Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Brody · Post by **Brody** » Sat Sep 30, 2023 9:53 am

Freebirdzz wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 10:27 pm I always thought they had too many young Khmer dudes working in the place though.

Gavinmac used to always complain about that as well.

Spigzy · Post by **Spigzy** » Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:21 pm

Doc67 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:31 am So... Well established for years. Good reputation for food. Google rating of 4.6. Trip Advisor 4.5. Not in a high-rent area.

If a place like this decides to chuck in the towel, there must be something badly wrong with the restaurant scene around here.

Absolutely, the economy is in the toilet currently - many banks, even big ones are laying off staff, along with loan repayment defaults on the rise, in some cases I heard as bad as 1/10 customers struggling to make repayments. Hotels are all but empty, tourism a dead dog because it has always relied too heavily on border skippers from Thailand on a jolly whilst in the region. Tough times.

Really sad re: Lone Pine, as a regular customer I'll miss it. The burgers are second to none in town, and a lot of the other TexMex type stuff pretty decent too. I don't know where the "dudes out back" thing comes from, that's the cooking team & they put in a serious shift in a small Khmer style kitchen to churn out what they do - the menu is massive, perhaps too massive. Probably the biggest issue is the NGO whining crew that it is too expensive, for the quality and portion sizes, that's nonsense in my book. I know the owner was in a tough place where all ingredient prices are up significantly because of the economic crisis, and yet he couldn't add a cent on a burger without some pleb bitching about it. If you want a cheap burger, go to Lucky Burger.

Jerry Atrick · Post by **Jerry Atrick** » Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:31 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:21 pm
Doc67 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:31 am So... Well established for years. Good reputation for food. Google rating of 4.6. Trip Advisor 4.5. Not in a high-rent area.

If a place like this decides to chuck in the towel, there must be something badly wrong with the restaurant scene around here.
Absolutely, the economy is in the toilet currently - many banks, even big ones are laying off staff, along with loan repayment defaults on the rise, in some cases I heard as bad as 1/10 customers struggling to make repayments. Hotels are all but empty, tourism a dead dog because it has always relied too heavily on border skippers from Thailand on a jolly whilst in the region. Tough times.

Really sad re: Lone Pine, as a regular customer I'll miss it. The burgers are second to none in town, and a lot of the other TexMex type stuff pretty decent too. I don't know where the "dudes out back" thing comes from, that's the cooking team & they put in a serious shift in a small Khmer style kitchen to churn out what they do - the menu is massive, perhaps too massive. Probably the biggest issue is the NGO whining crew that it is too expensive, for the quality and portion sizes, that's nonsense in my book. I know the owner was in a tough place where all ingredient prices are up significantly because of the economic crisis, and yet he couldn't add a cent on a burger without some pleb bitching about it. If you want a cheap burger, go to Lucky Burger.

To be quite fair - it's possible to have an excellent burger, handmade, in a perfect bun, with all the trimmings, in as many styles as one cares to name, across around 20 venues in Phnom Penh for $5-7.5

Its more expensive to eat in inferior fast food burger set at all the bigger fast food chains - habit, Carl's, BK

It's a shame but it's reality for you. My most expensive burger 12/13 years back would sell for $5/6 then - and despite costs rocketing I wouldn't be able to sell it in a profitable way today for less than $7.5/8.

Way more competition, but the market isn't proportionately bigger imo

Fridaywithmateo · Post by **Fridaywithmateo** » Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:18 pm

Restaurant biz is a rough gig ... and the comments about staff using phones on duty pretty much applies everywhere these days ... I would forbid it while on the clock ... mobile phones are the enemy of customer service, me thinks.

Doc67 · Post by **Doc67** » Sun Oct 01, 2023 8:07 am

Fridaywithmateo wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 2:18 pm Restaurant biz is a rough gig ... and the comments about staff using phones on duty pretty much applies everywhere these days ... I would forbid it while on the clock ... mobile phones are the enemy of customer service, me thinks.

IIRC, both Oskar and Metro staff never have phones on them. I know Oskar has staff lockers where they must be placed. Both places are run professionally and the service is excellent, so there is something to be said for a phone ban.

armchairlawyer · Post by **armchairlawyer** » Sun Oct 01, 2023 1:10 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:21 pm
Doc67 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:31 am So... Well established for years. Good reputation for food. Google rating of 4.6. Trip Advisor 4.5. Not in a high-rent area.

If a place like this decides to chuck in the towel, there must be something badly wrong with the restaurant scene around here.
Absolutely, the economy is in the toilet currently - many banks, even big ones are laying off staff, along with loan repayment defaults on the rise, in some cases I heard as bad as 1/10 customers struggling to make repayments. Hotels are all but empty, tourism a dead dog because it has always relied too heavily on border skippers from Thailand on a jolly whilst in the region. Tough times.

The problem with the analysis of the banking sector (even in countries with good accounting standards) is that you never know the quality of the assets (i.e. their loans). When there is bad news they hide it until the last minute and then there is a sudden big problem. This is about to happen in the commercial real estate market in USA.
As reliable data is hard to find here, one has to do one's best with the anecdotal. My impressions are:
Factories are doing OK overall, not great but OK. It won't be long before there is a pick-up in western demand and that will help a lot. Exports to non-west are not so helpful because the price paid is lower. Better roads and infrastructure are also helping the factory sector.
Real estate - little cause for any optimism, to put it mildly.
Agriculture - doing well, global stagflation will help as exports improve to western buyers (again, better payers, so long as the green activists stfu). Improving local infrastructure also a positive.
Tourism - western tourism is picking up a bit. This augurs well for the upcoming western winter. Asian tourism won't do well as many too scared to come and those that do will be mainly zero dollar people. Land-entering "tourists" in the published numbers are worth discounting from any analysis of trends.

khmerhamster · Post by **khmerhamster** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 1:30 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:21 pm
Doc67 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:31 am So... Well established for years. Good reputation for food. Google rating of 4.6. Trip Advisor 4.5. Not in a high-rent area.

If a place like this decides to chuck in the towel, there must be something badly wrong with the restaurant scene around here.
Absolutely, the economy is in the toilet currently - many banks, even big ones are laying off staff, along with loan repayment defaults on the rise, in some cases I heard as bad as 1/10 customers struggling to make repayments. Hotels are all but empty, tourism a dead dog because it has always relied too heavily on border skippers from Thailand on a jolly whilst in the region. Tough times.

Really sad re: Lone Pine, as a regular customer I'll miss it. The burgers are second to none in town, and a lot of the other TexMex type stuff pretty decent too. I don't know where the "dudes out back" thing comes from, that's the cooking team & they put in a serious shift in a small Khmer style kitchen to churn out what they do - the menu is massive, perhaps too massive. Probably the biggest issue is the NGO whining crew that it is too expensive, for the quality and portion sizes, that's nonsense in my book. I know the owner was in a tough place where all ingredient prices are up significantly because of the economic crisis, and yet he couldn't add a cent on a burger without some pleb bitching about it. If you want a cheap burger, go to Lucky Burger.

Agree with most of this, however the NGO crowd are cheap? I thought popular consensus that they were overpaid, wasteful plebs.
Can’t get my head around how both can be true…

Jerry Atrick · Post by **Jerry Atrick** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 1:48 pm

khmerhamster wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 1:30 pm
Spigzy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:21 pm
Doc67 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:31 am So... Well established for years. Good reputation for food. Google rating of 4.6. Trip Advisor 4.5. Not in a high-rent area.

If a place like this decides to chuck in the towel, there must be something badly wrong with the restaurant scene around here.
Absolutely, the economy is in the toilet currently - many banks, even big ones are laying off staff, along with loan repayment defaults on the rise, in some cases I heard as bad as 1/10 customers struggling to make repayments. Hotels are all but empty, tourism a dead dog because it has always relied too heavily on border skippers from Thailand on a jolly whilst in the region. Tough times.

Really sad re: Lone Pine, as a regular customer I'll miss it. The burgers are second to none in town, and a lot of the other TexMex type stuff pretty decent too. I don't know where the "dudes out back" thing comes from, that's the cooking team & they put in a serious shift in a small Khmer style kitchen to churn out what they do - the menu is massive, perhaps too massive. Probably the biggest issue is the NGO whining crew that it is too expensive, for the quality and portion sizes, that's nonsense in my book. I know the owner was in a tough place where all ingredient prices are up significantly because of the economic crisis, and yet he couldn't add a cent on a burger without some pleb bitching about it. If you want a cheap burger, go to Lucky Burger.
Agree with most of this, however the NGO crowd are cheap? I thought popular consensus that they were overpaid, wasteful plebs.
Can’t get my head around how both can be true…

A khmer family member worked for a large human rights NGO here whose name begins with L and ends with O

Pitiful pay and expect 50+ hours per week, make no allowance for family occasions/emergencies, break all employment laws. Recently told half their staff they could work for free for three months or take a months pay and quit. She quit, now she earns $1200 pcm at a bank, versus $600 for 200+ hours per month at said NGO

newkidontheblock · Post by **newkidontheblock** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 4:49 pm

one_dolla wrote:ah drove through Big Pine and Lone Pine when I visited USA I was going from San Francisco to LA initially around Lake Taho but a huge forest fire there meant I had to choose me another route on my AAA maps my uncle git for me. ...I went from SF to Sonora then on down thata way

AAA Triptiks. Customized trip map made by the American Automobile Association for its members. Come into the local office and have one made. Turn by turn directions, on paper. Number one reason to join for many years.

Supplanted by Garmin, and now smartphone maps.

one_dolla · Post by **one_dolla** » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:56 am

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 4:49 pm
one_dolla wrote:ah drove through Big Pine and Lone Pine when I visited USA I was going from San Francisco to LA initially around Lake Taho but a huge forest fire there meant I had to choose me another route on my AAA maps my uncle git for me. ...I went from SF to Sonora then on down thata way
AAA Triptiks. Customized trip map made by the American Automobile Association for its members. Come into the local office and have one made. Turn by turn directions, on paper. Number one reason to join for many years.

Supplanted by Garmin, and now smartphone maps.

smart phones hadny been invented back then pal it was paper maps ...sat nav was about but a bit unreliable

Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Re: Lone Pine Cafe closing for good October 7

Who is online

Register/Login to CEO with your Social Media Account: