In an email to its regular patrons yesterday afternoon, Madison Park Conservatory's maestro/chef, Cormac Mahoney, announced that the end is near:
"It is with a heavy heart that we let everyone know MPC will be closing its doors after service on February 15th. Restaurants are a crazy thing and many stars have to align to create a successful and enduring place. Although, we would have the liked our run to be much longer we are very proud of the past three years and have many fond memories to look back on. Most importantly, I want to thank our staff, both current and past, for accompanying us on this journey. Also I want to thank all our customers who have enjoyed MPC. So to all those MPC regulars, first dates, birthdays, anniversaries, company parties, wine clubs, family reunions, friendly gatherings, happy hour fans and sunset cocktail sippers - much love for allowing us to spend time with you. The everyday relationships made at MPC is what we'll miss the most. Lastly, thank you to all our vendors. We have been proud of our food because it is always started with great ingredients and it's the tireless work of our many vendors that makes our food possible. "
The restaurant, which was the recipient of many favorable editorial reviews since its inception in November 2010, had been seeing a decline in patronage for some time. As Mahoney learned to his chagrin, restaurants are a tough business.
The loss of Madison Park Conservatory leaves another void in the neighborhood's business district at a time when some claim to detect a downward trajectory for Madison Park as a "destination neighborhood." In that respect, this closing is not only a sad experience for the staff and patrons of the MPC but may also foreshadow the neighborhood's longterm retail vitality (or lack thereof).
Time will tell.
Certainly McGilvra's Great Wall teevee screen did NOT help!
ReplyDeleteOr the terrible service! My lord.....it always took forever!!! How about listening to the customers to find out what they want. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure these things out. Listen to the customer and provide good service. I think you might have survived.
ReplyDeleteAs if anyone even knew they were there; don't be so snobby; put out a sign!
ReplyDeleteI guess you also fail to patronize "The Pink Door" in Pike Place Market - another Seattle gem without a sign. Restaurants such as "21" and "Momofuku" in New York and "Hakusan" in London also do not have obvious signs. Another sign of the pedestrian and prosaic attitudes of this neighborhood. Perhaps there should be a large neon arrow with a blinking sign that reads "food available here". Nice to see another local small business being attacked for realizing that Madison Park is dying and choosing to get out before they lose everything.
DeleteUnlike the Conservatory, the Pink Door isn't pretentious. the attitude was so thick in there you could cut it with a knife. Won't miss that place a bit, hopefully something less stuffy opens up in that spot.
DeleteWith the state of the economy and the silly rents in Madison Park perhaps it would better to hope ANYTHING opens in that spot.
DeleteFrom the Facebook stats looks like they had almost the highest traffic of all the area restaurants.
ReplyDeleteCheck-ins
3,615 The Attic Alehouse & Eatery
2,790 Madison Park Conservatory
1,811 Bing's
927 Red Onion Tavern
812 Cafe Parco
477 The Independent Pizzeria
324 Madison Park Kitchen
189 Mad Pizza
106 McGilvra's
These numbers representing the number of more technically advanced social minded customers. Where most of the focus of marketing should be aimed these days; as they actually go out and spend on a regular bases. Looks like MPC was hitting the demographic on the head quite well.
Signs in Madison Park. Those always go over well.
You could install the worlds largest, brightest, most noticeable sign in the neighborhood and then receive nothing but complaints. So why risk it?
Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. The secret to keeping these businesses in the neighborhood is to frequent them. Have a business you like? Go there as much as you can and bring your friends along!
That was the problem - we didn't like it. My wife and I are the type of Madison Park residents you find a lot here - both working professionals, good incomes, young kids, etc. The Conservatory is not a place we would go. With the kids, it is Bings, Cactus, McGilvra's, or Independent Pizza. When we have a night out, we go to Cap Hill or even Madison Valley (Luc, Voila, Harvest Vine). We tried The Conservatory but it was like eating in a library - the atmosphere was dull. When we get away from the kids we want to go somewhere lively, where you can have a conversation without thinking you are disturbing the table next to you. Where you can sit at the bar and strike up a conversation with the couple next to you.
DeleteIt's funny how whenever a business in the neighborhood fails, people blame the neighborhood, not the business. In this case it was definitely the business - it was very poorly positioned for the neighborhood demographics. Not many of the people I knew would go there. Sorry to see it go, I hate to see small businesses fail, but I can't say I am surprised.
Oh, btw, we never go to the Facebook page of a restaurant we like. Usually OpenTable to check for reservations, or the site itself to check the menu. And my wife is a big Facebook user (myself, not so much).
DeleteI don't think people are "blaming the neighborhood" for the demise of MPC. This restaurant was positioned as a destination dining experience and relied heavily on patrons from outside Madison Park. It's failure has little to nothing to do with the demographics of the immediate neighborhood. What is so pathetic is that many of the folks commenting on this blog seem to think it unless a neighborhood establishment is sanctioned by them it is doomed to fail. Why can't people accept that their approval is not necessarily relevant to the success or failure of a business. The amount of Monday morning quarterbacking when a place fails is just plain gross.
DeleteI personally find it very nice to find we have options in the neighborhood to dine at any day of the week that are geared toward adults. Not every restaurant has set themselves up as a day care center for little ones to run free. Not that I haven't seen children in some of the more adult directed restaurants, but when I do they are well behaved and managed properly by their parents. There is no reason a child can not order off a regular menu and enjoy the same delicious food as you. I always sought out restaurants without kids menus when mine were in their younger years in the hope they may experience something more then chicken strips and plain hamburgers.
ReplyDeleteRestaurants win my vote especially when you don't have to scream to hear yourself over the crowd. You know it's bad when you wake up the next morning with a sore throat. What is the appeal of an overly loud "party" environment? I go out to eat to relax, not get pumped up.
ReplyDeleteVery sad to see this caliber of restaurant leaving MP. MPC brought a bold personal style of cuisine that was respected by many, albeit not enough. MP is a tough place to draw traffic to as a deadend (not a pass through) neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteIf restauranteurs only catered to the masses we'd end up with Subway, Taco Bell, & McDonalds. Not every establishment is meant for every patron; if a place isn't to your liking...move on, but no need to be bitter about it.
To all those nay sayers that frequently voice their negative options here on the MP Blog, remember, there is a human being behind that business you are slamming. Becareful, there are yet a few more banks yet to be represented in Madison Park; drive all the creative entrepreneurs out and you'll end up with nothing but banks!
I don't think anyone is being bitter about anything, other than the blogger's presumption that the demise of MPC foreshadows the demise of Madison Park as a neighborhood. Independent Pizza seems to be packed every time I drive by. It may not be to YOUR liking, but you have to cater to the demographics that are presented, not build it and hope they will come. It's simple business, and not somehow the fault of the neighborhood.
DeleteComparing Indie Pizza with the Conservatory is like comparing apples and oranges - $12 pizzas vs $25-$30 entrees. The bitterness results from the underling sense of nasty glee that people seem to have watching a place fail that they have decided is not their cup of tea. The Conservatory was a great experiment in having a fine dining establishment in the MP neighborhood. Going forward we'll have to decamp to Madrona to Ethan Stowell's new restaurant for something other than pizza or a Clutter Burger.
DeleteDon't believe this is the time to give your critique of MPC. In fact, I believe that is the equivalent of kicking someone while they are down. It's a very tough business in normal times, and extremely tough in a bad economy with a tough location. I wish Cormac and his crew the best of luck in future endeavors.
ReplyDeleteHope everyone in Madison Park is doing well
Warm Regards,
John McCormick
It's not so much a matter of "kicking someone while they are down" as it is a rebuttal of the blogger's contention that the failure of MPC "may also foreshadow the neighborhood's longterm retail vitality (or lack thereof)". I contend that it does no such thing - that the right kind of restaurant can thrive in Madison Park. Just ask the manager of Cactus.
DeleteAll of the above comments are great, but miss the point that days where Madison Park is a destination may be over! Given that there now is a toll on the 520 bridge and that the new 520 bridge will make it even harder for Madison Park to be a destination without the off ramps!
ReplyDeleteMadison Park will have to change with the times, even if hat means that we get more banks. We may also have to look at why we have empty store fronts and why businesses are locating in other areas such as Madison Valley?
The only long-term empty storefronts are in the buildings owned by the crazy lady. Once she kicks the bucket that will really help the neighborhood.
DeleteYou need to look on the other side of the street, Mad Pizza and the Best Bud locations are empty.
DeleteBryan is right, there may be question about 'the neighborhood's longterm retail vitality (or lack thereof)".
Emptiness is one thing, turnover is another sign of a struggling business community. There is also the consideration of what type of clientele are attracted by a business. Banks do not bring customers to other stores in the area and their owners/employees do not typically spend money in the neighborhood because everything they need is provided by central sources. Restaurants do not attract shoppers, they attract eaters when other businesses are generally closed. However, their owners typically shop locally.
ReplyDeleteDon't be so naïve as to think that those two empty storefronts are all that is plaguing the business community. Also, realistically, it will be five to ten years before there are available, occupy-able stores on that site. What will be left at that point?
It's better that we all just support the local business community better than we already do, to ensure that it only gets better and not worse.
Let's just hope another bank doesn't descend upon us!
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the ridiculous arguing can stop! It's done. They tried. Let the anger go man, it's not life and death. You didn't like it but can't u just wish em well? Geez, don't u have anything more import to do than silly bashing?