Moody Center
Bellagio Review Unfair
RECEIVED Tue., April 5, 2005
Dear Editor,
What has happened to our Chronicle? I have depended on Virginia Wood for finding good food in Austin since I arrived here eight years ago. In light of two recent events, I can no longer do that. I work for Bellagio Italian Bistro, a small family-owned restaurant at Jester Boulevard and 2222. A scathing, untruthful review was published by you all a few weeks ago [“Off and On,” Food, Feb. 18]. I personally took offense because I know how hard our very small staff works to make our restaurant a wonderful experience for everyone, including ourselves. I highly respect our owners and my co-workers. We are a family. I watch them all perform to the best of their abilities every day. We all care! I was told to dismiss the article, seeing as the reviewer was from Houston and we could have had an "off day,” which I am reluctant to accept. I just opened my newest Chronicle to find a blurb in the “Restaurant Roulette” section which, for me, adds insult to injury. It intimates that we make our customers uncomfortable because we close our kitchen "right after the dinner rush,” which is an outright lie. I personally have stayed one extra hour for one single table to dine at the very last moment, and given them the same caring service as if they were my first table of the evening. Have any of your reviewers ever had to manage the labor costs of a small, family-owned business? I watch three separate owners do their utmost to make their business solvent and profitable on a daily basis, and I am there, as are all of my constituents, to back them up. Now it seems like your opinions have become vindictive. Can I change your mind by caring for you myself? Our food is wonderful. If not, why has your reporting become so negative? We should get the same fair shake that some of the more mundane and less tasty venues garner from your publication. We support local businesses; shouldn't you?
What has happened to our Chronicle? I have depended on Virginia Wood for finding good food in Austin since I arrived here eight years ago. In light of two recent events, I can no longer do that. I work for Bellagio Italian Bistro, a small family-owned restaurant at Jester Boulevard and 2222. A scathing, untruthful review was published by you all a few weeks ago [“Off and On,” Food, Feb. 18]. I personally took offense because I know how hard our very small staff works to make our restaurant a wonderful experience for everyone, including ourselves. I highly respect our owners and my co-workers. We are a family. I watch them all perform to the best of their abilities every day. We all care! I was told to dismiss the article, seeing as the reviewer was from Houston and we could have had an "off day,” which I am reluctant to accept. I just opened my newest Chronicle to find a blurb in the “Restaurant Roulette” section which, for me, adds insult to injury. It intimates that we make our customers uncomfortable because we close our kitchen "right after the dinner rush,” which is an outright lie. I personally have stayed one extra hour for one single table to dine at the very last moment, and given them the same caring service as if they were my first table of the evening. Have any of your reviewers ever had to manage the labor costs of a small, family-owned business? I watch three separate owners do their utmost to make their business solvent and profitable on a daily basis, and I am there, as are all of my constituents, to back them up. Now it seems like your opinions have become vindictive. Can I change your mind by caring for you myself? Our food is wonderful. If not, why has your reporting become so negative? We should get the same fair shake that some of the more mundane and less tasty venues garner from your publication. We support local businesses; shouldn't you?
Billie M. Dixon III
[Virginia B. Wood responds: As I explained to the owner of the restaurant, neither the reviewer nor this newspaper has anything to gain from reviewers fabricating stories. Our reviewer is not from Houston and gave what I considered to be a fair, balanced, and honest account of his personal experience at Bellagio. That is what all our reviewers are expected to do, regardless of whether the restaurant is locally owned or not.]
