Film Row building threatened with demolition

[nickyrosstheboss]

Boulevard does not accept tips and pays there employees a living wage. My friends honestly hate working for tips in their situation, because of what you stated above ^^

[bobbyhawks]

The American system... "Why pay them a liveable wage when we can rely on the random and totally unmandated generosity of strangers?"

The fact that it is our stupid system and there are so many differing opinions on how to deal with it is proof it doesn't work. I've also caught (accidentally by trying to add-on to a tip) some people I know trying to completely skip out on including a tip for some big bills (shocking people who come from very wealthy backgrounds). If you've ever known a server very well at all, the number of stories they have when they get a c-note for a single drink are totally outnumbered by the stories in which a table of 20 comes into a Beard-level restaurant, stays for 5 hours, everyone orders burgers and High Lifes, and tips come to $2/person (or the last person with the check can't add a tip and just pays the bill sans tip).

[FangKC]

The tip system needs to be outlawed. There are just too many people who pay sub-living wages to their staff to work for them, and too many customers who don't tip enough, or at all, assuming the employees are being paid a living wage too.

There are people who work in smaller towns for the base server wage, and earn hardly any tips. The local populace is mostly old people who tip a dollar on a $30 tab after a waitress as spend an hour or more waiting on them.

There is also a sickening tipping tyranny because whomever is serving is hot or not. Less attractive humans often work much harder to please their customers and earn less.

[beautyfromashes]

^ No tipping in Europe and the service is lousy! It’s not really the fault of the server. If a place has 10 tables, they have one server for all of them. Of course, they would likely give a strange look at talking about being a server as a career.

[bobbyhawks]

^ No tipping in Europe and the service is lousy! It’s not really the fault of the server. If a place has 10 tables, they have one server for all of them. Of course, they would likely give a strange look at talking about being a server as a career.

I'd much rather be in the position of solving the problem of "lousy" service than whether or not my server can afford healthcare or to send their kids to school because my tip may or may not account for the lack of tipping by others.

I think it's pretty globally accepted that service is worse in Europe than US, but part of that is also due to expectations and cultural differences. Europeans aren't (always) in such a hurry to choke down food, and servers aren't (mostly) trying to flip a table to maximize number of seatings (for tips). People have slower, more drawn out meals, and for us (myself included), it is excruciating trying to get someone's attention to pay your bill and leave. Things that are bad service to us (too little attention paid) are normal for Europeans who feel rushed and annoyed by the pace of some US restaurants. Also, Europeans are camels and drink two thimbles of water every day, and we have this fixation with water refill rate equating to good service.

I don't know the answer entirely, but I think it is really based on the business. Many Euro restaurants are small businesses that are more interested in quality of life for employees than growing into some giant chain of high margin, high stress restaurants. They seem more likely to be fine with one or two seatings per table per night, and there is no rush to make customers leave. They are more likely to shut a restaurant down for a few weeks for vacation. That said, capitalism still has a way of sorting out what is important to the locals. Personally, I'll take bad service all day (so long as it isn't crazy unsanitary) if the food is great, but I'm in the minority in the US. I guarantee if tipping were gone and servers were paid a living wage, the "market" would still reward the restaurants at the Legends with the things that are most important to those patrons.

[beautyfromashes]

^ I guess it’s just POV. I’d rather have three severs at at restaurant with 10 tables giving great service and all of them have a job then one server, bad service and two people out of work.

[phuqueue]

Service isn't "lousy" in Europe (I mean, it can be depending on the restaurant, just like it can be here), it is a cultural difference where you summon the server if you need them rather than having them incessantly nag you about whether there is anything else they can get for you.

[FangKC]

I'm so tired of the bad service trope being trotted out as an excuse to pay people sub-standard wages for their work. There are plenty of professions where people are paid really well and they give crappy service. Expecting people to live on tips is a disgusting practice and I'm tired of people defending it. If a server consistently gives bad service, the business owner has the option to fire them. It's not a reason to keep all the other workers in this outdated caste system.

I never experienced bad service in Europe anymore than bad service in the USA.

[beautyfromashes]

^ I’m tired of the poor waiter trope. I worked service industry in college and made $60k/year. part-time. More than I made in my first job out of college. Tips are awesome.

[kboish]

^ I’m tired of the poor waiter trope. I worked service industry in college and made $60k/year. part-time. More than I made in my first job out of college. Tips are awesome.

All you have to do is look at BLS data to see that your experience is the exception, not the norm.

[Midtownkid]

^ I’m tired of the poor waiter trope. I worked service industry in college and made $60k/year. part-time. More than I made in my first job out of college. Tips are awesome.

Yeah I really depends on where you work, especially the city! I worked in DC as a waiter and at a bar for a few years and I made tons of money. I shared a brand-new apartment in Navy Yard, near the Capitol.

Then I moved here and worked as a waiter on the Plaza at a steak house. Thought I'd make plenty of money. I couldn't make ends meet.

I don't know how people do it who work at less expensive places with fewer customers.

[brewcrew1000]

The garage retail spot finally has a tenant, six years after the Orion was demolished: https://www.kansascity.com/news/busines ... 99357.html

We parked in front of Oak and Steel on our way to the Kauffman, at first i thought it was a companies kitchen or something, I really think the location is bad and the signage/visibility is very poor you dont know what it is at first.

[smh]

The garage retail spot finally has a tenant, six years after the Orion was demolished: https://www.kansascity.com/news/busines ... 99357.html

We parked in front of Oak and Steel on our way to the Kauffman, at first i thought it was a companies kitchen or something, I really think the location is bad and the signage/visibility is very poor you dont know what it is at first.

Guy could use a blade sign.

[DaveKCMO]

Helzberg proposing to renovate the old MGM and Universal Pictures buildings in Film Row as office. MGM is in really bad shape and many thought it would simply collapse. No incentives or tax credits. Two buildings will be joined together via a walkway, which will require vacation of one of the two north/south alleys in that block.

The north half of the block (height restriction of 55' per GDAP) will become apartments over parking with street level retail. Due to the site slope and height limit it will be 5-6 stories from east to west along 17th.

While not a Film Row building, the Kenton Brothers building at 18th & Baltimore will be renovated and the parking lot will become a pocket park (opening up more on-street parking by removal of the many curb cuts).

[KCPowercat]

who is doing the Kenton Brothers building redo? Like the idea of a park there. Always thought it would be a good place for a bit outdoor patio for a restaurant.

[DaveKCMO]

who is doing the Kenton Brothers building redo? Like the idea of a park there. Always thought it would be a good place for a bit outdoor patio for a restaurant.

Helzberg. She bought it a few years ago.

No word on the recently demolished properties in the 1600 block of Baltimore or the larger building on the NW corner of 17th & Baltimore.

[KCPowercat]

Cool. Thanks for the info. That 1600 Baltimore stretch is so odd to do the work to clear it and then nothing.

[FangKC]

Helzberg proposing to renovate the old MGM and Universal Pictures buildings in Film Row as office. MGM is in really bad shape and many thought it would simply collapse. No incentives or tax credits. Two buildings will be joined together via a walkway, which will require vacation of one of the two north/south alleys in that block.

I think you mean the Columbia Pictures building to the east of the MGM building. The Universal Pictures Building is on the SW corner of 17th and Wyandotte.

http://silverscreensalon.com/old-film-row

https://www.thepitchkc.com/old-film-row ... -crumbled/

[FangKC]

Dave, has any plan been given for the block between 18th and 17th, Central and Broadway, that was to be the site of the UMKC performing arts spaces?

[DaveKCMO]

Helzberg proposing to renovate the old MGM and Universal Pictures buildings in Film Row as office. MGM is in really bad shape and many thought it would simply collapse. No incentives or tax credits. Two buildings will be joined together via a walkway, which will require vacation of one of the two north/south alleys in that block.

I think you mean the Columbia Pictures building to the east of the MGM building. The Universal Pictures Building is on the SW corner of 17th and Wyandotte.

http://silverscreensalon.com/old-film-row

https://www.thepitchkc.com/old-film-row ... -crumbled/

They called it The Universal today (the other being called The Metro). I guess someone should correct them before they call it the wrong name!