The remaining front of the house manager of Genoa, who used to be the bar manager was laid off yesterday. From my experience, things have been very slow at the restaurant. A friend of mine was there a few weeks ago, and said she didn’t think the Genoa kitchen was even open, but rather the food was being cooked on the Accanto side. This was on a Thursday. I’ve held my review until Daniel Mondok has settled in as Sous, to see if it has any impact on the food, but will post in the first week of February.
There have been a few changes at Tabla too. After the closure of Ten01 left owner Adam Berger in a financial pinch, he decided to take over the daily management of Tabla. This means that long-term general manager Michael Garofola was let go.
This is unfortunate, as he had helmed Tabla through it’s most successful years, building the restaurant’s reputation for both food and wine, but it seems Adam’s hand was forced. The decision means that he can save one of the biggest salaries, and more importantly, draw one for himself. I can’t imagine it was an easy decision, but most likely a necessary one. My heart goes out to all those who are affected.
The wine leftover from Ten01 will be brought over to Tabla, and made available until it sells. This may take a while. It is made up of a very impressive selection of heavy hitters that command attention and inspire awe, but in reality, few people, especially Portlanders, may want to purchase them.
SR says
I live across from Genoa; the kitchen’s on the other side from Accanto and always seems to have cooking going on during dinner time– you can’t see into Genoa but the kitchen is open to gawkers, so I’d have to guess that your friend’s impression wasn’t characteristic. That’s just a detail though, I do agree that they probably haven’t been ‘slammed’ in quite a long time.
Greg says
I made a reservation at Genoa via Open Table for next Tuesday (the 18th) and they just called to cancel it. Not sure what is going on. Screwed up my corporate entertaining schedule.
Food Dude says
That’s the only day next week they aren’t taking reservations, so it’s probably just a private function.
Tim says
Dear Mr. Dennis, (Greg)
My name is Tim Parsons, the Events Coordinator here at Genoa Restaurant, we spoke briefly on the phone this afternoon. I want to again re-iterate our sincerest apologies for the unfortunate technical difficulties we experienced with the Open Table reservation system that forced me to call today.
As I mentioned in our conversation, that evening had been blocked for nearly two months for the Mt Tabor Middle School Annual fundraising auction. The reason for the system being unblocked on that night is still being researched. I wish I had been here yesterday when you made your reservation so that I could have caught this error earlier. Please know, nothing pains us more than not being able to honor a reservation.
I completely respected your quick decision to dine at Laurelhurst Market. I have had some wonderful meals there, and I’m sure your guests will love the experience. What I was unable to communicate before our conversation ended, was our desire to offer you a gift certificate as a small token of apology for this embarrassing mistake.
I will contact you tomorrow for an appropriate mailing address.
sidemeat says
Nicely done.
baconisavegetable says
Truly hate to hear that about Michael. He was one of the main reasons I love going to Tabla. He should be back on his feet in no time, as anyone would be lucky to have him run their restaurant. He’s knowledgeable, passionate and generous. Please keep us posted where he ends up.
SaltyCod says
Any more news about Genoa? I’m considering having a big event there, and I really want things to be great. Any further word about them closing or about changes to their staff, quality, consistency, etc?
Tim says
Hello SaltyCod,
My name is Tim Parsons. I am the Events Coordinator here at Genoa. It is unfortunate that the January 7th posting here on Portland Food & Drink has shaken your confidence in Genoa. I can assure you that we are indeed open and welcoming guests to the consistently raved about Genoa experience. I recommend you follow this link to read some un-biased reviews @ Opentable.com…
http://bit.ly/gh2mj8
I would love an opportunity to speak with you about your upcoming event and personally address any concerns that may arisen from inaccurate rumors in the Blog-0-sphere.
Please contact me directly at 503-866-1822. I’d love to give you a tour of both Genoa and Accanto and demonstrate the many reasons why our restaurants are the preferred address for Guest Hospitality in Portland.
We appreciate your outreach for clarification on the topics discussed in this thread.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
Tim Parsons
Events Coordinator
Genoa & Accanto
tim@genoarestaurant.com
sidemeat says
a two-fer for spot on replies to guest concerns!
SaltyCod says
Tim,
Thank you so much for your direct response. I did in fact come by and loved what I saw. Things are obviously very busy at Genoa right now, but I greatly appreciate the highly professional attention I was given. Every question was answered in detail, and I ask a lot of questions. Very excited about upcoming events.
grapedog says
I tried to get into Accanto on Friday night and the place was slammed, busy, lots of happy diners. We went to Fratelli instead for a “just ok” experience. Wanted to share….
sidemeat says
oh heck, are my comments blocked again? will the blockage clear and a torrent of sidemeat flow?
nobody nohow wants that
treacle is best as a trickle…
or some such as sidemeat…
unless, you know, circumstances…
Food Dude says
Nope. You just hit the spam filter.
sidemeat says
your filter coarse screen
unable to discern nutritious meat chunk from spam
rinse and serve
Greg D says
This is a bit late, but I would like to give props to Genoa management. Although they needed to cancel my reservation due to some mix up, they called once to appologize and offer to rebook (not practical) and then a second time to offer a gift certificate for the mix up. The gift certificate arrived and it was more than generous – to the point that I feel akward using it. Anyway, hope the restaurant and owners and staff prosper.