Farmers Diner Coming to Midd Spring 2009
“Tod Murphy, founder of the Farmers Diner, confirmed that the company plans to open a diner in Middlebury in late spring 2009.”
“Murphy, whose first diner opened in Barre in 2002 with the goal of delivering reasonably priced, locally grown, classic diner fare, has been called a “short order revolutionary” by the New York Times. But the revolution has been slow going.”
Burlington Free Press: Farmers Diner Coming to Middlebury
Is it just me or is MiddBlog snowing?
MiddBlog omitted an important fact: where will the Farmers Dinner be located? The Addison Independent reports that the Dinner will replace Tully and Marie’s on Bakery Lane.
So much for 2-for-1 Pad Thai Tuesdays. On the other hand, local food, everyday, sounds even better.
If you’ve been waiting for a grossly overpriced concept restaurant with a history of high employee turnover, unethical and illegal business practices then wait till you get a load of the Farmer’s Diner. Don’t get me wrong. The concept is perfect, unfortunately the unqualified jokers running the show are a who’s who of how not to run a conscious business in this state. Dogs in the kitchen on one health report, unsafe food handling and storage on another (public record) just top the list of overpriced food that’s sold whether it’s fresh or not (to save $$) by the felon director of operations. Best bet is to cherish the concept and avoid the diner both as an eatery and place of employment.
Clearly, Heywood has had a particularly negative experience with Farmer’s Diner. A lot of Heywood’s claims are difficult to corroborate, but a few you can check out for yourself.
To see the menu and prices: http://www.farmersdiner.com/menu.php
To see the restaurant’s health inspection scores and areas needing improvement: http://healthvermont.gov/apps/restaurant_scores/RestaurantDetail.aspx?id=19292
Interestingly, the Farmer’s Diner scored higher than some of Midd’s dining halls. More on that later.
UPDATE: Initial rumors about the diner’s location were incorrect. The Addison Independent reports the 112-seat restaurant will likely be located on Creek Road, just off Route 7 South. While this is about a mile south of downtown, it’s not a bad walk from campus via the baseball fields and the TAM bridge over Otter Creek.
Well, lots of people are searching for more info on Farmer’s Diner which will actually be in the Marble Works complex in Middlebury (accessible to the town and the College with ease). Maybe this will help cut the lines at American Flatbread on Fridays and Saturday (and Thursdays starting in June). Rumor has it that Farmer’s Diner may try to go 24 hours but I think that’s a bit ambitious. Maybe wait until next Fall for crazed late-night students to drop in at 3AM.
I’ve also had VERY bad experiences with the Farmer’s Diner. The service is beyond bad, but beyond that I’ve been made aware of unethical practices and and more coming from the top. I’d be interested in hearing more of what Heywood has to say. I’m offended that this place gets such good press. I guess if the food tastes pretty good, and the idea is good, it doesn’t matter how much the owner abuses both employees and suppliers (and occasionally customers).