Grinders

[chrizow]

not the edwin morales piece...but a lot of the gossipy stuff.

[bahua]

I was just there, and we had some trouble getting prompt service. Most of the time, it seems to be chronically understaffed, which might be part of the problem.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I was just there, and we had some trouble getting prompt service. Most of the time, it seems to be chronically understaffed, which might be part of the problem.

You may be on to something with the staffing.  If wait staff get too many tables they can actually get lazy and apathetic since they will still have the volume to get a full tip haul no matter how poor a job they do.  If you give them less tables to work, they will have to put more effort into keeping everyone happy in order to get the same haul. 

[KCTigerFan]

I have to agree on the service.  I love the place, but the service has been spotty on a couple of occassions.  Sometimes to the point of an entire table being ignored and having to go ask to order food at the bar.  Hopefully Stretch will address this minor problem at what is a great addition to KC.   

[mean]

I normally get pretty good service in there, though a few times it's been bad. I think being a consistent over-tipper helps. 

[chrizow]

i've noticed a dramatic improvement, with blips here and there.  luckily i'm never in a hurry when i go to Grinders.  when i go there i have pretty much decided to be there for the long haul.  i probably spend $100 a month there, haha.

[trailerkid]

Just wondering why are people so forgiving being ignored by the employees and owner of Grinders? Many other local instutitions have been raked over the coals by forumers with similar service problems, but this place gets a pass.

[mean]

It's easy to spend well over $100 on a visit if you're really into beer, and you have a couple friends you want to buy a few drinks for. More than once I've looked at the two blurry bills held in my two right hands and wondered how in the hell we drank that much beer.

Just wondering why are people so forgiving being ignored by the employees and owner of Grinders? Many other local instutitions have been raked over the coals by forumers with similar service problems, but this place gets a pass.

If it happened often I would be totally miffed, but I have been in there...jeez, dozens if not hundreds(?) of times, often several times per week, and only about twice that I can recall did I get crap service. Not a bad track record.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Just wondering why are people so forgiving being ignored by the employees and owner of Grinders? Many other local instutitions have been raked over the coals by forumers with similar service problems, but this place gets a pass.

If the food, beer, and location weren't as good I would have given up some time back.  I enjoy those aspects enough that I keep hoping they can pick up the service element.  If the other aspects weren't so promissing, forget about it.  

[chrizow]

i don't know what other local institutions have been raked over the coals for service on this forum, but with regard to grinders i think some people (my guess is that there are more people pissed off w/grinders service than there are people who give it a "pass") give it a pass because they simply like it so much!  

for me, i can deal with slow service once in a while anywhere - let alone at a place i really love.  i tolerate it at Grinders because i love the food, atmosphere, and the fact they have the best beer selection in kansas city.  it's sort of like how i deal with aloof hipster service at Succotash, Broadway Cafe, YJ's - because to some extent i EXPECT it (sad but true!) and it's just not that big of a deal.

further, the servers at Grinders are cool and nice.  if there is a problem with an order, they promptly fix it and i think they genuinely like talking to customers.  they just don't hustle like servers at a corporate restaurant.  

i think their worst problem is approaching customers when they come in the door.  i've sat there for several minutes before i had to go find a server.  there needs to be some system in place there where the servers are MANDATED to be at a customer's table within a minute of the customer walking through the door.  i've noticed this problem is exacerbated when the servers are near the back register, because people/taps/distance obscure folks when they walk through the door.  

[trailerkid]

i love the food, atmosphere, and the fact they have the best beer selection in kansas city.

I can't speak on the food, but I wasn't impressed with any of the formal qualities of this place. Maybe I don't get it. The intent is to be very current and hip? I just didn't get the impression they were breaking any new territory or doing anything different. I guess it's different if you compare it to bars on the Plaza or in Johnson County.

[LenexatoKCMO]

further, the servers at Grinders are cool and nice.  if there is a problem with an order, they promptly fix it and i think they genuinely like talking to customers.  they just don't hustle like servers at a corporate restaurant.  

Its been pretty 50-50 for us. 

My personal observations would be that sometimes the servers tend to get cought up in friendly chit chat with the regulars and other folks at the counter to the point that they don't notice/remember the anonymous shmos sitting out at the tables.  Thus they really interact well with some folks with great personal attention while the rest of the folks die on the vine.  Perhaps those of us who have been left hung out to dry need to start sitting at the counter, and chatting up the servers.  

Our last visit was probably the best service experience yet, with the server hanging out at our table and one of the owners making multiple visits to the table to check things - but we were almost the only ones in the bar and there were no regulars at the counter. 

[chrizow]

i don't know what they could do to "break new territory" but it's certainly different.  i've never been to a bar like it!  

i think Grinders is basically what you get when you have a mashup of a dive bar and neighborhood pizza/philly joint as conceived by a local sculptor that is quite a character.  add to that the following:

(a) the backyard/performance space which takes a classic east KC derelict lot and makes something of it
(b) the refurbed historic building that has been updated and fixed up but NOT made into a yuppiefied place
(c) a daring and delicious beer selection and general commitment to serving great beer (nary a Big Three beer in sight!)
(d) a truly random clientele consisting of Xroads yuppies, greasers, punks, hippies, old KC folks, businesspeople, and everyone in between.
(e) Stretch took a risk by opening a place in a derlict, delapidated corner of town.  it has since become quite an anchor, methinks.

i <3 Grinders.

[mean]

Well, Grinders is Grinders. It's laid back, it's informal. It's not a place where you're seated by a host(ess) with a wireless headset who then radios the server that they have a new table--if they don't see you come in and they don't see you sitting there, you may have to flag somebody down. Normally in my experience, someone comes up to draw a beer from the front taps and sees me before this becomes necessary, but not always. Personally, I don't see this as an affront to the customer. Anytime you're at an informal place where you seat yourself, you might have to flag someone down. If you're not looking for that kind of environment, you're better off going somewhere else.

I can't speak on the food, but I wasn't impressed with any of the formal qualities of this place. Maybe I don't get it. The intent is to be very current and hip? I just didn't get the impression they were breaking any new territory or doing anything different. I guess it's different if you compare it to bars on the Plaza or in Johnson County.

Well, I guess you shouldn't go there. It almost looks like you're trying to play some hipper-than-thou game. Who cares what the 'intent' is? Is there even supposed to be an 'intent'? It's a freaking bar, dude! The 'intent' is to have a great, laid back beer bar. There is, as far as I'm concerned, no need for some existential, "OMG we are doing something SO NEW AND DIFFERENT and BREAKING NEW TERRITORY!" nonsense. It's a fracking bar. No need to wax philosophic about it. Relax and have a beer. Or go somewhere else.

[Gretz]

I worked threeish shifts a week here as a second job for a while ending about a month ago, and at that point Anton--Anton is the half-owner who really runs the place more so than stretch; comments about service etc. should be directed to him--was considering going to three servers at a time instead of the usual two because of this problem.  He is definitely aware of the problem and does plenty of "motivating" the wait staff, but it seems gaps in service continue to crop up.  The problem is that when it's slow, as it typically is in winter, there really isn't enough to keep three servers/bartenders busy.  As the weather has turned business has been a lot steadier and I wouldn't be surprised to see three servers at least some of the time soon, especially with the bad press they've been getting lately.  It costs them pretty much nothing to hire a third, anyway though it obviously cuts back on the money the servers get.  It really is pretty tough for two to hold down the fort when it's really busy, it's just hard to predict when it will be busy and have a third working.  Myself I don't generally care that much about service and am not afraid to flag someone down, so it's no bother to me, but I have seen people get pretty frustrated from time to time and leave. 

[bahua]

It's easily my favorite bar in KC, and for about 500 miles in any direction.

That said, I don't like depending on waitresses at any bar. I would prefer to keep a tab up at the bar, and get my drinks myself.

[trailerkid]

a mashup of a dive bar and neighborhood pizza/philly joint as conceived by a local sculptor that is quite a character.

From what I experienced this is a good description, but I still didn't find it appealing. It's just a bar. Are there really that many yuppified bars in KC to be fleeing from? I guess I get the impression that most anywhere in KC you'd see a weird or eclectic mix of people. 

Generally, I'm turned off by Stretch as a public persona which adds more disdain for Grinders. Although, his sculptural work looks inspired.

[mean]

Have you met him, or do you just dislike him because he represents some sort of nebulous hipness which you yourself are turned off by? He's a super nice guy, isn't that what matters? I don't care if the guy has a surgically implanted tail and wings, as long as he's amiable.

Anyway, there's no other place in the city with that kind of beer selection, period. The only places that come close are in the deep suburbs (e.g., Barley's or Yard House) and even they, with their huge tap selections, don't have as good a selection as Grinders.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Anyway, there's no other place in the city with that kind of beer selection, period. The only places that come close are in the deep suburbs (e.g., Barley's or Yard House) and even they, with their huge tap selections, don't have as good a selection as Grinders.

I hadn't thought of it before but an urban Barley's location would be nice.  Off to the KCHops suggestion box. 

[bahua]

KCHopps waited too long to get a Barley's downtown. They've blown it. The "beer megastore" category will be taken by the (much better, imo) Flying Saucer. But, if KCHopps decides to liven things up with a little competition, I definitely wouldn't be opposed. They seem to have the resources to field a good tap selection, and places like Grinders are showing the market that to have a great beer selection, you don't have to have a handle of every single beer available in the area.

Barley's and the Yardhouse have 100 beers on tap, and between the two of them, maybe 15 interesting beers.