Yesterday I had lunch at Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery in Chapel Hill. It was my friend's birthday and she wanted to go there for lunch. I took some mental notes as I looked around the restaurant on some observations.
1. I noticed most people in the restaurant looked like they were there for lunch or business lunches. There were lots of men in suits and they seemed to be talking business. There were also older couples having lunch. There were also lots of country club women lunching together.
2. The demographics of the staff didn't match the demographics of the customers at all. Most of the staff was college age. Most of the customers looked to be 50+. The table I was sitting at had customers who were the youngest it seemed except for one family that was there with young kids. There were a few other college age students as customers but they were sitting with older adults who could have been their parents or people they worked with. Also the majority of customers were white. I don't even recall seeing someone of a different race while I was there. The staff however was multi-ethnic, made up of whites, blacks and Asians.
3. I didn't notice any background music because the restaurant is open and there is an outdoor section connected with the indoor and so I don't think there was any music due to the outdoors background.
4. The set-up of the restaurant was very cool with the outdoors having stunning views of Franklin Street and Chapel Hill. The restaurant is nice and felt "country club-ish" which reflects their menu and prices.
I also did my observation at a restaurant--Fox and the Hound. I have actually been going on the same night of the week, with the same group of people for like 3 years now. I think i've been going there for so long that there was a lot that I never noticed. A few things...
ReplyDelete1. Only females were serving. In fact the entire staff was female except for one male bartender. I guess because I have had the same waitress for so long I never noticed.
2. Pretty much everyone there that night was in business professional/business casual wear. They were obviously all there right after work like we were. I think I saw one couple that was in normal street clothes.
3. The way the restaurant is set up is interesting. There is a huge bar area where you seat yourself and then a back room for more family seating--even that area was filled with adults enjoying a nice beverage.
Jennifer, I happened to go to the Top of the Hill as well because we had a visitor from out of town and wanted to show her Franklin Street and ended up there for dinner. The hostess was a mess--could not decide if she would give us a table or not, and as we waited, she gave a different answer to every group that walked in. Some could be seated right away, some had to wait 25-30 minutes! I kept hounding her since I saw about 10 empty tables and we finally got seated. There was one large group that was rather noisy, which was to be expected, and several smaller groups--some young, some old, our family. A real mix of ages, genders, ethnicities. Always a fun spot!
ReplyDeleteI did my observation at a restaurant called Mez. I was visiting this restaurant on my lunch break with my boyfriend. I noticed that this is an upscale Mexican restaurant, a little too upscale for my choice. Almost everyone was dressed up, probably because they, like me, were on their lunch breaks. Most everyone appeared to be engaged in friendly conversation, but I also noticed that no one was really "too engaged" per say. For example, I was there with my boyfriend so we sat close and even held our conversations closely I guess you could say. Most of the other people sat back in their chairs and spoke from afar. This, to me, meant that they were merely work colleagues sharing a casual lunch together. The set up of the restaurant was also interested. The interior was very upscale and classy, not something I would consider eating at everyday. There was also a second floor of the restaurant, not open at the moment (although there was such a wait it probably should have been). I also noticed that the waitstaff was very stiff I guess you could say. They weren't overly friendly and did not appear interested to engage in brief conversation, just there to take the order and peace out. Either way, the food was decent, but I'm not sure I would go back.
ReplyDeleteI went to Red Robin for lunch with my two kids and my grandfather. The restaurant was dark and pretty empty. It was a Friday afternoon, but I was surprised to see only about 6 other tables occupied. The waitstaff was all women that ranged from teenager to one older woman. We had the older waitress and our service was fantastic. She got the order correct and it came out pretty quickly...and most important she kept my drink full. I hate to be sitting there thirsty and the waitress is no where to be found. It atmosphere was quiet, mellow, and clean. Overall it was a great experience and great food.
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