October 5.2008

Another week in the Restaurant business has come to an end, actually it ends today, because tomorrow is a much needed day off for the "Schott" family. I guess I knew that eventually my blog would become a place to explain or vent about some things that bother me about the restaurant business.
It seems that everyone(our loyal customers) worry about us and surviving in this market, area and winter months in general. When talking to one such customer last evening, the mention of "Some people say these are NYC prices",(not his opinion just what some people say) not the first time I have heard that. As I told him, we are OK, and intend to keep doing what we are doing. but will be reducing our hours of operation for the winter.
I do need to address the "NYC Prices" statement. We, as any other entrepreneur are in this business to make money, wouldn't make sense to do anything else. But, we are also passionate about each person having a quality meal, great service and just an all around good experience at our restaurant. I guess I just want everyone to know that Restaurant 15 Main is a labor of love, not just a business.
We are a restaurant that uses lots of local products (which don't come cheap) and each dish is made to order, sometimes with Chef Peter being the only one in the kitchen. We could reduce our prices and serve frozen, fried, etc like many other restaurants in Sullivan County and surrounding area. That was never what we wanted to be when we decided to come to this area and follow our dream. We would love for everyone to come to our restaurant but we know that some people just do not appreciate what we have to offer. The reality is that our menu would be priced double in NYC, we will do a tasting menu for $45.00 to $50.00, can't get that in the city. We are not Granmercy, Bouloud or Thomas Keller, but we are as passionate and pure as any of those places. I hope that our service, food quality and pricing is always at it's best, but nothing is perfect.
To all reading this blog, know that we appreciate each and every customer that walks through our doors.