I don't doubt there are places open on Sunday. My experience was just frustrating. I have never eaten at Northworks and honestly I am not the friendliest person when I am hungry and was tired of searching for a place to eat in Worcester. So we went 20 minutes to another town to a place we knew would be open. Northworks and Leo's could have just as easily been closed and that would have been no good.

Olive Garden?

People eating at Olive Garden in MA is like people in Mexico eating Taco Bell, it just ain't right :) I do have to admit though, their breadsticks are yummy and occasionally I find something decent there, but I think I have only been to an OG once since I moved back here from AZ.

I have found similar frustration, only mine has been on Monday night, you would think SOME ONE would say...boy, every one else is closed, I should stay open!

I really do love local restaurant though. We were on a TGI kick when they first opened, they had a blackened chicken alfredo that was great. A while back I went there and called the waitress over. The portions had disappeared, the food was barely hot, and the sauce was watered down. She said, oh ya, our manager has instituted portion control, sorry. I wrote to the company and NEVER RECEIVED A RESPONSE. Last time I ate there.

Generally though, I prefer local restaurants, I have been an unabashed fan of block 5 (and I wish I had realized it was the owner who came to check on us for my birthday, each time he said something to me, christina and I were talking about something and I never got a chance to tell him what a great job he is doing). Gregories in douglas is fantastic, and it bothers me to no end that the place is half empty all the time because people are driving to Millbury for mediocre chain food! Alicante in Mendon also a very good choice, and now that lent is here, the Pirates Cove in whitinsville is open with the best damned fried stuff around. Best onion rings ever!

I think pretty much the only chain I still hit is Moes, and thats a locally owned franchise. Oh, and the occasional Wendys spicey chicken :)

Did that BBQ place ever open up again in the coffee kingdom? I tried to go there several times with no luck. Where is Picolos?

and about Mondays! seriously. Don't places want money? You have to be open to make it.

This is one of those things I bring up when people complain that a chain puts them out of business. Sometimes they just are doing better business. Starbucks is a perfect example. Coffee Kingdom, towards the end of its tenure, was serving the worst coffee. They were never open when they said they would be, the service was awful and the place was filthy. Yet Starbucks is blamed for the demise.

Duncan, I was not calling your food prowess into question, I actually tried block 5 because of your review of it and Barry, Christina, and I going on basically a whim. Just poking a bit of fun at ya and the Olive Garden in general :)

Sort of like every time my father in law comes into town and says, how the hell does red lobster stay in business out here?

better food through marketing I guess :)

The monday things I get to an extent, I am sure at some point people figured out that it cost them money to be open on a monday. I just figured some one would see that as a competitive advantage and BE open when no one else is.

I am always on the lookout for good bbq, I will have to check that out...of course, I am heading to Austin in April, so I will have all the real bbq I can stomach :)

As for the CK itself. Tragedy. I used to absolutely love that place, when I came back from AZ, it was one of the places I couldn't wait to go to. I was crushed when I found it boarded up.

I think when restaurants try to make up for slipping profits by changing suppliers and portions, it is the equivalent of a long standing TV show trying to recapture ratings by adding a new child to the mix. The end is always near.

I hardly have a problem with four sushi places opening in a month, but since we are talking about Worcester restaurants I think that it's worth point out the sudden influx. If four Ethiopian restaurants opened suddenly I would probably say the same thing, it doesn't mean I don't like Ethiopian food. And frankly, I think that Worcester is long overdue for some Ethiopian food.

Places can be open once a month, people can run their business however they want. I just want Worcester businesses to succeed so I share what I think is good advice. CLEARLY there was a demand for food at 5PM on a Sunday, the shitty chain restaurant had a line out the door. Local businesses, especially restaurants, need to compete or we will have nothing but chains to choose from, chains that are open all the time. If local places are too burned out to be open, then fine, but I saw a lot of profit going someplace other than in Worcester yesterday.

And I LOVE Ethiopian, it would be great to have one in Worcester although I don't see it lasting (hopefully I'm wrong). :-(

My solution (that I have done several times now) is to leave a scathing note in the door explaining exactly how the chains will put that place out of business. Don't know if it has any effect at all but it sure does make me feel better!

The worst thing a local business can do however, is to not be open when they say they are going to be open. As an avid supporter of local business this pisses me off to no end. If you post hours than be open. If for whatever reason you are not going to be open then post something on the door about it.

The week I came back here to move all my stuff down to Baltimore I could not find anywhere in my neighborhood open for lunch at 1pm on a Tuesday. On a Tuesday! On "Main" St. I went to MacDonalds. I was beside myself.