Richie the Kraut
This is a post by Ruby
The Staff
and Patrons
of the "Broadway Lounge" would like to show our appreciation and thank Richie "The Kraut" for his knowledge of refrigeration. Believe it or not, this guy is a genius. He has to be if he could repair the mess that Mr. E acquired with the purchase of the bar.
Just for props he does repairs on the following:
Refrigeration
Draft Beer Systems
A/C
Restaurant Equipment
Walk-in Coolers
Freezers
Deli & Pizza Equipment
and
Solar Energy Systems
His company name is "Universal Repair Service" and he does repairs 24/7 (if he's able)
The phone number for repair is (516) 859-1959
If he could fix the "Ancient Dives" draft beer & refrigeration mess, well, need we say more?
Thanks Again Richie
10.15.2008
A Shout Out to An Old Time Technician
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12 comments:
Some people have been drinking in that place since Doreen owned it and no one knew the taps were that old. While Jack owned it the beer was sometimes warm, flat and bitter but it never hurt anybody. I don't think the taps were broken because they worked when the new owner took over. Three star bar my ass.
I can usually let most things said on this blog slide but need to get this one off my chest! As the "Old" owner of the place I have taken alot of crap from Ruby who frankly doeen't have any idea of what went on or running a business but likes to spout off, so here's the deal. In 2001 when I bought the place I hired that drunk Richie to install a new tap system and clean and fix ALL the refrigeration. I gave him $1000 in cash as a downpayment, per his requirement, to start the job and he disappeared for 3 months with my money. I then had to take him to court to get the county to force him to finish the job and even after that it took him another 6 weeks. So if he says the system was never fixed then HE's the one who took $3000 of MY money and didn't do and/or finish the job, so he is admitting to fraud. Now there's a ringing endorsement for a business person.
I can usually let most things said on this blog slide but need to get this one off my chest! As the "Old" owner of the place I have taken a lot of crap from Ruby who frankly doesn't have any idea of what I went through or what running a bar is like but likes to spout off, so here's the deal. In 2001 when I bought the place I hired that drunk Richie to install a new tap system and clean and fix ALL the refrigeration. I gave him $1000 in cash as a downpayment, per his requirement, to start the job and he disappeared for 3 months with my money. I then had to take him to court to get the county to force him to finish the job and even after that it took him another 6 weeks. So if he says the system was never fixed then HE's the one who took $3000 of MY money and didn't do and/or finish the job, so he is admitting to fraud. Now there's a ringing endorsement for a business person. I wish nothing but the best for the new owners but please STOP writing negative and untrue things about the old ones. Or comments about things youy know nothing about.
I can usually let most things said on this blog slide but need to get this one off my chest! As the "Old" owner of the place I have taken a lot of crap from people who have no idea of what went on at the bar or what goes into running one but like to spout off, so here's the deal. In 2001 when I bought the place I hired that drunk Richie to install a new tap system and clean and fix ALL the refrigeration. I gave him $1000in cash as a downpayment, per his requirement, to start the job and he disappeared for 3 months with my money. I then had to take him to court to get the county to force him to finish the job and even after that it took him another 6 weeks. So if he says the system was never fixed then HE's the one who took $3000 of MY money and didn't do and/or finish the job, so he is admitting to fraud. Now there's a ringing endorsement for a business person.
I wish nothing but the best for the new owners but am getting tired of being slammed by people who haven't a clue of what went on before. Let's just all move on and be adults about everything,shall we?
I can usually let most things said on this blog slide but need to get this one off my chest! As the "Old" owner of the place I have taken a lot of crap from people who have no idea of what went on at the bar or what goes into running one but like to spout off, so here's the deal. In 2001 when I bought the place I hired that drunk Richie to install a new tap system and clean and fix ALL the refrigeration. I gave him $1000in cash as a downpayment, per his requirement, to start the job and he disappeared for 3 months with my money. I then had to take him to court to get the county to force him to finish the job and even after that it took him another 6 weeks. So if he says the system was never fixed then HE's the one who took $3000 of MY money and didn't do and/or finish the job, so he is admitting to fraud. Now there's a ringing endorsement for a business person!
I wish nothing but the best for the new owners but am getting tired of being slammed by people who haven't a clue of what went on before and are saying things that are untruthful or incorrect. Let's just all move on with our lives and be adults about everything, shall we?
I can usually let most things said on this blog slide but need to get this one off my chest! As the "Old" owner of the place I have taken a lot of crap from people who have no idea of what went on at the bar or what goes into running one but like to spout off, so here's the deal. In 2001 when I bought the place I hired that drunk Richie to install a new tap system and clean and fix ALL the refrigeration. I gave him $1000in cash as a downpayment, per his requirement, to start the job and he disappeared for 3 months with my money. I then had to take him to court to get the county to force him to finish the job and even after that it took him another 6 weeks. So if he says the system was never fixed then HE's the one who took $3000 of MY money and didn't do and/or finish the job, so he is admitting to fraud. Now there's a ringing endorsement for a business person!
I wish nothing but the best for the new owners but am getting tired of being slammed by people who haven't a clue of what went on before and are saying things that are untruthful or incorrect. Let's just all move on with our lives and be adults about everything, shall we?
I can usually let most things said on this blog slide but need to get this one off my chest! As the "Old" owner of the place I have taken a lot of crap from people who have no idea of what went on at the bar or what goes into running one but like to spout off, so here's the deal. In 2001 when I bought the place I hired that drunk Richie to install a new tap system and clean and fix ALL the refrigeration. I gave him $1000in cash as a downpayment, per his requirement, to start the job and he disappeared for 3 months with my money. I then had to take him to court to get the county to force him to finish the job and even after that it took him another 6 weeks. So if he says the system was never fixed then HE's the one who took $3000 of MY money and didn't do and/or finish the job, so he is admitting to fraud. Now there's a ringing endorsement for a business person!
I wish nothing but the best for the new owners but am getting tired of being slammed by people who haven't a clue of what went on before and are saying things that are untruthful or incorrect. Let's just all move on with our lives and be adults about everything, shall we?
Well, I guess I pissed off "The Quiet Man". Not so quiet now, are you?
I've never met you, I worked for your partner. I didn't mean to offend you personally but truthfuly, during my employment at "The Corner Tavern", I had to take a lot of crap from the patrons about those taps and the warm, flat and bitter beer that came out of them.
After the sale of the bar (thanks for mentioning that it was for sale by the way and giving none of the employees any warning, leaving some of us immediately unemployed and in real financial bind), the new owner got Richie to fix the taps, the cooler under the register, put in a new Glycol system, fixed the A/C, and made many other improvements that any smart businessperson would have made to keep their patrons comfortable and happy. Richie did all the refrigeration work, got paid and we have no complaints from customers about their beer being warm, flat or bitter. EVER!
If you don't think any of the above is true then come in and have a tap beer.
As for you thinking you got ripped off by Richie, I haven't a clue. Maybe instead of trying to do a repair on this equipment, you should have replaced it. That being said, please re-read what I said about being a smart businessperson.
You don't know me and what I know or don't know about business so I guess we're even in the crap slinging department. My former boss taught me alot about how to run a business and alot about how not to run a business. My new boss listens to me about what worked and didn't work at the bar. He's doing well and will continue to do so.
Sure, I like to spout off about how much better the bar looks, how much better the beer is pouring and other assorted improvements. Why shouldn't I? It got you to comment on the blog, 6 times!! I'd rather hear comments from actual customers, but this was fun.
Thanks,
Ruby
I only posted for a few reasons. The first was the fact Richie is not as great and honest a person as you say, and to say why I think so. We asked if the system should be replaced and he said no. Instead I guess he just wanted to keep coming back to fix it and make another $300. A mistake on my part, asbsolutely, but only hindsight is 20/20. You could have a mechanic that one person loves and one person hates. Right? Doesn't make either one wrong.
Next I'm sure the place looks better then when it was bought. But also realize that when it was recently bought it looked a lot better then when we bought it! Just like if a house is built in 1940 and was redone in 1980. It looked great in 80, not so much now.
Also if you worked at the end of the Corner it is quite possible that te system needed to be fixed then but as the sale tok almost 7 months why put good money after bad.
As for the not telling workers about the sale, that's the satandard way businesses work. If Ford is going to sell to Jaguar they keep it quiet as long as possible to keep things going as smooth as possible. Sucks I know but that's the way it is.
My last point is this. Please say all you want about how great and wonderful the new place is and how nice the owner is. Go to town! I just wish you wouldn't keep hitting the old owners, intentional or not, in your quest to do it. That's all. I tried.
So in ending I am glad the bar looks better, I am glad the patrons are happier, I am glad Me. E is having a good time and doing well. I wish him all the luck in the world.
PS-sorry for the multiple postings but I was having problems with my computer!
Dear "Quiet Man",
No hard feelings here, and I really wasn't bashing you or Jack (whom I've learned alot from, kept in touch with and when I feel like I'm not appreciated at the Lounge is the person I call to see if he knows of any other options for me and he usually does).
Why does he try to help me? Maybe it's because I've earned his trust and respect (not an easy thing to attain, but you probably know that). I was and still am loyal to him and I respect him as a friend, boss and teacher. I would love to work for him again, but his/your other establishment is a bit of a hike for me. If there was a closer option for me I would consider it. I know I have his approval as a loyal, trustworthy and reliable employee.
As for me trying to promote the new owner's bar, well, just like you said, if Ford puts down Chevy that's just standard business practice, therefore, since things are working and the place looks better (oh, and Mr. E has treated me with respect, trusts me to manage for him during the day and takes advice willingly and will compromise on business decisions) I have to back him as best as I can. If that means that I have to make him look better than other owners, I will. After all, this is my livelihood now and I'm determined to help him succeed. His success is my success.
Just for the should have, would have, could have idea, if any of the regulars or employees knew that the bar was up for sale for 7 months you could have sold it for 2 to 3 times as much as you got. A neighborhood bar is very important to the people who consider it a home away from home. The fact that my former boss didn't even mention this disturbs me, but I still forgive him. I feel (and I know nobody else would feel this way) that he feels guilty for screwing over his employees. The business was doing really well by the time it was sold and at least 5 of the regulars would have made a joint effort to purchase it (for more than what you got) if they were given the choice. But more importantly, they would have not let the employees go without any notice. (I lost my main job due to downsizing 2 weeks before the turnover and then was let go from the bar as soon as the new owner aquired it. Thankfully, he realized that his day business was just as important as his night business and hired me back 2 weeks later).
Put yourself in my shoes for a moment. I lost 2 jobs in a 2 week period, had no notice from either job and was totally unprepared for the emotional and psychological effects these events had on me. Distraught, depressed and worthless are just a few words I could use to describe the feelings I had. I didn't know how I was going to feed my son or pay my bills so let's add hopeless to the list.
Since I have described the vast range of feelings that an employee goes through (when they have no idea that the end of their employment is any given day), maybe in the future, if you want to become a better person/boss, you could gather the empathy that most humans have, to prepare your employees for dismissal so they could make other arrangements. This consideration and respect doesn't mean that they will try to screw you, it would probably earn you more respect as a businessowner and boss.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that personally I have no hard feelings towards anyone regarding this issue and I'll try not to make you look bad in the blogs in comparison to the new owner, even if it's the truth. What's done is done.....we'll end it here without bitterness and that will be it.
I apologize for acting childish and unprofessional.
Ruby
Wow...it would be great to hear what Richie has to say on the subject...This is the best blog response EVER for 17621
To "Interested Party",
I said he was a refrigeration genius and I will stand by that opinion. He has also been helpful to the new owner in other ways, he knows alot of people in the bar business ie: we finally got a soda gun and a pretty good deal on it due to him. However, I did not say that he could operate a computer so don't count on the "Kraut" to comment on this blog. In my opinion, he could care less what people think about him. I used to frequent his former bar, "Rafters", which he ran for quite a few years and I know for a fact that he knows how to do business.
If he knew how to use a computer he would probably say, "Nein" (No) and tell everyone to go f**k themselves. But just in case, I'll ask him what he would say about the previous comments and post them for your perusal (and chuckles). You're right, it might be interesting.
Ruby
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