A Tale of Two Cities

Earlier this month (August 2008) we had the girls (plus erin's boyfriend Chris) out on vacation for a week. Since Chris was new to the east coast we wanted to make sure to work in some road trips throughout New England. Short story is we made one; long story is the one trip we actually made. Cara spent her freshman year in college at St. Michaels in Burlington, VT. While she loved the area she moved onto U of Mizzou for the journalism program. So when the subject came up as to where to go Vermont was on the short list.
The Fromherz family has few traditions, but one important one is food. The typical vacation day is spent deciding the where and what to eat. So Burlington was exciting because we could get breakfast all day long at Sneaker's, a popular eatery in Burlington (actually, Winooski). So when we rolled into town the first stop was Sneakers where we gorged ourselves on the crab cakes benedict, rooster special and plenty of maple syrup. That was 1 in the afternoon. A bit of shopping interrupted the process shortly as from Burlington we stopped in Watertown for the Ben & Jerry's factory tour - strawberry cheesecake ice cream - oh yeah...
That was around 5 ish. We then staggered back to the car and headed south on 89. While I wanted to just bomb it home we decided to stop in Brattelboro at a little diner we discovered the previous summer - the Royal Diner.
We got there around 8:30 after discovering they closed at 9. Whew! Who knows what would have happened if we couldn't eat again soon! Any hooo... our romantic notion of the roadside diner was validated by Jen, our waitress. Even though she was probably at the end of a long shift we was enthusiastic, happy and helpful. Now the Royal Diner is not Haute Cuisine (more about that later), but rather home cooking by a dedicated staff of owners and employees - of which Jen detailed by name with how long they had been there. She also let us know that all the food was made from scratch including the pies. Well we ordered everything from Buffalo Wings to Spaghetti and Meatballs; Meatloaf to Chicken Parmesan and everything was great. But what really made the experience was Jen. She was fun, helpful and all in all a great waitress. By the end of the meal we had voted her in the top five waitresses of all time (this includes Barb from Sally & Bob's!). Well of course we capped off the meal by sharing the last piece of Blueberry Pie with homemade ice cream. No slight to Ben or Jerry, but it was awesome. Here's proof. Total for the meal was around $60 for five. That's important because later that week we were invited by Ann's parents to a trendy restuarant in Hartford. Over $500 bucks and not so good...
Now the moral of the story is not so much a food war, but rather how an enthusiastic employee can shape the experience. Why is the story of a small diner so important? Well, the success or failure of any business ultimately comes down to the experience. Royal Diner (and Sneakers) scored high. Even though they were small they excelled through a great product and better staff. Ben & Jerry created a culture of caring and quality that grew from a funky old converted gas station into an ice cream dynasty. They did it by doing the best they could every day and inspiring their staff to do the same. Oh, and by the way if you are ever traveling through Vermont we know a couple of great places to eat!