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Donna Jean's becomes Weirs Diner - our first visit
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Donna Jean's becomes Weirs Diner - our first visit was today. We've been going to Donna Jean's and other very good breakfast places for decades now. We are also full-time residents. so we like to try them all. Under the new owners: Positive: The new docks are excellent and a huge improvement! Positive: The outside seems to be in a clean-up process Positive: They are open! Positive: Moderate prices Positive: Our server was quick, friendly Needs work: Fit , finish, presence, image, first impressions. To some people this is of little importance but to me these characteristics define what the owners are thinking... and this goes for any company no matter what they do. Our first impressions were that the drive-by sign displayed no character. In fact it reminded me of a cartoon where the only sign was a neon thing that said "EAT" where the A buzzed and flashed. When we were going inside, the windows had little in them to suggest that they were open or even suggested a welcome. The only thing that we noticed viewing through the window were the tubs for dirty dishes. Once we sat down, the placemats were the previous Donna Jean's placements turned white side up. To me this was screaming to expect that some corners were being cut. The inside decor was lacking some hard-to-describe sense of "welcome", etc. It was somehow bland but I couldn't put my finger on it. Needs work: The food. I ordered my usual basic breakfast of three eggs over easy, bacon, etc. The eggs were fine but the bacon was cold and very mushy. My wife ordered the waffles and she thought that they were thin and too mushy inside. We came into our first visit under the new owners with anticipation of a new experience but it just wasn't there. At the other extreme for breakfast is "Kitchen Kravings" with superior food and a fantastic atmosphere but at a slightly higher pricepoint. Some places in the middle are "The Union Diner", "Georges", "Ames Farm Inn" and "Our Place" which are basic breakfast places that deliver the goods time after time. Less so with "Country Cook'n" in Gilford (many times a surly waitstaff, one time with a green fly in my omelet). My guess is that the new owners of the former Donna Jean's are new to the diner business because they just skipped the important dining magic of what keeps customers coming back. And many other diners have figured that out early in the game. The waterfront location is very unique so no matter what, many boating customers will come for a first visit. But if the non-descript front and rear signage is a flag as to how the new owners apply their craft, my guess is they they need to take a closer look at how others ply their trade. But thank you for the new docks! |
Weirs Diner
Not passing any judgement on the post by rickzack , I would, however, suggest that the new owners of Weirs Diner keep a close eye on the posts describing a visit to the Diner. Several other restaurants in the Lakes region have done this and it generally works in their favor, This is not to say all posters are 100% accurate, but some are very specific about certain problems needing attention.
I wish them the best of luck. |
As was discussed in a previous post about DJ's Diner's new owners, they are, in fact, restaurant owners that operate local businesses already.
No excuses for the seemingly, poor service and food in this new venture. |
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A classy place...
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Like I said, the signage reflects the thought process and quality commitment of the owners. Does this high quality bike week sign reflect the quality of the food inside?
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Looks kinda low rent
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The Breeze Wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back |
Jeez, it sure looks like the letter fell off since there is a space. Tough crowd.
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Not a tough crowd, both sides were IDENTICAL. They were just too cheap to buy the letters.
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Some Happy Hour
Maybe they are selling cocktails for a penny?
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We had a late breakfast/lunch here a few weeks ago. The food was really good and the service was as well.
Only thing I could suggest is having a kids menu, I don't have a big eater so ordering off the regular menu for her was tough and she didn't finish what we got her. Place looks great, keep up the good work!! |
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From what I have read in this thread, exactly 1 person has given a review that was less than positive and the other just made a simple suggestion. Personally, I found it to be quite harsh and a bit nit-picky, but that's just me. What I believe you will find on this particular forum is that the majority of people will take the reviews "for what it is worth"... meaning that those that create an account to bash a restaurant will not get much of a response. Those that complain about every restaurant in the area besides one or two, will not get much of a response. Those that trash a restaurant on opening day/week will not get much of a response. May I suggest you remove your negative comments on this board to eliminate the negative responses it will surely bring? I look forward to visiting your restaurant when I am in the area the last week of July. |
Hmmm, funny, I didn't take his comments as negative at all !
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Hard to believe a business owner with that many years of experience would tell a patron to "get a life" on a public forum. Regardless of how you feel about the situation you have two choices. 1) Embrace the feedback or 2) React the way they did. Such a shame.
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Will Not Give it a Try
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How do we know that's the owner and not some random person trying to bash the place?
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This place will occupy the bottom of my list based on that post...there are plenty of others ahead of this place. Good luck though.
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I am not at all surprised to find out that this restaurant is owned by the same people that own "The Eggshell" in Loudon. The apple does not fall far from the tree, does it?
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Weirs diner
This is owned by the same owners as Eggshell? Eggshell owners also used to own Circle Diner in Epsom and (forget name) it was across from Margate under the condos and moved to the newer Waldo Peppers across from Walmart. Not sure if those 3 are still the same owners. Circle used to be great, before moving to the newer Waldo's, the one across from Margate was great but when they moved went downhill and never went back.
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They are the same owners. If we happen to be going to Concord, we often stopped at cooking at the Circle in Epsom. After golfing at Canterbury Woods, we often stopped at the eggshell in Loudon. And we often eat at cooking at the lakeside across from Walmart. None of those three are fine dining but we always find the food to be good and inexpensive. We also have had good service. Guess this is why they make Chevys Fords and Dodges.
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Agree
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I had a fantastic ham and cheese omelet this past Saturday. First time in there since the new owners took over. No wait at all and service was decent. I'll be back.
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Hi all! From the real Weirs Diner.
Hi all! First off- The post above was not by anyone who represents The Weirs Diner. I did just make an account here to clear that up. I want to apologize for any confusion.
Second- I want to say thank you for so many of the positives hilighed above! We purchased the restaurant (not the name) last spring and crunched to get open for you all in time for summer season! We certainly did not have time to do any updates, so we are happy to have had this winter time to do some catching up! We have spent all winter fixing up the location because there were many things that had not been updated (decor and safety-wise) for many years. You will see some shiny new fixtures, but we promised Donna Jean to continue her passion of cooking homestyle food at affordable prices so that won’t change. We did fix the sinking dock and there will be some other fun surprises so stay tuned!! Feel free to contact The Weirs Diner on our official Facebook page. See you this April! |
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Question: if you have outdoor seating would we be able to bring our well behaved dog to a table outside? Otherwise we have to tie her up and leave her on the boat. Thanks! |
second that...
I am also at Channel, err WoW, for the last handful of years and DJ's was our morning stop. THANK YOU for the new docks!
In the 2016 season toward the end of the season the docks so bad I had to nose in, disembark to lighten the load to pull the boat sideways against the rocks, toss out a ton of fenders, not fun, only doable in a 'toon a fiberglass hull would be too deep and tore out.. We ended up more than once going to Georges in Merideth and walking it from the town docks and blowing off DJ's because of that. I think all season I drove to DJs in a car was maybe twice, the rest was all from the docks. |
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