Enoteca Vin Closed

• Cindy H.
  01/26 10:12 PM
  

  Oh no!!  I can’t believe it!

  I read the thread on Varmint Bites, which was extremely disconcerting since Chrish Peel owned both.

  Vin was my place to go for cheese, olives and several glasses of wine.  It wasn’t too pompous for the non-pompousness in me.  I am sooooo sad to see it go.

• miss k.c.
  01/26 10:53 PM
  

  Dammit! My boyfriend and I went there on our first date, and it was my favorite brunch in town. I was going to take my visiting mom there this weekend. I am really gonna miss those little crescent scones. Sad news.

• Lisa Jeffries
  01/27 01:07 AM
  

  AND Carolina Wine? Dang.

• Micah
  01/27 03:33 AM
  

  A huge group of us were talking about the impending closure of Vin at Rockford a few days ago.  It seems that most people there have very fond memories of “many great meals” at Vin (myself included), but no one could recall the last time they were there.

• Michelle
  01/27 07:07 AM
  

  Sad news, indeed.

• Brian
  01/27 07:58 AM
  

  I wonder if the chef will be going to another restaurant? Any word?

• christine
  01/27 08:15 AM
  

  Oh no! This is the only restaurant I took out of town visitors to in Raleigh. Now I’ll have to shlep to Durham for a decent meal.

• VaNC
  01/27 08:31 AM
  

  I must say that I am not surprised.  I have been a long time fan of Vin and went regularly for years.  However, it seemed that in the last year or so that the good servers were gone, the food was not as reliable as it always had been, the owner (Peel) had a total disregard for the customer and it just wasn’t’ worth taking a chance going there any more when there were so many great restaurants.  I am sure this will be another closing that will be blamed on the economy, but I think it is really just plan mismanagement.

• GD
  01/27 09:20 AM
  

  Christine:  Fins is a great restaurant downtown as is Sitti.

• Liz
  01/27 09:21 AM
  

  It’s always disappointing to see another unique restaurant close their doors. Though, I must say their pretentiousness didn’t do much to encourage repeat visits. I recall one time I brought in a large party (~20 people) for drinks and some wanted to eat- and the wait staff was incredibly *not* accommodating and in fact very off putting. Businesses shouldn’t turn their noses up at business or paying customers.

• Hollis
  01/27 09:24 AM
  

  This was my favorite place for brunch and for just sitting at the bar ordering some apps.

  What’s going to become of the building? I loved the fact that it was “slightly” removed from the street - I always felt like it was my own little find on Glenwood. What a shame.

• ladye jane
  01/27 09:27 AM
  

  Ugh. This makes me really sad. Have had some amazing dinners there over the years. Vin will be greatly missed.

• hackles10
  01/27 10:55 AM
  

  with Vin and the Grape both gone we need something to fill the wine/app void!

• arthurb3
  01/27 11:48 AM
  

  When ever very popular places closes - like Vin and The Warehouse (just to name a few)- I always assume it is a management issue since they seem to be taking in plenty of money!!

• smitty
  01/27 12:11 PM
  

  After reading the CWC article, I don’t feel bad for this guy.

• Lisa Jeffries
  01/27 12:42 PM
  

  “I recall one time I brought in a large party (~20 people) for drinks and some wanted to eat- and the wait staff was incredibly *not* accommodating and in fact very off putting. Businesses shouldn’t turn their noses up at business or paying customers.”

  That’s the exact reason I haven’t been back to The Borough in ages.

• Taylor
  01/27 12:50 PM
  

  I made my first and last visit to Vin about six weeks ago.  My date and I sat at the mostly-empty bar for about ten minutes waiting to be served, while we watched the bartender chat up another customer as if we were invisible.  Doesn’t surprise me to hear this place is closing.

• Sam
  01/27 01:28 PM
  

  So Sad! I had brunch there on Sunday. I ventured out and glad I did, the chicken fried steak, red eye mushroom gravy and sunny side up eggs hit the spot! Had a side of cheese grits too! Happy I got to enjoy it one last time.

• adam
  01/27 04:45 PM
  

  christine, hackles:

  you’ve got to try fraziers on hillsborough street. awesome wine selection, fantastic apps, really elegant atmosphere.

• raleighite
  01/27 08:33 PM
  

  It is a very sad day indeed! I worked as a server at Vin for 3 years and loved my job and everyone that I worked for & with. Let me start by saying that Laurie & Chrish cared deeply for their employees always making sure that they were taken care of and personally taking care of their staff by generously tipping when dining there. They stayed active in the community with countless charitable donations. What I see here in these posts is that everyone stopped going when Ashley left. Maybe this had something to do with the downfall? I am more upset with the slamming of the owners than I am by the actual closing. It is so easy for you people to slander other’s integrity but unless you know the whole story, you should keep your mouth shut.

  I have a question for VaNC:  What do you do?  How is it that you can speculate on the owner’s of Vin and accuse them of being bad?  I do not have a whole lot of good to say about Louis Cherry but I know first hand that Chrish and Laurie Peel are incredibly good people that gave, gave and then gave some more.  Shame on you!

• Peobo
  01/27 09:01 PM
  

  Hey! Definitely, a loss for all the peeps that could afford to eat there more. I got my dibs in and it was always delicious. I’ve known Chrish and Laurie a while now and they are some of the finest people in the state. In fact, I’ll tell ya’lls a tail about a guy who was dining at Vin once, and had an accident. Let’s say, I wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t help it. Chrish and the chef at the restaurant (I didn’t know his name, but he was a pale white man,tatooed, and looked like a young Fidel Castro), wrapped me in a towel and hustled me out of the back of the restaurant. The three of us sped to Chrish’s estate in Fuquay, and they brought me in. They then bathed me carefully and scented me with fragrent oils. I fell asleep in the tub and woke up drowning! They had left, but I knew that it was my fault for falling asleep. So the next time you people wanna slander my friend, I beg you to remember my tail. Good luck, Chrish and Laurie and Vin staff! We love you!

• Joshua
  01/27 11:24 PM
  

  i was very sad to hear this. i have fond memories of the place, especially the food and the atmosphere. the service was inconsistent i found, mostly for sunday brunch. seemed like everyone was hungover and having trouble getting going.

  miss k.c.: i’m on the same page with you on those scones! i loved them. a few times i asked for an extra but they always told me they couldn’t. i offered to pay for them. but now, no scones at all! i’ve tried other places and they simply aren’t as good as Vin’s.

• Steve
  01/28 12:42 AM
  

  People had become so spoiled in these past boom years. Gotten so fru fru paying outrageous prices for food and wine. Just think of all that money you wasted thinking you were so special eating at then places. The food is probably not that great. You could learn to cook great meals in your own home - now’s the time to learn.

• tc
  01/28 11:52 AM
  

  Actually steve, for me the great part about Vin’s brunch was it was excellent food (the best grits around), and it was very reasonably priced. 

  You have all this to add, yet it doesn’t sound like you had ever been there.  It’s ironic how you berate others so pretentiously, for “thinking you were so special”.

• Cindy H.
  01/28 01:20 PM
  

  I didn’t eat dinner there.  My husband and I went there so that we could actually drink wine that we would not allot our money for purchase.  The selection by the glass is what made it affordable.

  The cheese plate was always so good since it was artisan cheeses that one would normally find outside of the local grocery store (unless your local store is Whole Foods).

• richardfoc
  01/28 02:54 PM
  

  Make of this story what you will:

  http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1384555.html

  Cindy H: check out A Southern Season in Chapel Hill if you want a truly impressive selection of cheeses. The staff is very helpful as well.

• Jaclyn
  01/28 04:10 PM
  

  Peobo, hilarious.  It really is sad to see Vin go.  I have worked at alot of restaurants in the Triangle and I can truly say this was the best ownership, staff, and atmosphere that I have ever worked in. 
  For all of the people who were off put by the service.  That is why you have every right to leave, speak up about it, and/or every right to tip what you want.  If you really think about it, staff could have totally kissed your butt, and genuinely not liked you, but then what would have differentiated us from any other restaurants you went to?  That is why there we so many mixed reviews, and so many loyal customers.  I have only one last thing to say to those people who were offended: speak up, get over it, and go back to TGIFridays! 
  Love you, miss you Vin crew.  Hope to see you around.  XOXO

• Steve
  01/28 05:01 PM
  

  Yes! I was in a bad mood last night and just a wee bit jealous of people who can eat there. I know some make it a once a week or month thing to eat at expensive restaurants - so they are not splurging. I have had to scrimp for several years trying to get a small business off the ground. I feel like I missed out in some ways. Now budgets are even tighter and these places are closing. - too bad :(

• Eric W Tonnemacher
  01/28 08:59 PM
  

  Tasca Brava - awesome wine, small plates and / or dinner! 2 minute walk up the road in a very cool and quaint house (used to be Bistro 607) - The woner (Juan) is great and will point you in the right direction!

• longtime patron
  01/29 09:37 AM
  

  The closing of Vin and CWC is, indeed, newsworthy.  These two establishments brought national attention to Raleigh’s food and wine scene. THIS IS RALEIGH’S LOSS! Regarding Vin,my husband and I ate there once a week and it was our favorite restaurant.  CWC was the place we always bought our wine.  We were always treated fairly and enjoyed a great product at a great price.  More importantly, I know Chrish and Laurie Peel, personally.  They are the most generous people I know!  Both businesses supported charities throughout the Triangle for years! That it why I must reference the N & O article yesterday. For those with outstanding account issues, I am confident that CWC will resolve them.  For the hundreds of loyal patrons and friends, I am sure you feel as I do—deeply saddened by the closing and forever grateful for the memories.  Vin and CWC set the standard for food and wine excellence and unpretentious service.

• smitty
  01/29 11:30 AM
  

  If they are so generous and wonderful, why did they stop answering the phone?

• unimpressed
  01/29 11:47 AM
  

  Overpriced, pretentious, RUDE service, poor layout (would you like the front table by the drafty entrance, or the back table by the bathroom?), food… “meh”. No loss here. At some point a restaurant can’t simply live on it’s past reputation alone, and “loyal” patrons. Innovate, stay fresh, respect and thrill your patrons, and offer a reasonable value for the experience. Pretty simple actually.

  If “the best grits in town” is the top reason to bring you to an eatery, might I suggest broadening your culinary horizons.

• Darkspace
  01/29 11:56 AM
  

  This is a HUGE loss for me personally, and for this community. I can’t stop thinking about it. I feel like a good friend just died. As an employee, we all had our speculations about it’s closing I just can’t believe we couldn’t open one more week to say goodbye. There is no other place like this, our kitchen went to the farmers market every few days to get supplies, I don’t even do that in my own home. I am not saying that the place was without fault, but this is the sort of dining that makes the world better. Locally produced, unique, GOOD food. I feel like anywhere I go to work now will be a step down and my heart goes out for the kitchen staff for the same reason.
  As for the service, we know that we had our problems. I noticed them myself, but what I also noticed was how we had real conversations with many of our customers that went beyond anything you get out of a fake bubbly waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. I have friends who work in restaurants where they are required to be overly perky with their customers and they do well there but they have no real interactions with the people that they wait on. It is purely an exchange of service for money (and after speaking with their customers they just walked around the corner and made fun of them anyway). If that is the type of service someone is looking for then they know that Vin was not the place to get it. We loved our customers and we made contacts and friends with them, but we were never servants.
  As for the management and ownership, I could not have asked for better out an employer, except maybe to stay open one more week.
  R.I.P. Enoteca Vin.

• Longtime patron
  01/29 12:26 PM
  

  Dear Smitty,
  I am not sure when the phones will be answered.  I only know that small business owners who are forced to close their doors should not be vilified.  I am sure that in time, all outstanding account issues will be resolved.

• 150
  01/29 12:40 PM
  

  I never dined at Vin, but I did go there for wine on two occasions a few years ago.  I can believe the experiences of all of the previous posters. 
  Regardless of their experiences, I think we can all agree that this is a major loss for all of us in Raleigh.  If you didn’t like Vin, you didn’t have to go.  If you did like Vin, then it’s a shame you lost something you enjoyed.  Vin was a unique establishment.

• tc
  01/29 01:19 PM
  

  “If “the best grits in town” is the top reason to bring you to an eatery, might I suggest broadening your culinary horizons.”

  Did I say it was the top reason?  I’ve had nearly everything on their brunch menu, and I’ve found it all to be great.  Better than most any other brunch spot in Raleigh.  I listed grits, because that, in my opinion, is one of the harder breakfast items to find done well. 

  With how snobby and insulting you seem, I wouldn’t blame any waitstaff for showing you a lack of respect.  Not sure you deserve it.  I’ve always had very courteous and prompt service. 

  Assuming anything about my “culinary horizons” just shows your ignorance, as did most of everything else you said. 

  Keep up the good work.

• smitty
  01/29 06:30 PM
  

  According to the N&O, he owes his CWC customers at least $60,000.  He should not be vilified?  Give me a break.

• longtime patron
  01/29 09:14 PM
  

  I don’t believe everything that I read. Further, I know that the N & O quoted that CWC was empty!  Anyone that shops there regularly knows that 90% of the wine is kept in the very, large refrigerated cooler that is not visible from the front door.  It is basically, a warehouse within itself—housing fine wines at the perfect temperature. I can’t be sure, but any wine due to customers is probably in there, not at the front door for the press to examine.  Hold your negative comments and give the owners a chance to repond.  I promise they are not in “Mexico”, but diligently trying to resolve many issues.  Thanks for your consideration.

• raleighite
  01/29 09:55 PM
  

  I hesitate to respond to the level of ignorance that I see in these posts but it is so apparent that you people have never operated a small business.  I have no idea what you people do for a living but you sound like complete losers.  I am almost certain that you have never tried to run a small business or tried to add a little sophistication to a small, sleepy town.  You seem to have more in common with the No Action Jackson’s who sit in front of their computers all day and bitch.  Get a life!

• Batwing
  01/30 12:19 AM
  

  This was one of the best restaurants in town, hands down, no argument. If you feel differently, you don’t know what you are talking about, obviously. I wish Chrish and Laurie and all the Vin employees the best and hope that there will always be people like Chrish and Laurie to bring this city what it desperately needs, thinks it has, and honestly can’t abide; taste. Everyone that truly know those good people (Vin servers included) know that we know what was going on. Hey going out of business can be complicated. The community should lean on the side of leniency.

• in the know
  01/30 06:54 AM
  

  http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=192174&page=1&pp=40

  and btw, the service at vin always horribly sucked.  nobody expected “TGIFriday’s” brand of service.  they just wanted prompt, polite, knowledgeable service.  the food, however, was always good…

  what goes around comes around.

• an observer
  01/30 07:25 AM
  

  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but as a small business owner, I understand the challenges of staying afloat in a tough economy. I am not condoning Vin’s behavior, however, I think it is easy to hide behind anonymous blog posts and write criticisms (of course I am posting this anonymously too), but it is another thing to take the risk of starting a business, oftentimes with the hope that your business will also help to support and create a local community.

  As a business owner, every day you are faced with unexpected challenges and have to make a lot of choices. I imagine the owners of Vin are horribly embarrassed and just trying to figure things out. Before we start lynching them, let’s ask, do we want a Raleigh that encourages small businesses like Vin to take up shop or instead a city that scares them away due to it’s hostile environment?

• Jaclyn
  01/30 11:38 AM
  

  Hey, in the know…
  …you are completely entitled to your opinion.  Sorry you feel the service was shitty.  Working as a server in many restaurants for quite sometime, I am very picky as to the service I receive in restaurants – so I feel like I can sympathize with you on some level.  I have spoken up on multiple occasions regarding service at restaurants I have dined at that I thought was less than adequate.  I am glad that no one ever expected TGIFriday’s brand of service, but I guess I failed at making my point.  We were not perfect, but it is a two way street.  For someone to improve constructive criticisms must be given, and then applied.  Also, people cannot expect change unless you speak up.  I am sad to see someplace that I have so many great memories of, and feel like I was genuinely taken care of as an employee go down on this site with so many negative comments surrounding the post of its closing.

  Raleighite…
  I work a full time job, have an additional part time job, and have a small business.  I work approximately 70-80 hours a week, take care of a home that I own w/my boyfriend, and feel completely fulfilled, very opposite of a “loser”.  You on the other hand sound pretty angry.  I love this “sleepy town”, and I would like to say that I have at least a little sophistication.  I do have to sit in front of a computer for my full time job.  And my nickname growing up was Jackson, but I do like action.  If you were directing that comment at me, I am more than happy to contact you, and give you the list of clients I have with my small business and allow you to see for yourself that you were at least wrong in directing that comment at me.  I do not usually blog, but I do feel very passionate about Vin.  I LOVED going to work there so, I may be a little defensive about something that I felt so connected to. 

  PS I am going to teach you a new phrase.  People in glass houses should not throw stones.

• ErnestStarvoBlofeld
  01/30 01:27 PM
  

  I had only been to VIN a couple of times.  I thought it was a nice after dinner date place.  Guess I should have gone on more dates !!!!    I always thought it was a pretty unique classy place with good wine, but I did think it was expensive place to drink ...so I went after dates (hey, trying to ply her with expensive wine at the end of the night)

  I will comment on many of the servers who spoke.  When I got ot a place such as VIN, I know I am not in a Cheesecake Factory, but I also don’t want the server to give the feeling that he/she is too good to work there or to give me service depending on how “cool” he think I am when compared to how “cool” he/she thinks they are.  I am in no way saying this happened at VIN as it has been years since I was there, but like many places in Raleigh, this is very apparent.

  That is what turns people off.  Again, I know I am not in a TGIFs, but I still want good service without attitude.  I have a 50% stake in this server/wait relationship as I should not be an arsehole just to be an arsehole, but nothing gets me going more when I walk into a place and some “hip dude wait guy” acts like he is too good to serve me or when he does, he could care less.  Be swift, pleasant, and watch for refills and I will tip well….very well…..even though I am middle age guy and wearing a $4 button down I bought from my 6 figure salary. 

  Humble Pie about died years ago for this.  So did the diner which was before Pooles.  Same for several bartenders in town.  Call it the King of mole hill syndrome. 

  That said, I never had issues with VIN and sorry to see it go.

• Sunshine
  01/31 02:25 PM
  

  I had many a birthday meal and birthday brunch at Vin and I will miss it greatly.  In fact, I have not commented just waiting that I will wake up from this nightmare and this story will have just disappeared.
  I feel for all employees and the owners. I wish everyone well and hope that somehow we can keep some feeling of culinary adventure in this town.
  With the massive hemorrhage of restaurants lately, I know that if someone opened an exciting place right now, they could staff it with some incredible talent.

• K & A
  01/31 04:36 PM
  

  Vin’s closing is a huge loss for the Triangle.  We are long-time customers with no relationship to any of the owners or staff.  We can only say that Washington Magazine got it right some years ago - there is no other restaurant of Vin’s caliber between DC and Florida.  It wasn’t simply the food - we loved Andrea’s and Ashley’s food equally, and Brian was more recently a good steward of the tradition. It was really all about the wine - forty or fifty wines by the glass that you could never open for the price by the bottle and an opportunity to try them all - as little or as much as you wanted - with the accompaniment of great food.  I moved here from San Francisco, and even there, Vin had few peers when it came to great wine by the glass.

  
  The staff was great, and we found them friendly, helpful and very wine-knowledgeable even when the service was slow with the inevitable crush of people. It says a lot about the quality of the staff that I got a voicemail yesterday thanking us for our long-time patronage to the restaurant and wishing us well.  We hope that they land at good restaurants worthy of their knowledge and graciousness.

  We will with real sadness find another restaurant for our Saturday evenings.  It will not be the same, however.  We certainly hope that someone steps into the Vin space when the dust has settled and picks up the great wine and food tradition Vin epitomized.

• Alice
  02/01 09:05 AM
  

  Thought I might throw in my $0.02, for what they’re worth…

  K and A, thank you for your kind words.  I hope you find another place where your two seats at the end of the bar will be waiting and welcoming.  We were so grateful and thankful for you and so many of our customers and friends.

  Maybe I’ll start by telling you a little bit about us.  Funny how we all get lumped together in the “servers” category and cease to be individuals or even people just like you, our collective performance summed up in a single derisive and thoughtless statement.  I’ve always thought it would be appropriate if the powers that be required each of us to straddle some life hurdle that was the equivalent of working in the service industry before we were able to move on to the next stage of personal progression or gain.  While I’m at it and even though Sunday brunch has ceased to exist at Vin, for the love of God and Dear Jesus, can’t you just remind folks, with all your compassionate compassion, to just say “please” and “thanks” and never, ever “I want.”

  So forgive me fellow Vinners for exposing my current version of your secret selves in just a line or two to the populous, but here goes:

  Mark is shy and definitely a musical genius and perhaps just a genius.  I think Spence hit the nail on the head when he described him as a true renaissance man.  And he’s hands-on, hands-down capable.

  Desta has read a trillion books and her own personal history begs to be written.  She is probably a genius too.  She’s contemplating the soul-staggering weight of a future career in social work.

  Paul is handsome and funny and careless and young and makes me think of a naughty but devilishly cute and clever puppy.  He’s moving forward with his degree in residential design in horticulture, in case anyone needs some creative advice in the expansion of their landscape dreams.

  Spencer is on the right path.  What can I say about Spencer?  He’s good and he’s real.  His staggering knowledge about food and wine and philosophy and pretty much everything made me realize immediately how little I knew and how much I wanted to learn.  I love Spencer for just these reasons and a trillion more.

  Silas is dashing and super smart and a little nervous and secretly tender.

  Alexis G., aka, Electra, is ultra cool.  From among our bunch, she is definitely the bravest and the strongest.  I remember Brian saying how Alexis was working three jobs while not feeling good at all.  I can’t even begin to imagine balancing the pettiness and stickiness that is Sunday brunch with the nausea and anxiety of the second round of chemo treatments post-surgery and the energy and money and goodwill-toward-man eviscerator that is cancer treatment in our current healthcare system.

  Alexis P. is a fierce little beautiful dancer whose efficiency and grace of movement is surely matched by efficiency and grace of mind.

  Jaclyn has already described herself to you.  I will concur.  She’s a mad hard worker and very smart and funny and sweet and kind and gorgeous.  My most favorite glimpses of Jaclyn were when she was chatting with Karina.

  Haley is a zoologist.  She was mistakenly but playfully named by Spencer, but every little time she smiles, yep, she is beautiful and has a wry, quiet, wacky humor and a creative and carefree style.

  Lewis is clever and young and coy and his capable engineering mind will for certain move him on to bigger and better things.

  Erica is exquisite.

  Elizabeth is kind and sweet and good and determined and giggles so easily.

  So that’s a brief glimpse of my version of the front-of-the-house staff for now.  I should also say something about Sherri, Joy, Brad, Jon, Tim and Liam.  I love them too for so many reasons and smile always when I remember them.

  I came to Vin at a time when I’d decided that all my life choices needed to be toward a dedicated effort at leading a more conscious and aware life.  I wanted to work at a place that had values that matched my own.  Even though I missed out on Ashley’s genius, I believe I made the right choice.  Aaron and Brian and their co-workers (Katie, Ashley, Ashley, Derick, Jason, Dwayne, Jess, Will, Kyle, Rob, Sarah, Nicolas, Karina, forgive me if I’m missing someone), amazed me with their food.  I’ve never worked in a restaurant that cared so much and put so much thought and effort into every detail of it’s food selection, preparation and presentation.  Farmer’s market, local harvest and production, organic, humanely raised animals, slow food, and without exception the highest quality ingredients available… Our wine opportunities were also tremendous.  It was exciting and fun to learn and experience all the wine choices available and our cruvinet system made these wide-world selections available to you.  I also wanted to work at Vin because of its activities in the community, through benefit dinners and by supporting the Iocal food economy’s hardest working contributors.  I wonder if many of our customers realized the enormous consideration our chefs and management put toward this restaurant.  This is what set Vin apart from so many other restaurants in the triangle: the devoted care and conscious effort.

  So, to those of you who are saddened by Vin’s closing for personal reasons or, given a broader vision, regard it as a loss to the community of Raleigh, I am sad with you.  It was my favorite restaurant too, and yes, a tremendous loss.

  To those of you who are angry over the 11th-hour goings on at CWC that ultimately were to Vin’s detriment, I agree there are honorable ways to proceed, but perhaps the hugeness and chaos and fear that are intrinsic to failure for whatever reason must sometimes overwhelm even the biggest and best among us.  Charity of thought and consideration of feeling and at least an allowance of time might be very generously bestowed.

  For those of you who are name-calling or just plain being mean at the worst and saddest possible moment, you’re certainly right,  we were better than you.

  Alice

• Cindy H.
  02/01 11:44 AM
  

  Alice: amazing post.  I love it and a great insight to what I always hope is happening ‘on the other side’.

• alexis g.
  02/01 03:17 PM
  

  Yo, Alice. Word up!! and THANKS. You said it far better than I ever could. I feel like I lost my family.
  I don’t know what happened to CWC, and to tell y’all the truth, it wouldn’t really matter. The Peels treated me with compassion and humanity at a time I needed it. Vin was, on many levels, the best restaurant I’ve ever worked in. Yes-we had our faults, and there are many things we could have done better, but the bottom line is that the kitchen cared, the front of the house staff cared, and we ALL wanted you, the customer, to be happy. And we had a lot of latitude to make that happen. Most complaints seemed to come from unrealistic expectations of ‘how long’ something *should* take to come from the kitchen. Other complaints seemed to come from an expectation that service equals subservient. Raleigh is a growing city, but the “money class” here is not, in general, as sophisticated as it would like to believe-and before you jump all over me for that statement, I’ve been a server for over 25 years, and began my career in the SF Bay area, about the time Chez Panisse became famous. I’ve worked at 3 different 5 diamond properties in Hawaii, worked with 3 James Beard winners, been nominated for a service award by a restaurant writers association (no, it went to a guy from Dan Tanas, and if you don’t know about THAT restaurant, use Google), yada yada yada.
  So to those who had complaints about the service - you may be justified. You may not be. Take a look inside, and examine your expectations. To those who loved the house as much as I did - we ALL hope we see you around. We did just about as well as we could, and we learned a lot. I miss you, everyone.

• marbles
  02/01 03:40 PM
  

  “devoted care and conscious effort”? to what? seriously?

  in all due deference to you and your staff, but how about the few times me and a guest would show up at 9:30 on a tuesday, and despite the hours on the door being printed to say open until 10:30, the servers are just putting up chairs, the doors are locked, and we get the most indifferent stare from the inside?

  how about the times that i was sitting at the bar, waiting to be served only to witness the bartender chatting up regulars and polishing glasses? i would consistently experience the absolute lack of a sense of urgency on the staff’s part.

  listen, i get that you guys are people with your own respective hopes, dreams, and aspirations. i also get you’re out of work, and i empathize with you on that. but when it comes time for service on a busy saturday night, or even a slow tuesday at 930, you guys are the front of house. for a restaurant like vin, that means quality, knowledgeable and consistent service. in going to vin, this is ultimately what was lacking for me, and many others.

  in fairness, vin was a great asset to glenwood south and the food was very good. i certainly appreciated where the food sourced from and how you guys would engage the community. in that vein, you will be missed. i hope you guys get back on your feet as soon as possible.

• darkspace
  02/01 03:47 PM
  

  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am so greatful that most have a loving memory. Alice I love you for this post. Alexis I agree, we were a family that is why we are all having a hard time letting it go.

  I love that we have nothing better to do on a Sunday now, In the absence of brunch, chatting it up on here. Im gonna miss being that hungover staff having trouble getting going on everybody els’ day of rest.

  Vin was amazing, I am so glad I had the chance to be a part of it.

• Robert Weisbuch
  02/13 01:01 PM
  

  I’m glad you all have warm feelings for the Peels.  I don’t.  I am one of thousands of people who ordered wine from Carolina Wine, paid for it, have not been contacted since the store closed.  There are tens of complaints filed with the State Attorney General.  The Peels have failed to contact a single customer or allowed any of us to contact them.  I am owed more than $10,000 and others have losses exceeding mine.  What kind of humanity is being alluded to here?

• luca
  04/26 10:17 AM
  

  I am really sad. I liked the place since I could find nice wine and Italian goodies. Gleenwood area has lost one of the best places.