Life Lessons I Learned from "Beverly Hills, 90210"

First of all, if you've never watched "Beverly Hills, 90210", you have missed out big time and you need to fix that right away. For the record though, and to quote my silly dad who once said to me when trying to get me to try food, "I didn't say it was good, I said you should try it."

There is no better way to describe "Beverly Hills, 90210". Frankly, the show sucks. There is absolutely nothing redeemable about it and I understand why people laugh at the idea of watching it. And yet, it's one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Why? Because it's absolutely that ludicrous. It's an experience you won't get from any other show (as far as I know) and you're likely to laugh for years over the ridiculous moments of it.

We are all used to shows from back in the day trying to teach us life lessons. Don't have unprotected sex, don't go out with abusive people, don't do drugs, etc. However, no show did it better than 90210. Sorry, did I say better? I meant worse.

The point is, there is no show that can teach you Valuable Life Lessons more than BH, 90210!

Click through the slide show to learn some things that your parents never told you.

Restaurant Floor Plans...and wait, We're Taking a Vacation?

This past week, we were constantly discussing with our contractor the floor plan and the use of soffits. Therefore, I took it upon myself to make a 3D design of his floor plan.

This was the first time we got a look at what our restaurant would actually look like! It was exciting to finally see our vision come to life. Of course, certain things may be subject to slight alterations, but we expect the final product to look fairly similar to these images. Our restaurant will seat around 80 customers, between our indoor and spacious outdoor seating.

Yesterday, we took a drive over to the restaurant to see what had happened so far. The metal walls were all stacked inside, ready to go, and the floor was chalked up with lines for each wall and the soffits. I'd be lying if I said we didn't pretend to sit in the seats and hand invisible plates over the pass. We also couldn't resist the chance to write on the bare walls - "Gwith and Justine Were Here - 2014".

There's not a lot more restaurant news to report at this point. Everything is progressing well and I can't wait to share more photos once the walls are built up!

In the meantime, Gwith and I are planning our first trip to Europe as a couple. We were originally planning to go for our anniversary this year, however, since we're opening the restaurant, we decided to go before. Next month, we'll be going to Italy, Switzerland, France, and Belgium! I'm excited for everything but Gwith is most excited to eat chocolate in Belgium and Switzerland, bologna in Bologna, and a croissant in Paris. He's a chef, so what else can you expect! We'll be doing a cheese and wine tour in Florence, which should satisfy his craving to try the wines and my craving to eat as much cheese as physically possible. I'll also be enjoying the many gluten free options that Italy has to offer. Apparently, they're very GF friendly! I can't wait to have a GF pizza in Italy!

Our other trip highlight includes a dinner cruise along the Siene River. After taking a dinner cruise on the bay in San Francisco, I decided that we now have to take dinner cruises in every beautiful city that offers one. Words cannot describe how excited I am to ride along the river, looking at Paris lit up at night. It seems magical, just dreaming about it.

By the time we've arrived back, I'm assuming the restaurant will have progressed quite a bit. As much as I love seeing it day by day, it will be incredibly cool to see it jump from one look to another in a matter of weeks!

Facebook | Twitter | Website

30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Dear HIMYM, I Almost Broke My TV Last Night

Before I go on a long, long, LONG, rampage about last nights "How I Met Your Mother" series finale, there will be plenty of SPOILERS so stop reading now (and probably get off the internet while you're at it) if you don't want to hear all about it.

As a fan, I've been an interesting one. I started watching the show in 2005 at 14 years old. In the first two seasons, I loved Robin and Ted and wished that Robin would be the mother. I remember bouncing around the upstairs hallway jabbering on and on about if the show played their cards right, they could be the next "Friends". Fast forward to season 5 - oh wait. Actually. I have a much better way to write this whole thing. I'll write it like that awful, awful, finale, jumping from year to year, going through the highs and mostly the lows, and then the earth shattering finish.


September 2005 (Future self narrating to my pet rabbit...I'm 14 years old in the flashback)

Narrator says: "Willow, I'm going to tell you the story of how I started watching How I Met Your Mother. My father had turned the TV on to this new show and I came downstairs and decided to watch it with him. It was a charming story about a young man on the journey to meet his wife and this girl he met along the way, later known as Aunt Robin."

May 2006 (15 years old)
15 year old self bouncing around the upstairs hallway says: "Robin and Ted ended up together!!! Awwwww!!! I wish that she's the mother!! But oh my god this show is soooo good. I think it could become the next Friends if they do a good enough job!"

May 2007 (16 years old)
16 year old self: "Aww man! They broke up Robin and Ted. I loved them together. Maybe they'll get back together? Or maybe we'll finally meet the mother soon?"

Narrator says: "Ha! Yeah right. Willow, this story is sure to start making you thump soon. You know how Robin and Ted broke up because she wanted her own adventures in life and that wouldn't work for him? Yeah. Just wait until you hear how the show ends!"

September 2008 (17 years old)

Narrator says: "It's now been a whole season since Robin and Ted were a couple. As a fan, I had been starting to move on...especially because Barney is now hopelessly in love with Robin."

Willow lies on the rug, happily grinding her teeth.

May 2009 (18 years old)
18 year old self: "YAY! Barney and Robin finally kissed! Cutest couple ever!! I'm so over Robin and Ted."

November 2009 (18 years old)
Narrator says: "In the fall of 2009, the show started to lose its luster. The writing became sloppy and the writers decided to break up Barney and Robin in a horrible, out of the blue, way. It was clear they just wanted Barney to go back to the way he was."

Willow starts to get up from the rug, cleaning herself, incredibly bored with my story. After all, I haven't mentioned James Van Der Beek once (Dawson's Creek is her favorite show).

18 year old self talks to my sister: "That was a horrible episode. They broke up our favorite couple. I'm never watching this show again."

May 2013 (22 years old)
Narrator says: "After the Barney and Robin break up, I had stopped watching the show. I wasn't enjoying the episodes leading up to that moment at all. However, as the final season approached, I decided to watch the final episode of Season 8. The one where the mother was introduced."

22 year old self: "::tears:: They finally are showing the mother! ::squeal:: I can't wait to see them fall in love. I'll have to watch next season."

September 2013 (22 years old)
Narrator says: "September arrived and I decided to watch the final season. After all, I'd been curious since I was 14 years old about who the mother is. I knew she had to be amazing and perfect for Ted. After all, every fan had been waiting years to see this happen."

Willow begins to sprawl out again in a blissful state.

October 2013 (22 years old)
Narrator: "In October, I was sick. Very sick. I had gotten ill from a food poisoning incident that left me unable to eat most food for over the next three months. After watching a few episodes of the current season, I decided to turn on Netflix and watch the seasons I had missed over the years. At 23 years old, I ended up really enjoying it. And, it was clear to me that the writers finally realized that the characters had to grow up and move on. Barney had fallen in love with other women, making him grow into a man that could marry the love of his life, Robin. Ted had been slowly learning about letting go..."

March 24, 2014 (23 years old)
Narrator: "It was March 24th of 2014 and Barney and Robin had gotten married. All was right in the world. Ted finally realized it was time to move on from Robin and that he was in fact, no longer in love with her. As a fan, I was ecstatic. Ted and Robin hadn't been an item since the 2nd season and all of these years, he's been learning to move on from her. The mother had been introduced throughout the season and all I had hoped for was true. She was perfect for Ted."

Willow happily jumps up, and does a binky in the air.

March 31, 2014 (Last night)
Actual me is shown (who's voice is strangely the same as growing up me, but not narrator me): "Willow, you know how I told you this was the story of how I started watching How I Met Your Mother? Well, it's not. It's actually the story of How I Almost Threw My TV Out the Window Last Night. There were so many things wrong with that finale, I can't even describe my anger. First of all, within five minutes, after spending an ENTIRE year focusing on Barney and Robin's wedding, Barney and Robin were divorced. Not only were they divorced, they were divorced because she was too busy working to make time for their relationship."

Willow begins to thump.

"Then, if things couldn't get any worse, Barney starts reverting to his old ways. He's no longer the man he had become because apparently, people can't change."

Willow thumps louder.

"They did try to solve that part by having Barney have a baby; it was a baby, of course, with a mother that we never saw. Still, it was a touching scene."

Willow sits still for a moment, unsure of if there's danger ahead still or not.

"Then, comes the travesty of all travesties. Ted rushes through the part of the story where he meets the mother. Then, she's very ill and we can assume she died."

Willow thumps three times in an angry rage.

"Oh, that's not the worst of it Willow. They then, flash forward to the kids. The kids announce that Ted has been telling this whole story because he wants to get back together with busy as a beaver Aunt Robin who has had no time to see her friends in the past 10 years...The kids are of course ecstatic. They love Aunt Robin! Even though she distanced herself from the group for nearly a decade, they know exactly who she is and call her Aunt Robin. Because yeah, that's realistic."

Willow's thumping gets louder and louder. I begin to wonder if there's a cat outside because she's getting so angry.

"Then, the show ends exactly how I always dreamed it would end... NOT. Ted runs after Aunt Robin with the blue french horn, ready to make another go at their failed relationship. I was so f&?!ing angry I thought I was going to rip the TV off the wall and throw it through the window."

Willow runs under the couch thumping up a storm until I make the story stop.

Present Day
I woke up this morning knowing one thing, this finale was possibly worse than the Dexter finale. Possibly. I said possibly. Not definitely.

For so many reasons, this finale was done wrong. First of all, Ted and Robin hadn't been a couple in so many years that honestly, most fans didn't care about them anymore. The Ross and Rachel saga of the show ended up being Barney and Robin. They had to grow up separately to find their way back to each other, all while knowing they still loved each other.

In the end, the entire last season was about Ted moving on. It was about him realizing that Robin wasn't the girl for him and that he was going to find love with someone else. After all, how could he ever meet the mother if he was still hung up on Robin?

But wait! He's still hung up on Robin. His wife conveniently died and now he wants his kids permission to date the real love of his life, whose last marriage failed for the same reason their relationship failed all of those years ago. She's too busy for a relationship. Yeah. This will end well.

I don't understand why writers and creators feel the need to make their series finales suck? Wrap things up, make the fans happy. We watched the show for years and we deserve a proper and satisfying ending. Lumberjacks, dying mothers, and the show actually all took place in the afterlife are NOT proper endings. Characters moving on, finding their true loves, and making the fans happy, thats how a show should end.

Before I wrap up, because honestly, I could ramble all day about how much I hated this episode...here's my list of My Top 5 Best Series Finales and Worst Series Finales:

BEST SERIES FINALES

#1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Buffy finale was brilliant. The writers took some risks by killing off Anya and definitely risks my killing off Spike. However, they wrote it in a way where everything made sense. Anya died fighting as a human, the people that in the end, she respected because they'll die fighting. Spike died a hero. For so many years, he had struggled between being a vampire and still feeling the ability to love. Now, he had a soul and with his soul, he was able to make the hard choice. He died to save everyone. Buffy, got her perfect ending. The hell mouth was closed. There were hundred of slayers across the world. She was no longer alone.

#2 Friends

This is how every sitcom should end. Ross and Rachel realized they still loved each other, Monica and Chandler had two adorable twin babies and were moving to the suburbs, Phoebe was happily married, and Joey...well, putting his horrible spin off aside, we could all just assume he was living in Monica and Chandler's future guest room. The characters moved on with their lives but we knew they were all happy in the end.

#3 Dawson's Creek

Joey and Pacey found their way back to each other, Dawson met Spielberg, and the writers decided that they did need some drama after all and killed off Jen, whose baby was now being raised by Jack and Doug. In some ways, the finale is always sad to watch. Jen's goodbye video to her daughter is heartbreaking, as well as the moment Grams realizes her granddaughter has died. However, it was done right. The pacing was perfect and Jen's last wish for Joey to finally choose, was honestly the only way Joey would ever choose. And she chose Pacey. So life is good. Of course, if I'm being totally honest, they probably could've killed the entire cast if it meant Joey and Pacey would be together forever.

#4 Psych

Shawn's goodbye to Gus ended up being in true Psych fashion and was hilarious. Gus's reaction, even more so. However, Lassie deciding not to listen to Shawn's confession because he'd rather believe the lie, Gus running off to San Francisco to be with his bestie, and Shawn proposing to Jules and the ring getting stolen - classic Psych. The show ended in the warm and fuzzy way a comedy should.

#5 Chuck

I know, this one is going to cause some controversy. When I first saw the Chuck finale, I was sad. Sarah had lost all of her memories and there wasn't a giant flare going off at the end saying she got it back. However, after re-watching the entire show, I've come to the conclusion that the ending was beautiful. For five years, the show revolved around Sarah helping Chuck find himself. Chuck and Sarah fell in love because she gave him the strength to discover who he was. In the end, he had the same chance to do the same for her. It was his turn to help her rediscover who she was. It was his turn to lead her on the same journey she led him on.

SERIES FINALES THAT FALL IN BETWEEN

#6 Angel

I liked the Angel finale. I thought it ended well actually. We never knew how the fight ended but Angel went out doing exactly what he had always been doing, fighting for the greater good. Whether he won the battle or lost the battle, it didn't ultimately matter. That being said, we at least deserved to know who the prophecy was about! Was he going to become human finally? Or was Spike going to become human? Wesley's death was sad, but perfect...and Gunn, well, I hope he survived the battle but I guess we'll never know...unless you read the comics of course!

#7 Veronica Mars

Thank god for fan made movies, right? After the original finale, I was depressed for a very long time. It was fine as a season finale. More than adequate. However, as a series finale, it was quite a let down. Veronica and Logan weren't together, her father wasn't going to become sheriff...all around, it was pretty depressing. However, thankfully, the fans got a movie made this year and I think I speak for a large majority when I say, we got the ending we deserved. LoVe is together and Veronica is back to being a PI.

WORST SERIES FINALES

#8 Dexter

The whole show was building up to Dexter finally getting rid of his dark passenger. Sure, he went through is moments where he got worse, but in the end, he was realizing he could love and maybe not be a serial killer. There are multiple endings I would've found satisfying. Him and Hannah running off together with Harrison while Deb lives on with Quinn would've been the happiest ending they could've had. If they didn't want to do happy, Dexter could've been finally caught and this whole story could've been told from death row. Or, Dexter could've just died. Honestly, I don't care. Anything other than him becoming a lumberjack seems better at this point. That should NEVER have happened, and I like to pretend it didn't.

#9 How I Met Your Mother

What the #&?! I'd rant about what made this bad but obviously, you've read this whole post already. Excuse me while I go throw my TV out the window.

Thank You, Pa and Athena for Helping Us Follow Our Dreams

I never imagined that at 23 years old I would be the owner of a restaurant and I know I can speak for Gwith when I say that he never expected to own a restaurant by 25 either. The trials and tribulations we've already been through to get to this point is amazing. We've learned a lot of lessons over the years about respect, management, and obstacles.

There's a lot of people who are incredibly excited for us, which means the world to us. We're incredibly busy too and we love every moment of it. There are only two frustrating things about being young and starting a business: the multiple comments about "it's a lot of hard work, are you sure you can do that?" and the implied comments about where the money is coming from. It's disappointing to hear people doubt that two young people are capable of starting and running a business.

It's true. We've been given an amazing opportunity at a young age that not everyone gets. However, this opportunity didn't come without pain and heartache. Two very supportive and loving people in our lives passed away during the same week last year. My grandfather and Gwith's mother. My grandfather, Pa, was always supportive of becoming your own employer and starting a business. He even opened his own bakery back in the day. When we talked to him about one day starting our own business, he would smile at us. He had full confidence that Gwith and I would be successful. Before Gwith's mother, Athena, passed away, the last thing she told Gwith was: "Be proud of yourself. Don't worry about me being proud of you, just be proud of yourself." We both can say with absolutely certainty that both of them are watching over us and smiling knowing that they're the reason we can follow our dreams.

Pa and I

 Pa taught me about life. He had countless stories and countless adventures to tell. From his time in the war, his time in the circus, his time as a baker, his time as lawyer, and the list goes on. He believed in working hard, following your heart, and smiled at any past misfortunes because they led him towards other adventures. He was one of the most compassionate people I've ever known and he had a confidence in his two children and each of his granddaughters that was indescribable. Shortly before he passed away, he was looking through an album my sister Raishel had made for him about his life. After looking through the album, he looked up with an incredible grin on his face and said, "I really did have a wonderful life." He taught me to have my own adventures, to work hard, and follow my dreams.

Gwith and his Mum, Athena

Athena always believed in Gwith. She never had many means but she always wanted to buy Gwith a quality chef's knife. I didn't know her very long but each time she talked to him, she lit up with pride. He told her last February that he and I were planning to open our own restaurant. Although she was already very ill, we could see in her eyes how proud she was. Her son had become the man she always knew he could be. She believed in standing up for who you are, being strong, and pursuing your goals. She never got the chance to buy Gwith his chef's knife but she gave him an opportunity so much greater than that in the end.

In life, age is only a number that changes every year; a number that marks different experiences and new adventures. There's no such thing as work that's too hard. If it's something you love and you're passionate about, you can achieve anything. The hours in the coming months may be long and they may be tedious, the stresses at times will undoubtedly make us crazy every once in a while, but at the end of the day, we'll be happy. When you're doing what you love and you're doing it for all of the right reasons, there's no reason you shouldn't be. Stress and sadness are both a part of life. They help us empathize with others and they eventually build our strength and our confidence. The key is, to understand which stressful experiences you can grow from and which stresses to back away from. Throughout our struggles, between employers, teachers, etc., we've both learned that the one stress we don't want is lack of respect. Respect is very important to us and unfortunately, many work places lack this very important aspect. Instead of being in a poorly run management scenario where the employees are taught to disrespect each other and push each other down, we want to be at the top of our business so we can teach each of our employees to respect each other and help each other rise.

This business is not just for us to pursue our dreams. With this opportunity, we want to help other people pursue their dreams as well. We want to change other peoples lives and we want to help them succeed. We want our future employees to know that we believe in them and to teach them to believe in themselves. Someday down the line, we hope to help people beyond our business and begin a fund and community for those who otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity like this.

Pa and Athena gave us the opportunity to follow our dreams at the ages of 23 and 25. There is no greater gift in the world and we can't wait to be able to use that gift to help others follow their dreams as well.

Facebook | Twitter | Website

30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

The Many Tales of Our Customer Service Experiences (as the Customers)

I woke up this morning to a fantastic reminder to talk about our experiences with customer service and why one of our top goals is to provide the ultimate dining experience for our guests.

That reminder was an email from The Bay of Palms Resort along the Gold Coast in Australia. In 2010, Gwith and I went there to celebrate our one year dating anniversary. The pictures looked great online and we were very excited for a week at the beach. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to expectations. Far from it. Upon arriving at 5:15 pm from the airport, we were informed that our access to food would be nearly impossible in about 15 minutes and the person at the front desk could not offer any suggestions on where to go. We were also informed that we'd get the first roll of toilet paper for free and have to pay after that. On our way to the room, we walked beside the pool which was beautiful in the pictures online! In person, not so much. There wasn't any water in the pool and the lounge chairs didn't exist. When we arrived at the room, we took a quick look around. The room was never updated and the bed felt like a ton of bricks. Even the tile floor was more comfortable (we know because we lied down on it to rest our backs the next morning)! In the morning, we had to use a coin computer in the lobby to arrange for another hotel. Of course, with 5 minutes left to book, we ran out of coins. There wasn't a single person at the front desk to exchange change. In the end, we made it out of there. Ironically, this hotel sends me an email twice a year reminding me to come back. I suppose I haven't complained because I enjoy the twice a year giggle and rolling of my eyes.

While this experience was at a hotel and not a restaurant (I have plenty of those stories coming up), it taught us both a lot about how poorly a place can be managed. During that time the front desk proved to lack knowledge, be non-existent at times, and the management put their money before their customers (the toilet paper is a clear sign). In our experience, successful businesses do not run when you sacrifice customer service by cutting costs. Just look at all of the shows like Hotel Impossible and Restaurant Impossible. The reasons those places are failing is because the owners just don't care. If The Bay of Palms Resort owners had provided toilet paper, had a comfortable bed, a filled pool, and helpful tips on where to eat, we'd probably return there some time. Instead, their yearly emails are a joke for us to sit around the dinner table and laugh about.

On the discussion of cutting costs, sadly, we had an experience in Colorado where our favorite sushi restaurant (we were weekly regulars there for a couple of years) decided during the recession to cut down on the size of sushi pieces to thin little non-existent strips, raised the prices, and changed fish companies to a very fishy tasting supplier. As Gwith knows, it's not about the sizes you serve, it's about the amount you order. If you order more food from suppliers than you serve, that's when you're going to lose money. Also, if you need to raise the prices, raise them slowly and don't cut down on the portion sizes at the same time! Besides the changes in food, the once friendly staff began complaining about the owner who was letting his frustrations out on all of them. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of these unpleasant experiences, we switched sushi restaurants. I doubt there's a single business that wants their most loyal customers to switch restaurants and never return. On another note, the reason we found that first sushi restaurant was because the one near our house refused to offer gluten-free soy sauce; just another example of the lack of customer service.

Besides the obvious lessons learned from these experiences, as a person with life threatening allergies, I've also had my fill of allergic reactions due to incompetent restaurant staffs. The only place that I ever put up with was Pappadeaux in Colorado.

Gwith and I at Pappadeaux during his first visit to the USA, (April 2010)

Our favorite restaurant, Pappadeaux, had a horrible habit of putting pepper on my steak. A few years ago, eating pepper on my food would result in my throat starting to close up until I took a Benadryl. I can say with absolute certainty that this was always the kitchens fault. Why? Because we had two favorite waiters who waited on us for years and knew my allergies. One time the manager informed us that my meal was done without seasoning, but a kitchen staff member saw it, thought someone forgot, and just poured it on. Clearly the communication in the kitchen was the problem. You may be wondering why, after having multiple reactions at this restaurant, we kept coming back. Two words: Customer service. While the kitchen may have been messing up plenty, the management knew how to handle the situation. The manager would come out every time, apologizing. Then, they would not only comp my dish, they would bring me a free appetizer/salad and dessert. In the end, they even had someone come to the restaurant to train their staff on allergies.

Other restaurants we've been to haven't handled the situation nearly as well. We've had everything from them denying they did anything wrong, not comping the dish, or just shrugging it off as if it was a fluke. In my opinion, a restaurant staff is either competent in allergy control or they're not. As Gwith would agree, it's all about communication.

At The Counter in Colorado, the manager was incredible. My burgers were always cooked correctly, the staff was happy and friendly (the staff even had monthly bowling nights), the restaurant was booming with customers. Even in the off hours, it was filled. Fast forward to a year later, the manager wanted a raise and the franchise owner didn't give it to him. The manager left and the new person in charge had no idea what they were doing. The waitresses would roll their eyes at our orders, the burgers came out bloody and rare or burned to a crisp, and within a year, the restaurant was closed.

Another poor management experience we've had was at Red Robin in California. Now, this was probably one of the most ridiculous stories we've ever had. Gwith (who doesn't have any allergies) ordered the Caramel Milkshake with Red Hawaiian Sea Salt. That sounds simple enough, right? When they brought out the shake, Gwith looked at it, didn't see a caramel color, but tasted it nonetheless. Of course, after he tasted it, he knew it was just plain vanilla. He let the waitress know who argued with him that there was caramel in it, he just clearly couldn't taste it. Now, this is where it gets really bad. The waitress took the milkshake to replace it and then came back to the table to inform Gwith that they couldn't add the whip cream and sea salt on top because they ran out of whip cream. Then, Gwith saw the bartender pouring whip cream on another milkshake at the bar. Gwith asked for the whip cream and sea salt that was part of the drink, and with an annoyed roll of her eyes, the waitress took the drink and returned announcing they had found the whip cream. Of course, she still couldn't get this drink right, as it returned without sea salt. When Gwith asked about the sea salt, she responded: "Oh? You want that too?" By the shock in her voice, you would think this drink wasn't on the menu and he created it himself. Gwith tasted the drink and it still didn't taste like caramel. Gwith asked to speak to the manager. Normally, the manager should come over and clear up the situation right away. Instead, the manager came over and I kid you not, argued with him for 10 minutes about this milkshake and why he clearly just couldn't taste the flavors. They eventually brought out more caramel for Gwith to mix in himself and snarked, "It's always had caramel but I guess you just need a lot of caramel to actual taste it." As a chef, Gwith wasn't pleased that his ability to taste flavors was being questioned. We have never returned to that Red Robin location since that experience.

Our last night in Colorado at the restaurant Ocean Prime (November 2011)

 On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there's the restaurant Ocean Prime in Downtown Denver. This restaurant flourished in customer service when we lived out there (and hopefully still does!). Not only do I hold this restaurant near and dear to my heart because Gwith proposed to me the night we dined there, the managers and owners also went above and beyond. Besides giving us a lovely letter congratulating us on our engagement the following visit, they also did something completely unexpected before we moved to California. Our last night in Colorado, we went with my mom to dine there. When we sat down, the manager came over to us and we told him we were moving. In response, he took away our menus and proceeded to give us each a 6 course surprise meal (avoiding all of my allergies, I might add!). What happened next, was the most shocking of all. They paid for the entire meal. In my eyes, normally when an owner or manager hears that their customers are moving and may not be returning for years, the last thing they would think of is to give a free meal. But they did, and that memory will stick with us for a lifetime.

While I could go on with countless stories, I hope I've given everyone an insight into why we feel so strongly about opening a restaurant that provides customers with a relaxing, allergy safe, and friendly experience. Of course no one is perfect and I can't say there will never be one error, but in the end, it's how we handle that mistake that counts. The most important lesson is that as long as you treat and train your staff well and respect your customers, there is no reason they shouldn't return. Respecting customers and employees should be the number one priority in any business and if an owner or manager can't understand that, they shouldn't be in business.

Facebook | Twitter | Website

30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.