity and legal actions we have seen there has been very little coverage from our local journal across the board on what has happened since the opening and that’s why IMHO there is at least the appearance of favoritism.

[kevinpate]

And then there is this (not so?) cryptic note on the FB page today -

To all our friends - come eat with us today-while you can!

[RadicalModerate]

And then there is this (not so?) cryptic note on the FB page today -

hmmm . . . that could be taken as either a plea for patronage or a veiled threat . . .
(sorry: too much tony soprano during my formative years. =)

(btw: "cryptic", use of = perfect. like it.)

y'know . . . it just occurred to me that someone could take this thread and turn it into an on-line soap opera, a crime novel, or a video game.
nah. lot's of characters . . . and a plot . . . but no female love interest. is Sarah Palin busy these days? How about Lydia Bastiani (or whatever)?
Maybe Meryl Streep could play Martha Stewart?

[Steve]

I did not intend to directly challenge Steve’s journalistic integrity and attempted to clarify that in my most recent post. I apologies for any misunderstanding on that.

However, and in the interest of fairness, for those who won’t cover this story with the same attention as they did at the restaurants opening when the restaurant did receive lots of free publicity, those journalist and news sources should have their integrity questioned. What comes around should go around. If nothing else was available the TV folks could have given an update with a live report while standing in front of the restaurant.

As far as I know and to Steve and his newspapers credit they are the only news source that has offered any continuing coverage of this story that appears to be full of dysfunctional personalities.

One person was in the witness protection program, there were allegations of death threats and stealing and more. One of the key personalities made several post on this board. One person made many questionable commits in very public forms for all to see. These are not IMHO the actions of most normal business owner/ operators and that in its self is worth covering.

Yet for all the free publicity and legal actions we have seen there has been very little coverage from our local journal across the board on what has happened since the opening and that’s why IMHO there is at least the appearance of favoritism.

We've covered anything that was newsworthy on this and that we could nail down. I can't reach Angelo or his father, so all we know is that the restaurant HAS NOT BEEN OPEN since March. But can I report that the business is actually "closed" - especially when you have an individual who has quite liberally thrown around words like libel and slander? As for Bud Elder's Custinos - it's still open. So I'm not sure there is anything to report there either. See the quandary? I gave no one in this matter free publicity, and yet other than the original very early reporting by Dave Cathy when Custino and Elder were still partners, I'm not sure there's been that much other coverage than what I've done. So you can understand, maybe, why I took offense... if not directed at me, then who?

[ou48A]

We've covered anything that was newsworthy on this and that we could nail down. I can't reach Angelo or his father, so all we know is that the restaurant HAS NOT BEEN OPEN since March. But can I report that the business is actually "closed" - especially when you have an individual who has quite liberally thrown around words like libel and slander? As for Bud Elder's Custinos - it's still open. So I'm not sure there is anything to report there either. See the quandary? I gave no one in this matter free publicity, and yet other than the original very early reporting by Dave Cathy when Custino and Elder were still partners, I'm not sure there's been that much other coverage than what I've done. So you can understand, maybe, why I took offense... if not directed at me, then who?

I don’t specifically remember the names of those who covered this story, but there has been what seemed like promotional coverage that appeared on or in KFOR, KOCH, The Gazette, and The Distinctly Oklahoma magazine that Elder once wrote for. So it’s been more than just the DOK that coverd this at the start.

I may have missed it but I don’t remember seeing anything at all from these other sources about any of the troubles regarding this restaurant. I fully understand that as a privately owned media organizations they and you both have a right to cover this or any event pretty much as seen fit. But we/ I also have a right to question the lack of coverage when things soured. Investigative journalism IMHO is a tough job that is not practiced enough today. It’s understandably that there are tough decisions to be made about what is news worthy and not. IMHO to paint a clearer picture you probably could have covered more about some of the facebook rants, but you would know more about your newspaper space than me. Perhaps you could include more of this in any future articles.

[Rover]

If it hadn't been covered, folks on here would be challenging Steve's integrity as to why he was ignoring them. Truth is, most on here wouldn't recognize journalistic integrity anyway. To them it just means the story wasnt written or wasn't in the way they wanted.

[Easy180]

Interesting thread but none of this is newsworthy...At all

[HangryHippo]

Interesting thread but none of this is newsworthy...At all

Like.

[ou48A]

If it hadn't been covered, folks on here would be challenging Steve's integrity as to why he was ignoring them. Truth is, most on here wouldn't recognize journalistic integrity anyway. To them it just means the story wasnt written or wasn't in the way they wanted.

If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed.
If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.
Mark Twain

[OKCTalker]

This next week or so... waiting to see if Custino's on Britton closes....

I can say with some confidence that they have closed. I happened to drive by today and noticed on their front doors (one facing north, one facing east) large, orange adhesive notices from the Oklahoma Tax Commission stating that they have been closed and the stickers are not to be removed.

[ou48A]

I can say with some confidence that they have closed. I happened to drive by today and noticed on their front doors (one facing north, one facing east) large, orange adhesive notices from the Oklahoma Tax Commission stating that they have been closed and the stickers are not to be removed.

That sounds like more legal problems, but this time with the state.
If true, the state will be a lot tougher legal fight for the owner than his past partners were.

[kevinpate]

From their FB page earlier today -

Well guys, we’re done. Sort of.

Although we planned on staying in this location, at least throughout the summer, it is just not meant to be. Today our negotiations with both the Tax Commission and the landlord in New York finally ended and, of course, our former partners’ fingerprints are all over both entities, especially with the Tax Commission, where it appears that the Custinos perpetrated their loftiest scheme against us.

I will say this – both the Tax Commission and our landlord have been very receptive to our negotiations and have been great to work with. It’s just not meant to be.

Of course, the story is much more complicated than this.

Actually, we will be able to do CATERING for a while out of the restaurant, so if you have any needs at all we will be available at the best price in Oklahoma City. In fact, we had offered to donate a meal to a non profit tonight and, by gum, I’m sticking to it. That’s the way we do business around here.

If you need us to cater this week, please call ...

In the meantime, we will re-land somewhere sooner than later, definitely as “The Taste Bud’s Diner. Ed and Louie and I love working together and we know our product is terrific. We’ll keep everyone posted on our Facebook page.

You’ll never know what your support has meant to us.

https://www.facebook.com/Custinos

[Steve]

Can we finally kill this thread?

[Easy180]

They will be missed (never ate there)

[Tydude]

Admin lets close this thread

[ou48A]

Can we finally kill this thread?

You mean we don’t get to find out how much money the owners owe the state tax commission?

That ought to be of public record, at least at some point, and it sure seems news worthy given the amount of nice publicity this restaurant received from several sources when things were going well.