Tom and Chee coming to the Highlands!

I met the owner of the 1st franchise of this really neat concept at Taste of KDF on Wednesday night and they are slated to be opening soon (I forgot the actual date) in the old Cafe Metro/Wild Ginger spot on Bardstown Rd. We've eaten at the Newport location and really enjoyed it. It's cheap and tasty, I think it will do well in that spot!
Here's a link to their website:
http://tomandchee.com/

Grilled cheese doughnuts?

Wild Ginger is no longer???

In case you're confused, their website states, "Tom + Chee (pronounced tom and chee)."

I believe they're going into the old Penn Station space (1704 Bardstown), not the Wild Ginger Space (1700).

[Robin Garr]

I believe they're going into the old Penn Station space (1704 Bardstown), not the Wild Ginger Space (1700).

I was just going to say ...

[Robin Garr]

The Tom + Chee website indicates

Louisville (about a month)
1704 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY

I don't feel nearly as bad about popping a chain into a new infill building space that already held a chain than I would about seeing it take over an iconic local restaurant space. Trading Tom + Chee for Wild Ginger wouldn't make me happy. I can live with it taking over Penn Station, although I'd be even happier to see an ethnic startup by a local refugee family in there ...

The Tom + Chee website indicates

Louisville (about a month)
1704 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY

I don't feel nearly as bad about popping a chain into a new infill building space that already held a chain than I would about seeing it take over an iconic local restaurant space. Trading Tom + Chee for Wild Ginger wouldn't make me happy. I can live with it taking over Penn Station, although I'd be even happier to see an ethnic startup by a local refugee family in there ...

I would not consider Tom+Chee a chain in any way. They have two outlets both in the Cincinnati area. I have eaten at the one in downtown a couple of times in the last few months and found both experiences to be very enjoyable. Their bacon and tomato soup, which was a daily special, was outstanding. On the second visit I tried their bleu cheese chili and liked it but not as well as the bacon and tomato soup. I admittedly tried a donut grilled cheese and found it to be mostly a novelty. I for one am excited for this addition but I would have liked to have seen it closer to downtown.

[Robin Garr]

I would not consider Tom+Chee a chain in any way. They have two outlets both in the Cincinnati area. I have eaten at the one in downtown a couple of times in the last few months and found both experiences to be very enjoyable. Their bacon and tomato soup, which was a daily special, was outstanding. On the second visit I tried their bleu cheese chili and liked it but not as well as the bacon and tomato soup. I admittedly tried a donut grilled cheese and found it to be mostly a novelty. I for one am excited for this addition but I would have liked to have seen it closer to downtown.

I'll give it a try with an entirely open mind. Its website sure has a chain-y look, though ... I find you can often (not always) look to the corporate graphics and trade dress to get an idea of management's mindset.

Still, I do love me some grilled cheese ...

I would not consider Tom+Chee a chain in any way. They have two outlets both in the Cincinnati area. I have eaten at the one in downtown a couple of times in the last few months and found both experiences to be very enjoyable. Their bacon and tomato soup, which was a daily special, was outstanding. On the second visit I tried their bleu cheese chili and liked it but not as well as the bacon and tomato soup. I admittedly tried a donut grilled cheese and found it to be mostly a novelty. I for one am excited for this addition but I would have liked to have seen it closer to downtown.

I'll give it a try with an entirely open mind. Its website sure has a chain-y look, though ... I find you can often (not always) look to the corporate graphics and trade dress to get an idea of management's mindset.

Still, I do love me some grilled cheese ...

Re-reading Dan's post I see that this is indeed going to be a franchise. I still lump it into a much different category than a McDonald's, etc. If they show up on every corner I may feel differently. By the way, they offer various flavors of Grippo's as a side option in Cincinnati.

The rules are pretty simple. If we like it...it's not a chain. If we don't like it...chain.

images.jpg record.jpg

figured this was better than a dead horse image

images.jpg record.jpg

figured this was better than a dead horse image

John, you are going to make the hipster crowd cry with the image of broken vinyl.

Yes. They are a small chain, with 3 locations in the Cincinatti area. But I would hesitiate to immediately discount them because of the design of their website.

Yes. They are a small chain, with 3 locations in the Cincinatti area. But I would hesitiate to immediately discount them because of the design of their website.

Certainly agree with your Dan! There are a lot of smaller restaurants and other businesses with impressive websites. It's just how much emphasis the owners put on it, they are a very good advertising tool for many businesses.