Private Rooms @ Porcinis

Any Porcini regulars out there? What's your take?

My first thought this morning as I was logging in here was whether anyone would have commented on the Porcini's angle.

Glad to see that was accomplished bright and early.

And yes, eww.

All I have to say is that restuarants are struggling as it is right now - do we really need to draw negative attention to such a fine place and potentially do more harm in all the jokes? Let's try to grow up and be adults.

"There's no such thing as bad publicity" - isn't that the old Hollywood saying?
"As long as they spell your name right."

This isn't going to hurt Porcini's at all, IMO. I'd be willing to bet that they'll see an increase in business.

All I have to say is that restuarants are struggling as it is right now - do we really need to draw negative attention to such a fine place and potentially do more harm in all the jokes? Let's try to grow up and be adults.

I agree to some extent, but this story is in every local and national media, and Porcini's is mentioned by name in nearly all of them. I don't think a few off-color jokes on Hotbytes will have any effect in the grand scheme.

Any Porcini regulars out there? What's your take?

Not a regular, but a great fan of Porcini's. Personally I think it's irrelevant to the restaurant- it's not like it happened while the restaurant was open to give it a shady rep. Pitino however is a different story ( ugh!).

As a marketing professional, I do agree that this type of PR could actually be good for Porcini's ( as they did nothing wrong). It does get their name out there in a big way, particularly locally, and remind folks to come and visit. I bet their revenues go up for a while.

Deb

Sad, sad, sad.............

Deb, I think Porcini's does bear some of the responsibility. The owner of the place allowed this to happen at his establishment.

With that said, I don't think the business will suffer.

DD

Any Porcini regulars out there? What's your take?

Not a regular, but a great fan of Porcini's. Personally I think it's irrelevant to the restaurant- it's not like it happened while the restaurant was open to give it a shady rep. Pitino however is a different story ( ugh!).

As a marketing professional, I do agree that this type of PR is actually good for Porcini's ( as they did nothing wrong). It does get their name out there in a big way, particularly locally, and remind folks to come and visit. I bet their revenues go up for a while.

Deb

I'd disagree. I'm not a marketing professional, but I just got off the phone with a friend who has used Porcinis as venue for special occasions and will now not go back.

Do you think they cleaned off all the tables after Pitino (trying to find a classy yet humorous euphemism here)... finished his meal?

I'm not a Louisville native, had never heard of Porcinis until today, and have 0 interest in eating there. They may have an initial up spike in customers as their name is over everything, but I have to assume they are going to lose a decent number of regular customers.

I really don't see why everyone is so surprised about this. For years, the word on the street has been that Pitino is a notorious tomcat. Nothing has fundamentally changed about the situation. A woman was crazy enough to try and extort some money out of him, and she failed.

As for Porcini's, I really don't understand why this would turn people off to eating at the restaurant. I haven't been, but I've never heard anything but praise for it. This incident happened 6 years ago, and should have no bearing upon the perceived cleanliness of the restaurant today. To assume that Pitino's 'cooties' (or whatever you want to call it) still infest the place is absurd.

Deb, I think Porcini's does bear some of the responsibility. The owner of the place allowed this to happen at his establishment.

With that said, I don't think the business will suffer.

DD

I could be wrong, but I believe Pitino has a business interest in Porcini's. Thus, the owner was only giving the keys to a partner who was staying late. Pitino alone is responsible for what happened after that.

Deb

They may have an initial up spike in customers as their name is over everything, but I have to assume they are going to lose a decent number of regular customers.

This too, will pass.

From Matt Jones at a UK blog (I've omitted the portions dealing with non-food related stuff):

"(2): I am interested in what happens to the restaurant formerly known as Porcini. Do they embrace the publicity? Do they change the name and let it die? Do they get in trouble when the county health inspector comes to review how patrons get to stay in the place after hours for extracurriculars and then “lock (or mop) up”. This might be the most fascinating subplot to me. Does Porcini become a destination for UK fans in Louisville wanting to see where it all went down? Would you go eat there right now? Does it feel sanitary? A good reporter would find out these questions, as the real loser early on in this affair seems to be the whatever locale saw Rick and Karen naked."

Full piece: http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=25364

Offered without comment. . .

On a side note, too bad U of L's point gaurds can't score as big as Pitino!

On a side note, too bad U of L's point gaurds can't score as big as Pitino!

Ehhhhhh...I don't know if I'd call that a big score or not. Judging from the pictures I've seen the man must have really been on one helluva a bender that night.