Oh, i bet its truthful, but not for the reason she implies.

They are scared. They know once it happens their customer base is gone.  "how much longer do i have left in business" is why they are calling her. 

Sat Aug 23 2025 16:39:00 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

The CEO is doubling down, claiming that store operators are blowing up her phone asking when they get their remodel, but she's probably lying or maybe talking about one location.

Well that time of the year again. Time to make cola flavor. ( not syrup ).

Not hard, just tedious since the measurements of oils are in the .5 ml.     But far easier than the old days when i would boil down fruits, spices and herbs myself.., 

So brother wanted to go to the 'cheesecake factory' for thanksgiving. Been there a couple of years ago for a retirement party.  Wasn't 'bad' food, but not good either.  I remember buying a cheesecake to go, same thing it was 'eh' but was expensive and not really worth it. I could make my own far better for far less. 

Fast forward to today, same experience with the food, 'eh', and didn't bother to finish it. "ill need a couple of boxes to take this home" "and ill take one of these cakes in a box to go" when i leave. "Ill set one out to thaw, you want it to sit for a couple of hours". "ok"

Time to leave ( just as the snow storm hit. lol ), she brings out the boxes + cheesecake + the bill. 75 dollars.. for a freaking cake. WTF ( and 15 more for the borderline pathetic food ) . I didn't want to make a scene in front of the nieces and nephews and their mates, "look: grumpy old man", and they already set it out an hour for me, so i took it and moved on. But they lost a customer, forever. And i hope they collapse.  Sister bought ONE piece to take home.  17 bucks..  again. WTF.

And unrelated to the food, due to where i sat i could see more of the main room this time. Such an odd place. Had some watercolor 'foodish' painting, which made sense. Some abstract watercolor on the ceilings, not food related at all, sort of odd, but not that much.  They had also pedestals in the 4 corners of the main dining area that looked like carved Egyptian priestesses on the top.. and at each of the 'booths' a tower, with what looked like the eye of Sauron...    wtf.           Ironically we were at the same table as i was last time, but i choose to sit looking towards the main room, not away from it.

Yeah.  Most of the big chains have fallen victim to the same game.  Some private equity firm gobbles them up, then needs to "increase shareholder value" so the prices go up and the quality goes down.

So - this is one of the things I've noticed about crossing a threshold in economic status... 

I haven't gone to a Cheesecake Factory or a Chili's or an Olive Garden or a um... jeeze, I can't even remember the name of the other place... any of those places the IBM guys take you when they want to sell you a SAN - in YEARS. 
My wife and I were camping a year or two back in Flagstaff and I twisted her arm hard to go to Outback Steakhouse and... it was GOOD that night. Blooming Onion and steak medallions - but... it was also... it wasn't the Michelin rated steakhouses we go to today with aged ribeyes and A4 wagyu that is $300 an oz. 

Don't get me wrong. I still frequently go to Denny's (oddly) for a Patty Melt (it isn't a menu item anymore, and many have no idea, but if there is a good Mexican cook back in the kitchen, he'll whip you up one that will blow your mind...) and eat fast food - Taco Bell, Wendys, In-N-Out. Every now and then I get a craving for Cracker Barrel. But when we go out "fancy" - it isn't going to be Red Robin or Red Lobster. That mid-level corporate chain restaurant just feels so mediocre to me. I ate so much of that on corporate lunches and dinners in IT coming up - maybe THAT is the reason. "Bottomless Fries with Cluck sauce! Yum!" 

They're like the purgatory of eating out. Maybe that is it... Give me Morton's or Ruth's Chris or give me Denny's - but preserve me from Olive Garden and Buca di Beppo. 

There is one place, it is like Marie Calendar's - but I can't remember the name. Kind of the poster-child of these kind of places.  Applebee's I had to look it up. I haven't eaten their "pasta in a bag" dinners in a decade. I mean - they sell of "value" - right? You order, you're going to take half your dish home, it is tasty - but I feel like I can get the same meal in the frozen food section of Albertson or Safeway or... Aldi's - whatever - in a bag I throw in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. 

I did like Spaghetti Factory - and the one near me in Chandler closed - so now I have to go all the way to Phoenix to scratch that itch. You guys probably don't know about it. It is more of a West Coast thing - there is one in Columbus, I think. 

And I sometimes see people going, "$48 for a Wagyu burger? This is the definition of a fool and his money will soon be parted," kind of conversations where they go, "I can get a whole Big Mac Value meal for $14. 

It is SO worth it - if you can afford it. Even Shake Shack and The Habit and Bobby Flay - Gordon Ramsey Fish and Chips on the strip in Vegas - tastes like real pub Fish and Chips in London... and almost all American Fish and Chips shops get that wrong - it is TOO fried and too crisp like tempura or fried chicken. It should be soft and a little doughy. 

Once you've had real fish and chips in England - Gordon Ramsey's is the next best bet in America - and Long John Silvers is absolute shite. ;)