…but now that it’s hit the Bulletin, I’d better at least comment on the whole Baltazar’s mess.
A bit of background: Last week, the local Mom2Mom group posted an entry on their site, blasting Baltazar’s, a mexican seafood place in West Bend as being not-so-kid-friendly with Baltazar Chavez (the owner) being really rude. Both Jon and BOR had good reviews of the place back in the day, but they didn’t bring their kids. Just the same, I was then sent versions of the e-mail (and other stories) posted on the Mom2Mom site, all slamming Chavez (14 different emails in all, all basically quoting the same source). The stories of the rudeness showed up on other local blogs, on Craigslist, and then now into the Bulletin.
But I generally avoided this whole thing for a few reasons (and you’ll see a bit of my journalist background here):
- I’ve been totally slammed. The last week for me has been crazy busy, both professionally and personally, and I haven’t really had the time to look at this like I’d like to. I have a job and I doubt my employer would want me spending time looking into this.
- I didn’t know any of the people involved. While I’ve heard stories about the guy being a jerk over the years, everything I was reading in these blog posts and e-mails was hearsay. I didn’t know the people, nor did any of the people forwarding me the emails. It was all “I got this from a friend-of-a-friend.” Sorry, but don’t give “friend-of-friend” stuff that much credibility, especially when I have very little time on my hands to verify claims. I have a day-job, folks.
- I didn’t know Baltazar at all. I’ve never met the guy (though I have seen him in the area), so I didn’t want to start spreading something around that I didn’t know to be true. While I had heard stories, they hadn’t happened to me, nor had I the time to verify the various stories I’d heard or even compile them all. A**hole he may totally be, I have no idea. But again, I have a day job.
- The point has already been made. The mess has already gotten a ton of coverage — did I really need to contribute? I would’ve felt like I was just following the bandwagon and doing something that all the cool kids were doing.
- I didn’t want to give the guy more publicity. The reality is that all this whole mess is done is given a fairly new restaurant more publicity (good, bad, or otherwise). I didn’t want to contribute to that. Bad publicity it may be, but he just got his picture blown up in the Bulletin’s business section, a newspaper that’s read by 52,000 folks every day. Many people are going to just read the photo caption which says “He wants to make his restaurant different from other Mexican restaurants by creating an intimate and high-end setting.” That’ll be read by a lot of the childless folks on the West side of Bend who now know that they can go there and not be annoyed by kids. I know at least three childless couples who, even if the guy is a jerk, would probably still eat there because they like not eating with kids around. This will give them even more reason.
- A boycott/protest/whatever won’t hurt him. I had heard a few folks say they should boycott the restaurant. And what would that accomplish? It’s like when PETA sends an e-mail to all its members, asking them to boycott KFC. Do PETA members actually eat at KFC? No. So does KFC care if PETA boycotts? No. Will it hurt KFC’s bottom line? No. Same deal here. My guess is that most of the people that read these posts/e-mails either a) had never been there or b) were never planning on going there or c) could never afford to go there anyway (I fall into the latter category). So you’re going to boycott someplace you’d never go. All you did was make sure that kids say out of his place, which, reading the story, is exactly what he wants.
Last time the local blog world started talking about bad dining, it was about Kanpai, the sushi/sake place over on Newport. Folks were predicting the place’s demise, and last I checked, they’re still here over two years after that original post and debate (the Kanpai mess was another reason I avoided this one).
So long story short, I don’t think this whole mess is going to really hurt him. A total jerk the guy may be, but he’s probably laughing this all up right now. He’s gotten a ton of PR, will be frequented by the local childless who hate kids, and will still be around for a while. All he had to do was call somebody a horrible name.
Discuss below or over at Bend Forums. I’ve wasted enough time on this already, so I’ll probably be sitting this out.
Comments
I go to a restaurant for good food and good service. Knowing that the staff are rude, or that the owner would curse out a woman who complained certainly ruins that perception for me. I was planning to check out Baltazar’s, since I like El Pescador so much, but now I have no plans to ever go there, and I’m going to avoid El Pescador for a while. You don’t treat customers that way. There are plenty of great, friendly restaurants to spend my money at.
But you hit my point exactly, Dave: “Family”. He doesn’t want “Family” in his Bend place, never has, doesn’t care about this mess.
Um, I’m not even a Westsider and I’ll go there simply because children AREN’T encouraged.
Nothing personal but while this woman seems like a model parent, there are many, many more who think I’m just as delighted watching their little darling wander around their table as they are. I’m not.
If your children cannot manage to sit in their seats for the time it takes you to finish dinner, perhaps you should consider medication.
OK.. I’m exaggerating a tiny bit, but why can’t there be at least one place in Bend where children should be “seen but not heard” Mine certainly knew about ‘restaurant manners’.
As always, it is the 10% who spoil it for the rest of the parents who have well-mannered children. Perhaps we should all band together and boycott lenient parents who give the others a bad name?
Wait… journalistic integrity stopped you from commenting on something you had no knowledge about? Slow down there, buddy… I’m not sure I follow your logic. 😉
You’ve been watcing too much Fox News, Burton 😉
So, do you think Z21 is going to pick this up as well? At first there was a lot of “he said, she said” type stuff going around and it’s hard to really go off any of that. With the Bulletin article it sure clears up the issue.
Sure, with arguments, tempers flare and things are said that shouldn’t be. I’m sure Baltazar doesn’t want people telling him how to run his business either, but Bend still is “small enough” that you can’t hide from your mistakes.
If anyone but the owner had said what he said, they would be fired.
Probably my biggest issue with the restaurant was I ate there once and didn’t like the food. It will be interesting if this actually hurts the restaurant. Sometimes even bad publicity is good publicity. Rocco DiSpirito would agree.
I suppose I was missing the point of this whole thing.
So I agree…The rudeness is inexcusable.
Whether or not he wants children there is moot.
See… if I’m quiet long enough I actually LEARN something! 🙂
Being an eastside girl myself, no worries. 🙂 We won’t let the little things bother us.
(That and my favorite restaurant is likely the drive thru travel trailer next my lube shop. Shhhhh. Tell no one–I don’t need the crowds.)
I know exactly what trailer you’re talking about Cheryl, and it’s good!
I prefer restaurants where kids aren’t welcome. Where is this place?
I have 3 kids, and the people who ruin dining for EVERYONE are not the maniac kids who run around screaming & yelling & throwing food: It’s their parents. These are the same lunatics who believe they are the white hot center of the Universe, they will run you down in their 42′ long SUV, leave their shopping cart in the checkout lane, let their dogs crap on the sidewalk, throw litter on the ground rather than carry it 5 feet, and other essentially inhuman acts. Their kids are borderline criminals because their parents are so wildy selfish they can’t see anything beyond their own nose. The best way to raise a sociopath is to let them do whatever they want. These people & their kids should be banned from EVERYWHERE.
That said, I would NEVER eat at a restaurant that “targeted” me in a negative way. They are serving me FOOD! What little “surprises” can they put in it? Maybe that’s just paranoia, but I’ve worked in a lot of restaurants, and I’ve worked with some questionable characters…
And calling a customer a f_____ b_____ is not excusable under ANY circumstances. The guy should have hung up if this woman was abusive or unreasonable. That guy has a thinly veiled contempt for his patrons, and it surfaces under the “wrong” circumstances. I don’t want someone like that serving me FOOD.
Oh, please. This woman was just being a self-righteous drama queen simply because someone didn’t fall down and worship her children.
Next time I’m in the area, this is the FIRST restaurant I’ll go to. Nice to know you can count on ONE place in the universe where screeching kids won’t ruin your meal.
Hey, knock yourself out. But don’t become some self righteous drama queen when you find yourself similarly treated for the many other things Baltazar is also renowned to not appreciate. I leave it the would-be diners to make a list….
It seems to me that Baltazar Chavez has a passive-aggressive personality and is not a very savvy businessman.
That being said…
I am a mom, and I am really annoyed by ill-behaved children. Not just at dinner, but just about everywhere I go. I have left many a restaurant with my daughter in tow, because I am not willing to annoy other people, and because I wanted my daughter to learn the consequences of bad behavior at a young age.
So, let’s put that argument aside for now.
Baltazar could have carved out a niche for himself in Bend. He could have branded his restaurant as a an adult-dining experience. As many parents have stated (along with many non-parents) it is nice to have an upscale restaurant in Bend, a place adults can go to without the presence of children. The reality is many children are allowed to run wild without consequence in this world and one place where it is really apparent and most distracting is in the restaurant setting.
Who wants it? I don’t. My daughter, who is 6, doesn’t like it either. She often wonders why kids are so rude and why they don’t have good “restaurant manners” and why the parents don’t do anything.
Back to the issue at hand. Blatazar has created a HUGE problem for himself because he hasn’t clarified his business objectives. He is all over the board.
According to the Bulletin:
“Chavez said he is not anti-children, but he doesn’t necessarily want them at his restaurant. He wants to make his restaurant different from other Mexican eateries by creating an intimate and high-end setting.”
It is this kind of unclear thinking that leads many businesses to ruin, only this case is more pronounced because it is so heated and so dramatic and because his social and business skills are so poor.
Unless you read the Bend Bulletin article, received an email from the Mom’s Club or a friend, or experienced this bizarre restaurant for yourself, you would have had no idea that the place is not kid friendly. How is the public supposed to know?
If you had gone there with children unknowingly (as I did on my one and only occasion) you might have found that you were seated and THEN treated like you-know-what. What on earth is that all about?
Baltazar has treated people rudely for a very long time, not just families, but groups of adults and couples. You name it, there is a story out there of his rude behavior and despicable and vulgar language, not to mention extremely poor service at the restaurant.
He’s got a problem, whether he is just rude or has a substance abuse problem is unclear, but for whatever reason, if you don’t dine his way then it is the highway and he is happy to send you packing with some very choice words.
Again, imagine what kind of restaurant he could have had with the proper marketing and branding. The issue is not about children, it is about his bad business practices and his unforgivable behavior towards his customers.
If he had done a little upfront marketing then families would have known NOT to go there with their children and much of this mess might have been avoided. Again, I invite you to look at the countless other stories that involve patrons who were not there with children and see if the main problem is strictly child-related.
He is not only rude to families with children, but to almost anyone who doesn’t follow his “rules.”
This is no way to run a business and while initially this negative PR might boost the non-family numbers at his restaurant, I believe it is only a matter of time before most people figure out that they don’t want to support a business that is so antagonistic towards its clientele.
You decide.
nice promo shot…looks like a children-friendly place, don’t it??
http://www.hoteltravelcheck.com/bend/baltazar-restaurant-bend.html
More oddities:
http://www.hoteltravelcheck.com/bend/baltazar-restaurant-bend.html
Not only do I find the picture for Baltazar’s somewhat strange, but look at the commentary!
(Think this might have something to do with the problem?)
(hello???)
Editor’s Note: Fixed formatting in previous comment.
My wife and I are neither childless (we have a grown daughter) nor child-haters, but we do not enjoy going out and spending $100 or more on dinner in a fine restaurant only to have the experience ruined by bawling kids. I don’t understand how the parents’ right to drag their kids along everywhere trumps our right to enjoy a peaceful meal.
Young children should not be taken to fine-dining restaurants, period. If the parents can’t or won’t get a babysitter, they should take the kid(s) to Mickey D’s or Red Robin, which the kid(s) will enjoy more anyway.
The guy who runs Baltazar’s may be a jerk, but I approve of his policy and wish more high-end restaurants adopted it.
“we do not enjoy going out and spending $100 or more on dinner in a fine restaurant only to have the experience ruined by bawling kids.”
Try spending over $100 for dinner for two (no kids) and having it ruined by Baltazar!!!
I will never forget, Lizard King!!!
I am sorry to be a little late on this issue – I’ve been out of town, my neighbor saved me the newspaper article because she knew I had had an issue with Baltazar….not at his new restaurant but at the Sunriver restaurant. We went there last summer with my daughter, son-in-law and 5 year old granddaughter. We sat outside in the patio area….it was very slow when we first arrived, but quickly filled up. When after 30 minutes had pased and our food didn’t arrive – and others that had arrived after us had been served, we became worried that we had somehow been “missed”. My son-in-law, who is the most mild-mannered person I know went inside to check…..he was told VERY RUDLEY that it had not been 30 minutes, but only 15! We knew how long it had been because our grandaughter was very hungry as it was way past her normal lunch hour. My son-in-law came back to the table with a stunned look on his face due to how rudely he had just been treated. The food arrived shortly thereafter. My husband thought he should inform the manager/owner of the rudeness of his employees and asked to speak to him. Baltazer came to our table, my husband explained the rudeness – Baltazer literally snatched the plates from the table and told us to leave! My grandaughter who was in the midst of eating was utterly crushed that the food she was in the process of eating was taken away! Naturally, we will never go there or any of his restaurants again.
Welcome Bulletin Readers!
(Yes, I know I’m bit slow, after the article’s been mentioned dang near everywhere else already. I promise I’ll go and read all your posts, boys and girls, after I…