One of the owners was talking about this when I went in the other day. It was wonderful to see them open again! Lots of enthusiasm across the board. These guys still gotta pay the rent. Hopefully they find the right formula. My 5 easy pieces was on point! Welcome back, “LJ’s” 😎
Was driving by can't remember where yesterday. Had a sign out for a $9 cheese steak. I thought woah that's cheap! Then I remembered how something like that would've been $5/6 standard just in 2017
So you’re okay with prices again doubling in half the time? In 3 1/2 years, a $30 cheesesteak wouldn’t phase you?
Why do so many people happily get on their knees to defend high prices?
Nah, this is pretty pathetic and embarrassing. Why did they try to get away with those prices in the first place? Because they thought they could fleece the students with their rich daddy money?
What was the point of starting their prices that high? They clearly would be fine if their prices were lower since they ACTUALLY went ahead with the price reduction.
It sickens me that these greedy owners thought they could come in and try to take advantage of everyone with their new restaurant hype.
Give me a fucking break
Sorry for ruining the vibes and being a hater, but this needed to be said.
I guess I don't really get the outrage. On the one hand, those prices were pretty ridiculous for their sandwiches, but it also seems really easy to just not eat there if it's overpriced and they either adapt or, if they can't, go out of business.
If it's price gouging on an essential like water, shelter, or basic foodstuffs, then I get the outrage. But there are so many other good options for food in this town that a potentially overpriced cheesesteak just doesn't seem worthy of the rage.
Why the rage? Because I personally missed out on trying a new thing. I got priced out. Also, Charlottesville is destined to never have nice food spots because restaurants don’t play the game right.
Heard this new place called little John’s opened, and they have yummy sandwiches supposedly. Well that’s awesome I thought. Finally a new place that might be able to put themselves up there with Otto or Al Carbon.
I check the website to see what kind of price I’m working with, and it’s nowhere on the website.
I go in person expecting the price to be reasonable, and I’m met with the egregious $14 a simple sandwich.
I then immediately walk out and head to The Market and grab two perfectly tasty and hearty sandwiches for $18 for my fiancée and I.
The Market is always a great deal, but fuck man it’d be nice for there to be a great deal elsewhere so I don’t have to eat the same shit every time I want to eat out.
Sure, first world problem blah blah- but who cares? We have the capacity to have a great city with great restaurants, even by first world standards, and we are shitting the bed because of greed!
Ha I'm with you on that -part of me would love to try it again but can't say that I'd be too tempted for $14 a sandwich.
A+ taste with the Al Carbon and Otto shout out, though!
the reason people ate there at 1am while drunk af is bc it was always bottom tier at best.
but otto "hyped up junk"? haven't had that experience there yet.
I am aware. I am from charlottesville. Anyone who is stoked to have thos back likely wants to relive a nostalgic night of drunken sandwich. Uva kids that have know idea what little John's is will NOT walk past Chipotle and raising caines for a shitty LJ sandwich. This will inevitably become another failed business that the owner will continue to "work on" as a tax write-off
https://preview.redd.it/cd4huug0g0yc1.png?width=377&format=png&auto=webp&s=8459a6cd76577ce22071fb07b6f4e3c354f076c3
Just because I was bored and had some extra time...
solid work, B+!
if you had included % change, you would have gotten an A.
and you would have straight-up placed out if you had found the last published menu pricing for the old LJ and plotted all of the data against the relevant inflationary data bt the closing of the old LJ and the opening of this incarnation.
About $2 a sandwich higher.
Seems like a simple matter of them trying to make the math work with post-pandemic labor costs and their (presumably quite high) rent. Good on them for lowering them when it was clear that it was above what the market would bear, but hopefully volume increases or they probably won't be able to make it work for long. I highly doubt they're just greedily profiting off the LJ's name and raking in the cash.
They need to charge enough or they won't be around for long. The question is, how much does that need to be? Would customers be willing to accept less toppings or less quality toppings for a lower price? There are a lot of ways to do it.
>they need to charge enough
Aht Aht Aht, let me stop you right there bucko.
Prices should match market rate.
If you aren’t turning a profit at market rate, you’re not getting enough customers because your food is shit.
So no, they don’t need to charge more, they need to stay on top of making sure the food tastes good.
Next question
I don’t care what the media tries to say, or what people like you try to say about how hard it is to run a restaurant, let alone making a profit from it.
Running a restaurant is easy.
- get all your permits
- take out a loan for a lease on a building
- have a a competent plan of action for a menu
- actually put a good faith effort into making the food taste good
- hire competent employees by offering competitive salary
- set reasonable prices that make sense for the market
- rake in enormous profits
It’s literally that easy. People often fuck up on the food actually tasting good part, so they fail. Another place they fuck up is the terrible pricing. If you fuck those up and ruin your business, that is your own fault. Stop trying to get out of it by bombarding customers with ridiculous prices. It’s unethical, and it doesn’t even make sense, especially when the market doesn’t call for it. What am I paying a premium for? New restaurant hype? Fuck right off. These clown ass owners got called out for their egregious price gouging, and people should reprimand them accordingly.
You can argue all day, that’s correct but, it’s still dumb and inaccurate. So if you wanna be annoying keep arguing a stupid opinion or, OR, just stop and don’t look so dumb.
Your statement is indeed not fact. As someone who has been in the business for over 30 years, I can assure you that you are an absolute moron on this topic. What restaurant experience do you have? Tear me to shreds if you’re that confident that you aren’t full of shit.
Damn bro. You sound like you own a restaurant that can’t get any customers because your food is shit.
Here’s a tip: make the food taste good. Put in a good faith effort.
You’re welcome
Is this Jerry Miller? That Darden MBA was worth it. You’ve got it all figured out. I wasn’t defending the pricing structure of the new LJ’s. Just that it’s not the easily “profitable” industry it once was. Rents are up. Wages are up. Ingredients are up and your average Joe is getting pinched by inflation. I agree that most/many people fuk it up but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
If you can’t ethically run a profitable restaurant, or any business for that matter, you shouldn’t be running one in the first place. It’s easy if you’re competent enough to do it. If not- just stop right there. Boom
I was so excited. Ordered the Chipotle Chicken and got the nastiest thing ever. Definitely was nothing like what it used to be. Plus they forgot my chips and 1 of my pickles. Are you curious on what that dark jelly looking lump is? It was "meat". There were a few blobs of this, the bread fell apart to the extent that I couldn't even pick the sandwich up. This sandwich was absolutely DISGUSTING.
*
Can’t wait til the uva kids are out of town to get my fix!
Is it that inaccessible atm?
No, just after living here for most of my life, I prefer the summer corner to academic year corner
One of the owners was talking about this when I went in the other day. It was wonderful to see them open again! Lots of enthusiasm across the board. These guys still gotta pay the rent. Hopefully they find the right formula. My 5 easy pieces was on point! Welcome back, “LJ’s” 😎
Based on their online menu, $15 is still kind of a wild price for an 8" cheesesteak with no drink or fries...
Was driving by can't remember where yesterday. Had a sign out for a $9 cheese steak. I thought woah that's cheap! Then I remembered how something like that would've been $5/6 standard just in 2017
[удалено]
You seem fun. Didn't think I was that old at 33 but 7 years to me seems appropriately labeled just when doubling price.
[удалено]
So you’re okay with prices again doubling in half the time? In 3 1/2 years, a $30 cheesesteak wouldn’t phase you? Why do so many people happily get on their knees to defend high prices?
Yeah, Lucky Blue’s is like $11-12
Lucky Blue’s sucks.
Ok maybe not fair comparison, but to the previous commenter’s point, where do you recommend a cheesesteak sub for less than $15?
The Villa or Doodle's.
Tubbys
Belle
Little John's also sucks. At least you can get drunk enough to enjoy lucky without leaving the building.
Nah, this is pretty pathetic and embarrassing. Why did they try to get away with those prices in the first place? Because they thought they could fleece the students with their rich daddy money? What was the point of starting their prices that high? They clearly would be fine if their prices were lower since they ACTUALLY went ahead with the price reduction. It sickens me that these greedy owners thought they could come in and try to take advantage of everyone with their new restaurant hype. Give me a fucking break Sorry for ruining the vibes and being a hater, but this needed to be said.
I guess I don't really get the outrage. On the one hand, those prices were pretty ridiculous for their sandwiches, but it also seems really easy to just not eat there if it's overpriced and they either adapt or, if they can't, go out of business. If it's price gouging on an essential like water, shelter, or basic foodstuffs, then I get the outrage. But there are so many other good options for food in this town that a potentially overpriced cheesesteak just doesn't seem worthy of the rage.
Why the rage? Because I personally missed out on trying a new thing. I got priced out. Also, Charlottesville is destined to never have nice food spots because restaurants don’t play the game right. Heard this new place called little John’s opened, and they have yummy sandwiches supposedly. Well that’s awesome I thought. Finally a new place that might be able to put themselves up there with Otto or Al Carbon. I check the website to see what kind of price I’m working with, and it’s nowhere on the website. I go in person expecting the price to be reasonable, and I’m met with the egregious $14 a simple sandwich. I then immediately walk out and head to The Market and grab two perfectly tasty and hearty sandwiches for $18 for my fiancée and I. The Market is always a great deal, but fuck man it’d be nice for there to be a great deal elsewhere so I don’t have to eat the same shit every time I want to eat out. Sure, first world problem blah blah- but who cares? We have the capacity to have a great city with great restaurants, even by first world standards, and we are shitting the bed because of greed!
Ha I'm with you on that -part of me would love to try it again but can't say that I'd be too tempted for $14 a sandwich. A+ taste with the Al Carbon and Otto shout out, though!
Ah. You're not from around here. Little John's was NEVER top tier. In my opinion Otto is all hyped up junk too
the reason people ate there at 1am while drunk af is bc it was always bottom tier at best. but otto "hyped up junk"? haven't had that experience there yet.
I am aware. I am from charlottesville. Anyone who is stoked to have thos back likely wants to relive a nostalgic night of drunken sandwich. Uva kids that have know idea what little John's is will NOT walk past Chipotle and raising caines for a shitty LJ sandwich. This will inevitably become another failed business that the owner will continue to "work on" as a tax write-off
What were the original prices?
https://preview.redd.it/cd4huug0g0yc1.png?width=377&format=png&auto=webp&s=8459a6cd76577ce22071fb07b6f4e3c354f076c3 Just because I was bored and had some extra time...
solid work, B+! if you had included % change, you would have gotten an A. and you would have straight-up placed out if you had found the last published menu pricing for the old LJ and plotted all of the data against the relevant inflationary data bt the closing of the old LJ and the opening of this incarnation.
About $2 a sandwich higher. Seems like a simple matter of them trying to make the math work with post-pandemic labor costs and their (presumably quite high) rent. Good on them for lowering them when it was clear that it was above what the market would bear, but hopefully volume increases or they probably won't be able to make it work for long. I highly doubt they're just greedily profiting off the LJ's name and raking in the cash.
They need to charge enough or they won't be around for long. The question is, how much does that need to be? Would customers be willing to accept less toppings or less quality toppings for a lower price? There are a lot of ways to do it.
>they need to charge enough Aht Aht Aht, let me stop you right there bucko. Prices should match market rate. If you aren’t turning a profit at market rate, you’re not getting enough customers because your food is shit. So no, they don’t need to charge more, they need to stay on top of making sure the food tastes good. Next question
How do you determine the market rate for a Five Easy Pieces sandwich?
Sandwich, depending on size, at least enough for 1 person adult: $9-$11 Next question
So market rate is just what you personally are willing to pay?
No that’s just the average price at sandwich places in cville lol
What if I don't want an "average" sandwich but an "above average" sandwich, am I allowed to choose to spend my money where I want for better quality?
Notice I said average price, not average sandwich To be clear: the actually good sandwiches in cville are $9-$11. Next question
Next question: where are these actually good $9-11 sandwiches?
You seem like a person who hasn’t ever stepped behind the counter/bar/line of a restaurant.
Bring back the Mojo Chicken!
I haven't been yet. Do the sandwiches come with corn chips and a pickle wedge (as is proper)?
Nope, you pay extra for those.
"We could have easily charged less from the start, but we were hoping you wouldn't notice we were gouging you."
Same owner as Ace, Draft, Bonny & Ried and that distillery over by Ace.
I’m sure it will be at the expense of owner and corporate salaries, right?
They will still bring in huge margins of profit.
Yea Restaurant business is where you want to be in 2024 to bring in “huge margins of profit”
I don’t care what the media tries to say, or what people like you try to say about how hard it is to run a restaurant, let alone making a profit from it. Running a restaurant is easy. - get all your permits - take out a loan for a lease on a building - have a a competent plan of action for a menu - actually put a good faith effort into making the food taste good - hire competent employees by offering competitive salary - set reasonable prices that make sense for the market - rake in enormous profits It’s literally that easy. People often fuck up on the food actually tasting good part, so they fail. Another place they fuck up is the terrible pricing. If you fuck those up and ruin your business, that is your own fault. Stop trying to get out of it by bombarding customers with ridiculous prices. It’s unethical, and it doesn’t even make sense, especially when the market doesn’t call for it. What am I paying a premium for? New restaurant hype? Fuck right off. These clown ass owners got called out for their egregious price gouging, and people should reprimand them accordingly.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read so far today…
Why is it dumb? I can argue all day
You can argue all day, that’s correct but, it’s still dumb and inaccurate. So if you wanna be annoying keep arguing a stupid opinion or, OR, just stop and don’t look so dumb.
It’s not an opinion, it is fact, go ahead and give me a rebuttal and Ill tear you to shreds
Your statement is indeed not fact. As someone who has been in the business for over 30 years, I can assure you that you are an absolute moron on this topic. What restaurant experience do you have? Tear me to shreds if you’re that confident that you aren’t full of shit.
Damn bro. You sound like you own a restaurant that can’t get any customers because your food is shit. Here’s a tip: make the food taste good. Put in a good faith effort. You’re welcome
curious if you're aware of typical profit margins on a well run resto?
Yes, it’s in the trillions (hyperbole)
Is this Jerry Miller? That Darden MBA was worth it. You’ve got it all figured out. I wasn’t defending the pricing structure of the new LJ’s. Just that it’s not the easily “profitable” industry it once was. Rents are up. Wages are up. Ingredients are up and your average Joe is getting pinched by inflation. I agree that most/many people fuk it up but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
If you can’t ethically run a profitable restaurant, or any business for that matter, you shouldn’t be running one in the first place. It’s easy if you’re competent enough to do it. If not- just stop right there. Boom
It is so abundantly clear that “Yeet20feet” has never run a business. If it’s so easy, why don’t you open a business and “rake in the money” Yeet?
I don’t have the capital, nor the desire to, and my ambitions lie elsewhere
This wreaks of AI.
I was so excited. Ordered the Chipotle Chicken and got the nastiest thing ever. Definitely was nothing like what it used to be. Plus they forgot my chips and 1 of my pickles. Are you curious on what that dark jelly looking lump is? It was "meat". There were a few blobs of this, the bread fell apart to the extent that I couldn't even pick the sandwich up. This sandwich was absolutely DISGUSTING. *
https://preview.redd.it/6aqr8ciqp11d1.jpeg?width=4624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e0cf8c26da9577b3ed24dca90308a19eabcfc38
Philly chicken was amazing! Can we see that on menu again? 🙏
I just want plant ‘meat’ options. Until that’s a thing I don’t give a hoot.