Not Broken? Don’t Fix It

There's a well established well-known restaurant here in the New Bedford area that was a bit rustic, had great food, and was very reasonably priced.  

We didn't frequent this place every week, but my wife and I had been eating there for years.  It had been a couple of months since our last visit, so we decided to stop at this restaurant for dinner over the weekend. The first thing we noticed was ample parking spaces in the lot. Very unusual for a Saturday evening. When we walked in, we noticed the completely remodeled dining room. It actually looked a bit cluttered.

When we sat in the booth, we noticed how much more cramped it felt.   We soon realized the reason was that more booths and tables had been added.   Then came the shock.   The menu.   Many of  the same dishes were listed, but the prices,  in some cases, were nearly double the old menu prices.   Well we were already there, so decided to order the choices we'd had in the past.   We knew the food was always great, so it's probably worth it.   Not so fast.   Maybe the changes included a new chef.   The vegatable ravioli was terrible. Way too much seasoning and the dinner was cold.   My wife's scallops were rubbery.

She ate very little.   Is this place looking for a more upscale customer?   The atmosphere, the great food and the affordable prices were all gone.   The place was no longer packed on a weekend evening.   Can they do what Coca Cola did back in the 80's when they scrapped the New Coke for the classic?   Let's hope so.