CJ review killed La Rouge? I don't think so ...

[Robin Garr]

I don't know which is more pitiful: That the management of the late La Rouge tried to blame Marty's review for the demise of what was already a dead restaurant walking, or that the <I>Business First</i> reporter bought it. Interesting story, though, about Robert "Bobby J." Johnson's role in the attempted resurrection.

Bobby J.'s back and taking his upscale style downtown
Business First of Louisville - May 18, 2007
by Terry Boyd
Business First Staff Writer

It sounds like the lyrics of a Frank Sinatra song: Ridin' high in April, shot down in May, which is sort of what happened to La Rouge Restaurant.

One bad review. That's all it took. After four months in business, La Rouge got torched March 3 in a Saturday Scene review by Courier-Journal restaurant critic Marty Rosen. By Monday, March 5, the restaurant, at 252 E. Market St., was empty, the partners told Business First.

Rosen said the review was deserved, with problems during two visits -- one last December, the other a couple of weeks later in January -- before he reviewed the restaurant in print.

"I don't like writing bad reviews, and I tend to skew positive. I look for good things to say ... reasons to go, not to avoid" a spot, he said.

But La Rouge's food quality and service didn't warrant its elite prices, Rosen said.

So, how do you recover? Basically, you start over again, bringing in longtime restaurateur and entertainer Bobby Johnson.

Full story in Business First

I notice that Rick Longino will be a partner in this new place.

I don't even read the CJ but perhaps I am one of the few smart ones that don't HAVE to read it? Perhaps if everything wasn't accompanied with some kind of aioli it would have been better. I think even the desserts had an aioli riding the side lines. They give the CJ too much credit.

No offense to Marty but the C-J lost its credibility years ago.

In regards to Business First I find it hard to understand how a journalist could be hoodwinked into.. ..into writing... ... every word that ... ...someone told them was true... ....sorry even I couldn't say that with a straight face.

No offense to Marty but the C-J lost its credibility years ago. I find it hard to understand how a journalist could be hoodwinked into.. ..into writing... ... every word that ... ...someone told them was true... ....sorry even I couldn't say that with a straight face.

I don't think the CJ killed La Rouge--it had to be in deep trouble already. However, from reports from restaurant owners on this site, the CJ reviews seem to be having a significant impact now. Good reviews are followed by slammed restaurants. And in the case of La Rouge, killed off a dying restaurant.

[Robin Garr]

the CJ reviews seem to be having a significant impact now. Good reviews are followed by slammed restaurants. And in the case of La Rouge, killed off a dying restaurant.

There's certainly no question that Marty has kicked the CJ's restaurant review quality up a notch, Charles. That's a good thing for consumers, although with my own personal demons, I kind of hate to see good local writers supporting the evil Gannett/USA Today chain with their underpaid labor.

I think the overall influence of the paper is so much less than it used to be, though, from the front pages to the editorial pages, much less the reviews, that the dining critic's impact is a far cry from what it used to be. Sure, a column can send 20 or 30 couples in to a favorably reviewed place on a Saturday night - and that's more than a "slam." But it rarely lasts.

As for La Rouge, meaning no disrespect to Marty, the review could not have made any difference, nor speeded the closing. The funeral was already scheduled, and the bills weren't being paid. Frankly, I suspect that if the CJ editors had known the place was already closing, they would have simply dumped the review in favor of something else.

I'm shocked, utterly shocked, that the members of this august forum would criticize Business First. I think their utterly credulous reporters do a great job of re-writing press releases.

As for La Rouge, meaning no disrespect to Marty, the review could not have made any difference, nor speeded the closing. The funeral was already scheduled, and the bills weren't being paid. Frankly, I suspect that if the CJ editors had known the place was already closing, they would have simply dumped the review in favor of something else.

I'm sure it was going out. I just got the feeling that the review hastened it, even if it was by a matter of weeks.

In this town a single review does not either make or break a place. It may help or hinder, but not close down.

As to La Rouge, it is my opinion they were in trouble before they opened, based on some contacts I had with the principals before opening. Nothing to slam either party, just a contrast of styles, methods and possibly personalities that did not mesh in business together.