March 7, 2009

Last Saturday I had dinner at the new Scott’s Seafood on the Sacramento River. I was with my husband and another couple. My husband and I arrived first and ordered a drink at the bar and then sat outside at some tables to wait for our friends to arrive.

There were about 20 tables outside; none were set with dinner/place settings. There will a few people outside standing around the fire pit – but there were no diners nor was anyone waiting to dine at one of the outside tables.

After a few minutes a waitress came up to us and told us we would have to move because the entire area was for dining only. I pointed out that no one would be eating outside since it is still too cold to eat outside at night, that there were still lots of tables available for dining on the off chance someone wanted to sit and eat outside, and that there wasn’t anyone waiting to eat outside and that the table weren’t even set for dining.

None the less, we had to move. I then explained that we had dinner reservations and were just waiting for our friends to arrive and when they do arrive we will happily leave the area. And of course if she suddenly became swamped with diners wanting to sit outside we would leave the area. It was agreed by all that the manager should be involved.

Our friends arrived as the manger came over to talk with us. He explained that in this particular case we could finish our drinks – but if he made an exception for us then he would have to make an exception for other. Again, there were 20 EMPTY UNSET tables and no parties waiting to sit. Not a pleasant beginning to our dinner.

But there is more. I belong to an exercise class of about 20-25 women. We are all talking about the new Scott’s and sharing our experiences and stories and some are worse than mine.

For example, one woman stopped in to have drinks with some friends and got into a conversation with the bartender about how nice it will be in the summer when people can ride their bikes on the levee and stop at Scott’s. She then asked if there would be bicycle racks for people to park their bikes. She was told in no uncertain terms that there would be no racks for bikes because they don’t want that type of person here!!!

Earlier in the month another woman from my class had lunch at the new Scott’s with some of her friends. After lunch they wanted to walk through the new hotel, which had also just opened to check it out. They were followed into the lobby by one of the parking valets and then met in the lobby by an employee who told them that there was a private party in the hotel and they could go no further! They just wanted to walk through the lobby.

I know that once in awhile a restaurant will make a mistake – but it is so unusual to come upon a restaurant in Sacramento where one is not wanted.

But take heart – there are lots and lots of great restaurants in Sacramento and in my experience all will let you sit at an empty unset table to enjoy a drink and it doesn’t matter to them if you arrive on a bike, car, or walk in – you are welcome.