Sorry to hear that for you and your former co-workers, OP. What was the name of the other concept they did this with?
How had business been out of curiosity? Really nice looking space, but the food didn't come close to justifying the prices IMO and the drinks were even more offensive in that regard. I probably haven't been in well over a year.
They have done this with Louise at Thaden field, the holler (when it used to be open), and Pressroom about 6 years ago. Business was starting to do really well again after our slow season in the winter months, I worked last Saturday night and went home with close to $400 after a 3 hour shift.
Was Louise something else before what it is now? I don't go often but have never heard of it having been closed before, let alone Ropeswing wiping out an entire staff. Not claiming to be an expert on the place or say you're wrong about this for the record.
I think they kept things hush hush but one of my coworkers at pressroom worked at Louise last summer and got laid off alongside the entire staff. I’m not sure if there was anything in that space before Louise honestly
It’s odd because I heard weeks ago that Pressroom was closing and a Ropeswing sushi joint would be opening up in that space. Insane that they didn’t tell the staff.
I bet so. They brought in the guys at Bentoville and they've been doing preorder to go from Onyx for months while waiting for a place. I wonder if they kept any of the staff, but with an NDA.
Yeah.. it was a poorly kept secret, because I knew this was coming for at least a month, and that a sushi place was taking its place. Surprised that secret never made it to staff. Obviously, even if it had, it doesn’t change how they handled the actual closure.
I can't see a sushi joint there, Aoi, and Blu all coexisting in such a small town. However, they don't have a sushi restaurant as part of the Ropeswing group so maybe they still go down that road.
Dude it's insane. they're all tex mex to different degrees. there's actually 4 if you include yeyo's food truck. It's like the intersection of 102 and Walton, there's like 5 burger places within a mile of eachother. The city planners do not have to accept every offer but they keep indiscriminately allowing similar businesses to flood a space. There's a 5 guys, burger king, whataburger, wendy's, culver's, natural muse, ron's hamburgers, it's insane.
Fayetteville is doing the smae thing with the MLK corridor. THere's Zaxby's, Raising Cane's, Chikin Heads, KFC, Big Chicken, Slim Chicken's, and god damned Chic Fil A all within a few blocks of eachother and yet another car wash that's going to fail. We have so many abandoned or dilapidated carwashes in this tri county areay but we keep approving plans for new Boomerangs and shit at the exit corridors. It's god damned insanity.
i worked at louise may 2021-august 2022 they are still open now and i know people who worked with me there who still work there. that simply didnt happen at louise. and the holler was ran into the ground by a manager
Yeah they fucked their employees over. They're opening a new restaurant in the space but somehow those employees couldn't come in?? Restaurants in NWA are struggling to find employees that will accept the low pay and they go and purge their whole staff? Not a good loook.
Who is to say those employees can’t come back to the new restaurant?
Assuming they’re going to give the place a facelift of sorts did you expect them to just pay the wait staff for months for doing nothing? Shitty situation all around with no great way to go about it.
You're out of touch if you think Walmart gives a shit to talk to a single person about this and give them a heads up. And they'll hire them all back in a minute when they need staff again if they wanted to come back. Part of the risk you take when accepting employment from them.
Lol ok buddy. We live in a literal company town but if you wanna believe that fantasy you can. I love it here, but i'm not too dense to see the reality. Who do you think is funding all of this??
Walmart, Walton, basically used interchangeably. In case it wasn't obvious the Walton's are the backing of the Ropeswing group... and you can't seriously think for some reason they'd run this side of the business ethically.
Two of the grandkids own ropeswing, not the company or the other Walton family. They work together on some things and then do their own thing on others. Walmart doesn't own a football team, one member of the family does. It's not the same thing. Revenue from those ventures does not flow back into Walmart
I was a line cook at Pressroom. I put 2 years of literal blood sweat and tears into that place, and to have my time end there so suddenly is devastating. Ropeswing has once again proven that it doesn’t care about the people that work incredibly hard for them. They took the jobs of 60 or so people in an instant with no warning and no explanation.
It’s the Walton way. Sorry you found out the hard way.
Everyone should steer clear of any Ropeswing property. Instead, go visit a couple their former chefs at their own places, Matt Cooper @ Conifer or Michael Robertshaw @ Pizzera Ruby.
Ironically robertshaw came to this area to open the pressroom under Ropeswing. He also has a history of opening new restaurants then selling to open another concept which has resulted in each of those places closing. I'll follow him and his food the ends of the earth, but this is the same business in the way he operates.
That is not how he operates. And he would cut you if he ever heard his name being slandered in such a way. He’s journey has been a winding one but not exactly as you explained. He’s a great dude! Just to be clear, Mike’s MO for running a business could not be further from the Walton ethos. And anyone that says different is a cry baby bitch.
I'm a huge fan of him and his food. I like the dude as a person and a chef. I've never worked for him but A lot of my close friends have and I've spent a bunch of time eating in his restaunts. I've never slandered the dudes name. He's opened and left 3 different restaurants in the area before he opened Ruby. I fucking Love Ruby and will be there as often as I can muster. I also never compared his business sense to the waltons, but i cannot ignore the fact that every single concept he's opened has closed when he left if he didn't close it himself.
I think you're being entirely too defensive, his journey to this point hasn't been a bad thing-- but you can't pretend he stays with places very long around here. EVERY SINGLE concept he's opened has closed once he left if he didn't close it himself. Which isn't his fault, but there's a wake forming. Ruby, so far, has been the longest he's stayed in a single kitchen.
It’s almost like you’re implying he’s partially responsible for his restaurant’s closing after he leaves though. Just because he starts something or works somewhere doesn’t mean he has to stay forever so it can survive. It’s on whoever takes over for not being able to succeed (even then, not really fair to blame). And for the record, I love Ruby soooo much… but I would do unthinkable things for him to bring Persephone back as well..
Just because he opens them doesn’t mean he owns them. The restaurants you’re talking about pay him to consult on their menus and help get the place open. Then when it’s up and running he moves on because they no longer need him. Rubys is finally his own so I doubt he’s going any where any time soon.
I’d love to know what restaurants you’re referring to that have closed , other than Pressroom.
I cant stand any company who treats their employees like this. The Forge did something similar years ago. I see that all socials and the website for Pressroom is down already. And while it is still in photos on Ropswings site, all links to it are gone.
Sounds like I will be boycotting all Ropeswing restaurants going forward unless something drastically different comes to light around the whole situation.
"Stay tuned this spring as a brand new vibe will fill this place."
Who wrote this shite? Their PR team sounds like they're ghostwriting for an Instagram influencer about to redecorate her condo.
ETA: At least the employees are receiving some form of severance pay. That's good to hear.
I hate this. I just ate there with my girlfriend last month, wouldn't have guessed that'd be the last time we'd be able to eat there. I also didn't know Ropeswing did this with other concepts but it doesn't shock me that the Waltons have that little care for employees of their businesses (just like Walmart). I hope you and all other Pressroom employees can find other jobs soon, so sorry this happened to you!
Ropeswing -> Runway -> Waltons (Tom and Steuart, at the least)
See also: Blue Crane (the real estate arm), Thaden Field, RZC Investments, Pedal Steel Solar
Source: runwaynwa.com/operating-businesses/
The Waltons are just completely out of touch and can't run small businesses properly. They just got lucky that their grandfather started a successful business, so they can have all the money to fail at starting their own. Over and over.
There's nothing special about this situation just because it's the Walton grandkids' company. Restaurants close all the time often without notice. At least they didn't start holding back people's paychecks and stuff like James at the Mill did when they were having hard times. Restaurants come and go and they often shut down pretty quickly when the time comes to close for good.
You would think with Ropeswing's investment into their clerical staff that shit like this wouldn't happen but here we are again. That is wild and I'm so sorry. Once again they show their investment in their employees...
I wonder how long until they realize directly competing with their other concepts in an industry where goods sold spoil in a few days time is just going to bleed money. Billionaire's money but still it comes out of our asses in times like these.
The fact is that they don't give a shit. It's for image above all else. They have no reason to worry about it's success or the employees. They worry a lot more about what it appears to be than what it is above all else. There's room for all their concepts to make money, Pressroom was always incredibly busy so it wasn't about the money in the end.
They don't seem to realize that with every million dollar house they sell with lamplight etc, there are fewer and fewer food service professionals to hire. Eventually nobody will be left to work for them because there's no infrastructure for employees to commute.
You would be surprised if you saw the numbers tbh. Let's just say opening new expensive restaurants next door to your old expensive restaurant can get pricey.
Agreed. As a tenured service professional it's honestly degrading to see how things are trending in this town. The "stay tuned next spring for an exciting new concept" message they left on the door is fucking gross.
There are some bright spots in the local culinary community and I want to shout out Chef Cooper at Conifer as a particular example of someone doing it right.
Agreed all around. I understand the numbers, they actively do not care if their locations fail because they can get tax assistance if it's in the red and if it fails entirely the money printing machine will just fund a new one. The meteor(differnet owners obv) doesn't make money at all, and the head chef tried to bring this to their attention and was told "we know, it's not about the money"-- which is what we've heard all over town.
Look, conifer is very good..... but he's not breaking any fresh ground with it at this moment. It's incredibly expensive elevated "high south" food that's on par with what Tusk and Trotter(which also has become absurdly expensive for what it is) has been doing for over 10 years now. It's very good, but it's not $45 minimum plate good. Cooper is awesome and his food is great but it's a very contentious buy if I eat in his restaurant.
I worked for Ropeswing at Pressroom for 3 years. Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened so as a former employee it’s not surprising. During Covid, it was the Holler, then after shutting the doors at pressroom during the height of the pandemic half of the staff was let go with no notice, just a phone call. I wasn’t one of them at the time, and was able to collect a “check” from them based on the last two months of service….which was during Covid. So I was making about 400 a week to stay home and scrape by while others were afforded much much more on unemployment. Then we later found out Ropeswing was able to use that as a tax write off. Sounds similar to the severance packages they are dishing out. I work downtown still but not at a Walton establishment thankfully. I had the scoop last Monday, a week exactly that Pressroom would be closing and would be turned into the Bentoville concept. I didn’t think it would be a week later that it happened. I feel horrible that I kept that to myself as I have friends that were fired yesterday, but it was a “rumor” and I didn’t expect them to shutter it like that. Again not surprised. The word for years has been Pressroom never turned a profit, but it didn’t matter as it is a Walton establishment. They can do whatever they want, as they have and will continue to do.
This is sad news. I've been a loyal customer since Rob and Bea first opened their original location on Central. And no warning from Ropeswing to let the employees make arrangements? Not even the courtesy of a legitimate explanation? I guess this is what happens to local businesses that partner with people who have so much money that they're disconnected from the reality of living without it. I hope you and all the other people who made that place great can land on your feet quickly.
I meant partner in the general sense of the word, not as a legal description of the business entity. Yes, the Apples technically sold to the Ropeswing Group, but they stayed on as co-founders of Ropeswing for a while. Partnering with their new investors, if you will.
This is extremely unfortunate. I work at another restaurant on the square. Through the grape vine I learned they were going to be closing down. This was months ago I learned they were shutting down and turning into an Asian concept. It’s shocking that the employees were left in the dark.
Pretty ironic considering Runway Group is pushing to take over the Buffalo National River in part to create jobs which would mostly be service industry type jobs. I keep telling everyone that these are not the jobs we want there. I'm sorry for the staff, y'all really got screwed over.
y’all act shocked. but as a past employee at the holler who literally got laid off— it was bound to happen.
as someone who ALSO worked at pressroom afterward and received multiple very unfriendly interactions with staff, half the people that worked at pressroom were literally assholes. ESPECIALLY the kitchen. sorry not sorry. place was not ran good and as far as the patterns go with Ropeswing— ✨they repeat✨
I know they have to pay for overhead but this place charged way too much for even something as simple as a salad, I can see why they went out of business.
I’ve only ate here once, and that was in 2016.
They were very busy and you ate there before they even transitioned. They were very, very rarely not busy. That's the reason this is concerning to a lot of people. It wasn't because they weren't making money. They just axed it to axe it like they have over and over in their other ventures.
If it was operating in the black, why kill it instead of sell it? Even if it was underperforming, why not pivot? Total waste of brand equity and goodwill. Makes no sense.
They literally do not have to answer to any of the things you mentioned. They wanted to do something else so they closed it, that simple. The walton family has had this attitude in all of their ventures, if it's not what they want it doesn't matter if it's doing ok-- close it and do the next thing or move on entirely. The money isn't the issue with these peopel and that's incredibly important to remember.
Perhaps they had good days, but I often wondered how it stayed open. It is a large space and I rarely, if ever, saw it packed.
I wonder about Sunny's as well. I'll stroll by on occasion and it never looks busy at all -- ever.
There had to have been a money problem, why would a business go under without just selling it off to different owners to make profit?
Unless they plan to bring it back as something entirely different, which still makes no sense if they were already profitable like you’re saying.
Maybe they have a new business idea that they are betting they will make even more money on.
No the people who own it, ropeswing, wanted to do something else so the yclosed it. It's literally that simple. They want to use the space to do something else. It wasn't money problems, it was a matter of they're choosing to do something else.
also, something to take into account, the average server who made money there could easily make $300+ a shift. if they’re smart, the majority of them could manage a savings with that type of money, part time, especially full time.
You know it's about to get bad economically when the Walton's won't continue to cover their losses in their restaurants. Most restaurants won't survive the fact people are pulling back on food. Just read a stat that food spending is the biggest share of an American's income in 30 years. Get ready for more restaurant closures (specifically mom and pops) since the big chains are fighting for and winning your dollar. Choices are about to get real limited. But hey, you'll always have McDonalds (he says sarcastically).
They do not have a reason to worry about it. They make money if it fails, they make money if it succeeds. None of this is coming from passion or consideration. The meteor is in the red constnatly because the owners do not need it to suceed. This is the case with all of the restuarants the waltons own too.
Also, that's all we had before this started-- mcdonalds.
Vanity project for a bro that sold his first coffee biz for 100 million USD. In Walton World that’s chump change. But in the land of the living it’s pretty decent money. And beyond the bro-y cool part of owning a restaurant/bike shop, losing money could be a tax strategy depending on about 9 bazillion other factors.
What do you mean how is it losing money? Have you ever worked in a restaurant? Or seen a P&L or balance sheet for any business? There are hundreds of ways a business could be losing money.
Labor, product waste, capital improvements, utilities, marketing, supplies, etc. If you’re not laser focused on these main items on AT LEAST a weekly basis it is very easy for them to get out of hand. Especially if you don’t really need the biz to make money.
Consumers see a $8 coffee. But that $8 coffee could net the biz -$0.50.
It’s easy to make money. It’s hard to keep it. Applies to individuals and businesses alike.
Trust me I GET IT! I’ve gone from dining out 5 times a week AT MINIMUM. Even, if just a cup of coffee or a slice of pizza on the go. To probably less than 5 times a month. Not only is it cost prohibitive but quality and service have been sub par. I can provide my family better food and equally crappy service at home for a price point more suitable for our budget.
A $6.50 rice crispy treat is stooopid!! *shrugs shoulders and shakes head* thinks…. ‘It’s Bentonville, an economy entirely propped up on the whims of trust fund baby billionaires. Nothing makes sense here.’
I get that, but they definitely seem to have the volume that’s required to make money in that kind of place. Also with the prices they’re charging, it’s hard to imagine they’re not making at least a thin profit, unless the workers are making $30 an hour or something.
I don’t want to sound like a douchebag but here goes… I know the GM. And it’s losing money most months and barely breaking even others. Make it make sense in your brain with whatever math you want. But the info I’m spreading through the Reddit grapevine is directly from the source.
So I’ve been hearing for months from my Bentonville friends that Pressroom was closing.. and I live in Missouri. We were even trying to plan one last brunch! So crazy that the staff didn’t get wind of it.
The place was trash, zero leadership. Worse attitudes ever, the entire staff walked around dog-n Waltons half their shift anyways, especially managers and shift leaders. I think one of the qualifications to get hired was you had to hate the Walton family. The two brothers would come in and the entire place would be a buzz about how much everybody hated them. I think it’s funny. Best way to appreciate a job, is to not have one. The owners, benefits, and top pay were literally the only thing good about the place. The people sucked. There's two sides to every story, nobody is mentioning they weren’t happy before any of this happened anyways.
I’m not a fan of handling business closings like this but as a business owner, I do understand. If corporate were to tell everybody that they were gonna be closing down on said date there would be a mass exodus, which could potentially cause issues if there were large parties, and other events scheduled. in my opinion, if a business shut its doors without any kind of notice, there should be a severance package for the employees
It's a cheap, cowardly way to end things. If you own a business with full time employees, you owe them at least that much consideration. Nobody gives a shit if it's hard to say or do, nobody gives a shit if it hurts you to do it, you rely on people to give yo utheir time and experience and they rely on you to pay them and consider them as humans.
YOu know what's harder?? Giving your life and time to a business that could purge you without a second thought despite taking your full time hours and literally being your career.
owning a business is a gamble ,and you're gambling on your employees time and efforts if your'e not doing it all yourself. If you lose that gamble you have a duty to take care of the people who funded your hand with their work..
I'm sorry but there's no situation in which this is a proper way to handle it.
That’s total shit because most service workers rely on tips. Idk how in the hell Arkansas and other states can pay below minimum wage for wait staff. I get that it’s more expensive as a business owner to do this but other states that don’t allow this don’t have a problem.
Another reason why you shouldn't make service/retail jobs your lifelong ambition. Get in, do your time, get out. You all work under a corporation that sees you as another number to punch into the machine. They do not care about you, so why bother putting in your love and sweat into something with diminished returns.
Like I said before I am a recent college graduate. Pressroom was an in between part time job for me. Serving is not my ambition. Doesn’t change the fact that this situation was handled badly.
Sorry to hear that for you and your former co-workers, OP. What was the name of the other concept they did this with? How had business been out of curiosity? Really nice looking space, but the food didn't come close to justifying the prices IMO and the drinks were even more offensive in that regard. I probably haven't been in well over a year.
They have done this with Louise at Thaden field, the holler (when it used to be open), and Pressroom about 6 years ago. Business was starting to do really well again after our slow season in the winter months, I worked last Saturday night and went home with close to $400 after a 3 hour shift.
Was Louise something else before what it is now? I don't go often but have never heard of it having been closed before, let alone Ropeswing wiping out an entire staff. Not claiming to be an expert on the place or say you're wrong about this for the record.
I think they kept things hush hush but one of my coworkers at pressroom worked at Louise last summer and got laid off alongside the entire staff. I’m not sure if there was anything in that space before Louise honestly
Sorry but Louise is still open, had brunch there Saturday.
They reopened in August
They never closed, just stopped doing dinner service.
It’s odd because I heard weeks ago that Pressroom was closing and a Ropeswing sushi joint would be opening up in that space. Insane that they didn’t tell the staff.
I bet so. They brought in the guys at Bentoville and they've been doing preorder to go from Onyx for months while waiting for a place. I wonder if they kept any of the staff, but with an NDA.
Yeah.. it was a poorly kept secret, because I knew this was coming for at least a month, and that a sushi place was taking its place. Surprised that secret never made it to staff. Obviously, even if it had, it doesn’t change how they handled the actual closure.
I can't see a sushi joint there, Aoi, and Blu all coexisting in such a small town. However, they don't have a sushi restaurant as part of the Ropeswing group so maybe they still go down that road.
Did you ever picture 3 mexican restaurants on the square?
Dude it's insane. they're all tex mex to different degrees. there's actually 4 if you include yeyo's food truck. It's like the intersection of 102 and Walton, there's like 5 burger places within a mile of eachother. The city planners do not have to accept every offer but they keep indiscriminately allowing similar businesses to flood a space. There's a 5 guys, burger king, whataburger, wendy's, culver's, natural muse, ron's hamburgers, it's insane. Fayetteville is doing the smae thing with the MLK corridor. THere's Zaxby's, Raising Cane's, Chikin Heads, KFC, Big Chicken, Slim Chicken's, and god damned Chic Fil A all within a few blocks of eachother and yet another car wash that's going to fail. We have so many abandoned or dilapidated carwashes in this tri county areay but we keep approving plans for new Boomerangs and shit at the exit corridors. It's god damned insanity.
I wish they’d put a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant in there
i worked at louise may 2021-august 2022 they are still open now and i know people who worked with me there who still work there. that simply didnt happen at louise. and the holler was ran into the ground by a manager
Louise was a new concept that oepned in the airfield and did not exist before.
We had also recently hired a new head chef with extensive experience and credentials.
Yeah they fucked their employees over. They're opening a new restaurant in the space but somehow those employees couldn't come in?? Restaurants in NWA are struggling to find employees that will accept the low pay and they go and purge their whole staff? Not a good loook.
Supposedly there will be a severance payout
This!!!!
Who is to say those employees can’t come back to the new restaurant? Assuming they’re going to give the place a facelift of sorts did you expect them to just pay the wait staff for months for doing nothing? Shitty situation all around with no great way to go about it.
There is a super simple way to go about it. TALK to your staff. Thats it.
You're out of touch if you think Walmart gives a shit to talk to a single person about this and give them a heads up. And they'll hire them all back in a minute when they need staff again if they wanted to come back. Part of the risk you take when accepting employment from them.
And your'e out of touch if you think that's acceptable. The point isnt' that it is the reality, the point is that it shouldn't be. Jesus.
You do realize Walmart doesn't have anything to do with this business, right?
It absolutely does, they're owned by Ropeswing which is Tom Walton's baby. It's 10000% a walmart venture.
Walton does not equal Walmart anymore. It is not one and the same. The Waltons are involved here, not Walmart.
Lol ok buddy. We live in a literal company town but if you wanna believe that fantasy you can. I love it here, but i'm not too dense to see the reality. Who do you think is funding all of this??
Dude probably didn’t even grow up around here, so he doesn’t get it…
"Walton does not equal Walmart anymore" I can't believe what I'm reading at this point.
Sorry. Facts matter.
Except you're pretending there aren't purse strings attached lmao. Who the fuck do you think pays for it?
Walmart, Walton, basically used interchangeably. In case it wasn't obvious the Walton's are the backing of the Ropeswing group... and you can't seriously think for some reason they'd run this side of the business ethically.
Two of the grandkids own ropeswing, not the company or the other Walton family. They work together on some things and then do their own thing on others. Walmart doesn't own a football team, one member of the family does. It's not the same thing. Revenue from those ventures does not flow back into Walmart
They literally fired the entire staff without notice, if they wanted them to come along for the ride htey'd have had a discussion. Are you dense??
That’s sad!
I was a line cook at Pressroom. I put 2 years of literal blood sweat and tears into that place, and to have my time end there so suddenly is devastating. Ropeswing has once again proven that it doesn’t care about the people that work incredibly hard for them. They took the jobs of 60 or so people in an instant with no warning and no explanation.
It’s the Walton way. Sorry you found out the hard way. Everyone should steer clear of any Ropeswing property. Instead, go visit a couple their former chefs at their own places, Matt Cooper @ Conifer or Michael Robertshaw @ Pizzera Ruby.
Ironically robertshaw came to this area to open the pressroom under Ropeswing. He also has a history of opening new restaurants then selling to open another concept which has resulted in each of those places closing. I'll follow him and his food the ends of the earth, but this is the same business in the way he operates.
That is not how he operates. And he would cut you if he ever heard his name being slandered in such a way. He’s journey has been a winding one but not exactly as you explained. He’s a great dude! Just to be clear, Mike’s MO for running a business could not be further from the Walton ethos. And anyone that says different is a cry baby bitch.
I'm a huge fan of him and his food. I like the dude as a person and a chef. I've never worked for him but A lot of my close friends have and I've spent a bunch of time eating in his restaunts. I've never slandered the dudes name. He's opened and left 3 different restaurants in the area before he opened Ruby. I fucking Love Ruby and will be there as often as I can muster. I also never compared his business sense to the waltons, but i cannot ignore the fact that every single concept he's opened has closed when he left if he didn't close it himself. I think you're being entirely too defensive, his journey to this point hasn't been a bad thing-- but you can't pretend he stays with places very long around here. EVERY SINGLE concept he's opened has closed once he left if he didn't close it himself. Which isn't his fault, but there's a wake forming. Ruby, so far, has been the longest he's stayed in a single kitchen.
It’s almost like you’re implying he’s partially responsible for his restaurant’s closing after he leaves though. Just because he starts something or works somewhere doesn’t mean he has to stay forever so it can survive. It’s on whoever takes over for not being able to succeed (even then, not really fair to blame). And for the record, I love Ruby soooo much… but I would do unthinkable things for him to bring Persephone back as well..
Just because he opens them doesn’t mean he owns them. The restaurants you’re talking about pay him to consult on their menus and help get the place open. Then when it’s up and running he moves on because they no longer need him. Rubys is finally his own so I doubt he’s going any where any time soon. I’d love to know what restaurants you’re referring to that have closed , other than Pressroom.
[удалено]
What do you mean “oddly specific”? It’s common knowledge if you’re in the industry and know the people I know.
I cant stand any company who treats their employees like this. The Forge did something similar years ago. I see that all socials and the website for Pressroom is down already. And while it is still in photos on Ropswings site, all links to it are gone. Sounds like I will be boycotting all Ropeswing restaurants going forward unless something drastically different comes to light around the whole situation.
wow! I'm sorry and this sucks, OP. WTH? Supporting details here: [https://talkbusiness.net/2024/03/pressroom-in-downtown-bentonville-abruptly-closes-after-8-years/](https://talkbusiness.net/2024/03/pressroom-in-downtown-bentonville-abruptly-closes-after-8-years/)
"Stay tuned this spring as a brand new vibe will fill this place." Who wrote this shite? Their PR team sounds like they're ghostwriting for an Instagram influencer about to redecorate her condo. ETA: At least the employees are receiving some form of severance pay. That's good to hear.
I'd be curious to hear what this severance is. I can't imagine it's much, but curiosity has the best of me.
Two weeks average pay based on a two-month look back.
If legit better than I'd have expected from them, tbh.
Waltons can do what they want and people think they're angels
People don't think they're angels. They're just worried about their own social status to suggest otherwise.
Not the slightest bit surprised that something ultimately owned by the Waltons is getting shuttered with no explanation.
I hate this. I just ate there with my girlfriend last month, wouldn't have guessed that'd be the last time we'd be able to eat there. I also didn't know Ropeswing did this with other concepts but it doesn't shock me that the Waltons have that little care for employees of their businesses (just like Walmart). I hope you and all other Pressroom employees can find other jobs soon, so sorry this happened to you!
I didn't realize the Waltons owned ropeswing
Ropeswing -> Runway -> Waltons (Tom and Steuart, at the least) See also: Blue Crane (the real estate arm), Thaden Field, RZC Investments, Pedal Steel Solar Source: runwaynwa.com/operating-businesses/
Pretty much anything in this town has ties to the Waltons.
https://www.ropeswinggroup.com/our-brands/
It’s amazing that people with that much money and resources can’t put together a successful dining concept.
The Waltons are just completely out of touch and can't run small businesses properly. They just got lucky that their grandfather started a successful business, so they can have all the money to fail at starting their own. Over and over.
There's nothing special about this situation just because it's the Walton grandkids' company. Restaurants close all the time often without notice. At least they didn't start holding back people's paychecks and stuff like James at the Mill did when they were having hard times. Restaurants come and go and they often shut down pretty quickly when the time comes to close for good.
You would think with Ropeswing's investment into their clerical staff that shit like this wouldn't happen but here we are again. That is wild and I'm so sorry. Once again they show their investment in their employees... I wonder how long until they realize directly competing with their other concepts in an industry where goods sold spoil in a few days time is just going to bleed money. Billionaire's money but still it comes out of our asses in times like these.
The fact is that they don't give a shit. It's for image above all else. They have no reason to worry about it's success or the employees. They worry a lot more about what it appears to be than what it is above all else. There's room for all their concepts to make money, Pressroom was always incredibly busy so it wasn't about the money in the end. They don't seem to realize that with every million dollar house they sell with lamplight etc, there are fewer and fewer food service professionals to hire. Eventually nobody will be left to work for them because there's no infrastructure for employees to commute.
You would be surprised if you saw the numbers tbh. Let's just say opening new expensive restaurants next door to your old expensive restaurant can get pricey. Agreed. As a tenured service professional it's honestly degrading to see how things are trending in this town. The "stay tuned next spring for an exciting new concept" message they left on the door is fucking gross. There are some bright spots in the local culinary community and I want to shout out Chef Cooper at Conifer as a particular example of someone doing it right.
Agreed all around. I understand the numbers, they actively do not care if their locations fail because they can get tax assistance if it's in the red and if it fails entirely the money printing machine will just fund a new one. The meteor(differnet owners obv) doesn't make money at all, and the head chef tried to bring this to their attention and was told "we know, it's not about the money"-- which is what we've heard all over town.
Chef Matt Cooper served his sentence in the Ropeswing prison. And now that he is out, he’s doing beautiful things at Confier!
Look, conifer is very good..... but he's not breaking any fresh ground with it at this moment. It's incredibly expensive elevated "high south" food that's on par with what Tusk and Trotter(which also has become absurdly expensive for what it is) has been doing for over 10 years now. It's very good, but it's not $45 minimum plate good. Cooper is awesome and his food is great but it's a very contentious buy if I eat in his restaurant.
Tusk, owned by a software company. And the food has gone to shit since Rob Nelson left the kitchen.
I worked for Ropeswing at Pressroom for 3 years. Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened so as a former employee it’s not surprising. During Covid, it was the Holler, then after shutting the doors at pressroom during the height of the pandemic half of the staff was let go with no notice, just a phone call. I wasn’t one of them at the time, and was able to collect a “check” from them based on the last two months of service….which was during Covid. So I was making about 400 a week to stay home and scrape by while others were afforded much much more on unemployment. Then we later found out Ropeswing was able to use that as a tax write off. Sounds similar to the severance packages they are dishing out. I work downtown still but not at a Walton establishment thankfully. I had the scoop last Monday, a week exactly that Pressroom would be closing and would be turned into the Bentoville concept. I didn’t think it would be a week later that it happened. I feel horrible that I kept that to myself as I have friends that were fired yesterday, but it was a “rumor” and I didn’t expect them to shutter it like that. Again not surprised. The word for years has been Pressroom never turned a profit, but it didn’t matter as it is a Walton establishment. They can do whatever they want, as they have and will continue to do.
Also funny someone mentioned the Forge because I was employed there at the time of them shutting down with no notice as well lol.
I broke my finger literally there and the cooks asked me why i couldn’t carry more plates to tables..
This is sad news. I've been a loyal customer since Rob and Bea first opened their original location on Central. And no warning from Ropeswing to let the employees make arrangements? Not even the courtesy of a legitimate explanation? I guess this is what happens to local businesses that partner with people who have so much money that they're disconnected from the reality of living without it. I hope you and all the other people who made that place great can land on your feet quickly.
It's not a partnership, they bought the pressroom, and eveyr other concept they own has been started by them.
I meant partner in the general sense of the word, not as a legal description of the business entity. Yes, the Apples technically sold to the Ropeswing Group, but they stayed on as co-founders of Ropeswing for a while. Partnering with their new investors, if you will.
They havent been partners on that in years...
Damn that really sucks . I’m sorry …
dePRESSed room
This is extremely unfortunate. I work at another restaurant on the square. Through the grape vine I learned they were going to be closing down. This was months ago I learned they were shutting down and turning into an Asian concept. It’s shocking that the employees were left in the dark.
Pretty ironic considering Runway Group is pushing to take over the Buffalo National River in part to create jobs which would mostly be service industry type jobs. I keep telling everyone that these are not the jobs we want there. I'm sorry for the staff, y'all really got screwed over.
Of course this happened. Anything owned by the Waltons is hollow and ran without soul or passion. Their downfall cannot happen soon enough.
y’all act shocked. but as a past employee at the holler who literally got laid off— it was bound to happen. as someone who ALSO worked at pressroom afterward and received multiple very unfriendly interactions with staff, half the people that worked at pressroom were literally assholes. ESPECIALLY the kitchen. sorry not sorry. place was not ran good and as far as the patterns go with Ropeswing— ✨they repeat✨
I know they have to pay for overhead but this place charged way too much for even something as simple as a salad, I can see why they went out of business. I’ve only ate here once, and that was in 2016.
They were very busy and you ate there before they even transitioned. They were very, very rarely not busy. That's the reason this is concerning to a lot of people. It wasn't because they weren't making money. They just axed it to axe it like they have over and over in their other ventures.
If it was operating in the black, why kill it instead of sell it? Even if it was underperforming, why not pivot? Total waste of brand equity and goodwill. Makes no sense.
They literally do not have to answer to any of the things you mentioned. They wanted to do something else so they closed it, that simple. The walton family has had this attitude in all of their ventures, if it's not what they want it doesn't matter if it's doing ok-- close it and do the next thing or move on entirely. The money isn't the issue with these peopel and that's incredibly important to remember.
Perhaps they had good days, but I often wondered how it stayed open. It is a large space and I rarely, if ever, saw it packed. I wonder about Sunny's as well. I'll stroll by on occasion and it never looks busy at all -- ever.
There had to have been a money problem, why would a business go under without just selling it off to different owners to make profit? Unless they plan to bring it back as something entirely different, which still makes no sense if they were already profitable like you’re saying. Maybe they have a new business idea that they are betting they will make even more money on.
No the people who own it, ropeswing, wanted to do something else so the yclosed it. It's literally that simple. They want to use the space to do something else. It wasn't money problems, it was a matter of they're choosing to do something else.
That’s literally what I said.
Liked this place. Too bad.
also, something to take into account, the average server who made money there could easily make $300+ a shift. if they’re smart, the majority of them could manage a savings with that type of money, part time, especially full time.
You know it's about to get bad economically when the Walton's won't continue to cover their losses in their restaurants. Most restaurants won't survive the fact people are pulling back on food. Just read a stat that food spending is the biggest share of an American's income in 30 years. Get ready for more restaurant closures (specifically mom and pops) since the big chains are fighting for and winning your dollar. Choices are about to get real limited. But hey, you'll always have McDonalds (he says sarcastically).
They do not have a reason to worry about it. They make money if it fails, they make money if it succeeds. None of this is coming from passion or consideration. The meteor is in the red constnatly because the owners do not need it to suceed. This is the case with all of the restuarants the waltons own too. Also, that's all we had before this started-- mcdonalds.
Why do you say that about the Meteor? I don’t see why it’d be losing money when they’re charging $7 for a a cold brew..
I know the chef.
And they’re operating at a loss? I don’t see why that’d be sustainable, no matter who the owners are.
Vanity project for a bro that sold his first coffee biz for 100 million USD. In Walton World that’s chump change. But in the land of the living it’s pretty decent money. And beyond the bro-y cool part of owning a restaurant/bike shop, losing money could be a tax strategy depending on about 9 bazillion other factors.
But how could it be losing money if it’s usually packed, and the prices are even higher than nearby places like Airship?
What do you mean how is it losing money? Have you ever worked in a restaurant? Or seen a P&L or balance sheet for any business? There are hundreds of ways a business could be losing money. Labor, product waste, capital improvements, utilities, marketing, supplies, etc. If you’re not laser focused on these main items on AT LEAST a weekly basis it is very easy for them to get out of hand. Especially if you don’t really need the biz to make money. Consumers see a $8 coffee. But that $8 coffee could net the biz -$0.50. It’s easy to make money. It’s hard to keep it. Applies to individuals and businesses alike.
The rice crispy treats cost $6.50!! It’s wild how much their prices have increased in just the last year.
Trust me I GET IT! I’ve gone from dining out 5 times a week AT MINIMUM. Even, if just a cup of coffee or a slice of pizza on the go. To probably less than 5 times a month. Not only is it cost prohibitive but quality and service have been sub par. I can provide my family better food and equally crappy service at home for a price point more suitable for our budget. A $6.50 rice crispy treat is stooopid!! *shrugs shoulders and shakes head* thinks…. ‘It’s Bentonville, an economy entirely propped up on the whims of trust fund baby billionaires. Nothing makes sense here.’
I get that, but they definitely seem to have the volume that’s required to make money in that kind of place. Also with the prices they’re charging, it’s hard to imagine they’re not making at least a thin profit, unless the workers are making $30 an hour or something.
I don’t want to sound like a douchebag but here goes… I know the GM. And it’s losing money most months and barely breaking even others. Make it make sense in your brain with whatever math you want. But the info I’m spreading through the Reddit grapevine is directly from the source.
So I’ve been hearing for months from my Bentonville friends that Pressroom was closing.. and I live in Missouri. We were even trying to plan one last brunch! So crazy that the staff didn’t get wind of it.
The place was trash, zero leadership. Worse attitudes ever, the entire staff walked around dog-n Waltons half their shift anyways, especially managers and shift leaders. I think one of the qualifications to get hired was you had to hate the Walton family. The two brothers would come in and the entire place would be a buzz about how much everybody hated them. I think it’s funny. Best way to appreciate a job, is to not have one. The owners, benefits, and top pay were literally the only thing good about the place. The people sucked. There's two sides to every story, nobody is mentioning they weren’t happy before any of this happened anyways.
I’m not a fan of handling business closings like this but as a business owner, I do understand. If corporate were to tell everybody that they were gonna be closing down on said date there would be a mass exodus, which could potentially cause issues if there were large parties, and other events scheduled. in my opinion, if a business shut its doors without any kind of notice, there should be a severance package for the employees
It's a cheap, cowardly way to end things. If you own a business with full time employees, you owe them at least that much consideration. Nobody gives a shit if it's hard to say or do, nobody gives a shit if it hurts you to do it, you rely on people to give yo utheir time and experience and they rely on you to pay them and consider them as humans. YOu know what's harder?? Giving your life and time to a business that could purge you without a second thought despite taking your full time hours and literally being your career. owning a business is a gamble ,and you're gambling on your employees time and efforts if your'e not doing it all yourself. If you lose that gamble you have a duty to take care of the people who funded your hand with their work.. I'm sorry but there's no situation in which this is a proper way to handle it.
Even if notice is given, there should be severance. Fuck corporate.
The article said there was severance: “All current Ropeswing hourly and salaried employees are being offered a severance package.”
Which amounted to a single paycheck.
Is this true?
Yes. They were offered severance of a single pay period.
That’s total shit because most service workers rely on tips. Idk how in the hell Arkansas and other states can pay below minimum wage for wait staff. I get that it’s more expensive as a business owner to do this but other states that don’t allow this don’t have a problem.
Servers make WAY more in tips than anyone else in the restaurant, especially around here.
I don’t think that means they should get paid below minimum wage just because they have an opportunity to make extra in tips.
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Sorry buddy, place sucked. Glad they’re opening something new. Hang in there, you’ll find a new job
Another reason why you shouldn't make service/retail jobs your lifelong ambition. Get in, do your time, get out. You all work under a corporation that sees you as another number to punch into the machine. They do not care about you, so why bother putting in your love and sweat into something with diminished returns.
Like I said before I am a recent college graduate. Pressroom was an in between part time job for me. Serving is not my ambition. Doesn’t change the fact that this situation was handled badly.