Monday, November 21, 2011

Republic Chophouse Review - Go There When the Green Bay Packers Don't

After a really long week, my wife and I went to Republic Chophouse for an early Friday dinner to relax, reconnect, and talk about the week past.  We really enjoy Republic and feel it is clearly Green Bay's nicest steak restaurant.

Since it was the Friday night of the deer opener weekend and nearly half of the population was headed for the woods, we felt we should be able to get in without any kind of reservation.  Judging by the open parking lot we spied upon our arrival, we liked our chances.

We were greeted by the cheerful maitre d, who informed us there would be about an hour wait for a table.  Peering beyond him into the dining room, we noticed empty table after empty table.  None of them were filled. 

Figuring there must be a big party coming in that just had not arrived yet, we accepted the offer to sit at a table in the bar, which was comfortable, but loud.  The bar location also afforded a great view of the front door, and as our evening progressed, the large party we envisioned never materialized.  We talked about it through dinner, and wondered what the heck was going on.

About an hour after our arrival, I noticed Packers linebacker (and our neighbor five doors down) A.J. Hawk and his family head toward the front door from the dining room. 

Really?  Nobody could sit in an ample dining room because a Packer and his family were eating there?  While we had an OK dinner, did we really have to sit in the bar because of that?

Evidently, in Green Bay, where the team is royalty, the answer is yes.

4 comments:

  1. Good Day Yellow Dog Patrol-

    I stumbled upon this blog post while doing some research for work. First of all, let me say you have a great blog. I think it is really cool to see somebody in Northeastern Wisconsin running a successful blog (with ads!).

    I should also mention that I am the maƮtre d' you spoke of in the above review. I am sorry to hear that we were not able to accommodate you and your wife in our dining room-- please accept my apologies. However, I also wanted to clarify our seating policies. We take reservations for any size party; and we seat walk-in guests first come, first serve. Sometimes, it can be very deceiving to the eye. We may have 85 people in reservations to sit, but most tables are empty. There is no preferential treatment given to celebrities or athletes. I am sorry you were left with that impression.

    While I will admit, we always try to take care of our regular customers; we also strive to provide a wonderful experience for ALL our guests. I have had to turn away more people than I would like-- celebrities and locals-- due to a full booking of reservations. Thank you for sharing your story, we love to hear input from our visitors. Keep up the great blog, too!

    -Mark Hemminger
    General Manager
    Republic Chophouse

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mark,

    Thanks for posting up with your side of the story. We're big fans of your restaurant, and will be seeing you soon.

    ReplyDelete
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