One of Kent's newest, more popular eateries is taking a break in light of all the construction going on right outside its front door in downtown Kent.
The owners of , formerly Zoupwerks, announced on its Facebook page today that the soup and sandwich shop is shutting down temporarily.
"Funky Ladles in Kent is going on hiatus until the students return, or when this marathon road construction eventually starts to show signs of completion," management wrote on the restaurant's page.
They pointed to a sharp drop in customers and a 90 percent drop in revenue in relation to the road work as the primary reason for the temporary closure. Management said customers can expect the eatery reopen in about two months.
"We will pick up where we left off when the students return, with a new fall menu along with the same delicious staples," management posted to the Kent Patch Facebook page this afternoon.
The restaurant is almost directly in the middle of Erie Street, to align the streetscape with the adjacent $100 million redevelopment.
Other business owners with the street construction, which has eliminated parking in front of the new shops at Acorn Alley with sidewalks serving as the primary access.
Erie Street is to car traffic in mid August at the earliest.
I did read the original comments and I agree with you. On that note, it makes the challenge even more valid. We expect our children and our leaders to work through these kinds of flare-ups. We expect them (and ourselves) to be better people for having made mistakes; we long for change, but oftentimes it is simply our pride that precludes us from being the changed person we need to be. I'm still learning some lessons in life from my own hard headed-ness.I find that our *hardness* gets in the way, and leaves us with a hard knock, a hard road, a hard heart...or a hard lesson. Let's ditch the first three "hards" here and allow the lesson to unfold between all (regardless of "who" or what started it),
@Randy While some of us may not be 'customers' per your rather skewed definition, we ARE your community and every single person whom you termed a troll was a potential customer even using your definition. Your actions, however, have eliminated that possibility. Funny, this brings to mind something I learned in my training at Sea World when I started working there. They told us that for every negative customer service experience, a business loses 25 potential customers due to how the word would spread through that disappointed person's personal network. This was before the internet, Facebook groups, and blogs. You are the business owner, I'll let you do the math.
I told him he wouldn't be in business another twelve months and he is proving me right!
Words and actions have consequences. And if you continually treat people with disrespect, they will keep their distance. If your livelihood depends on people giving you their hard-earned money, you either make it worth their while or you will fail. And I'm sorry, asking people to mend fences when they are being treated badly does not make for a healthy relationship. If both parties were in the wrong, that's one thing. But saying you should try to make it work with someone who is being abusive is pretty ridiculous.
Best to you, Kami