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As in any industry dependent on shifting consumer tastes and discretionary spending, the highly competitive restaurant business is brutal. Success and survival depends on standing out from the crowd with distinctive food, atmosphere and buzz worthiness.
Hard Rock Cafe, a theme chain dating to the early 1970s, is ending its downtown Detroit run at Campus Martius that began in November 2003. It shuts in late January, news that comes four days after Cheli's Chili Bar closed a few blocks away.
A lease expiration–which likely means a rent boost by Bedrock Detroit, the restaurant's landlord–is the reason cited for Hard Rock's departure from that location and potentially from Detroit. The company left St. Louis in August and Toronto last year.
Hard Rock, which landed as dramatic change was starting downtown, now has lots of company. (Restaurant photos)
Hard Rock was among early pioneers as dramatic changes began downtown. The chain now has lots of company in its casual dining niche. Nearby choices include Central Kitchen + Bar, Brome Modern Eatery, Cadillac Square Diner, Dime Store, Lumen and Calexio.
True, none of those have rock memorabilia as decor or a global reputation nearly a half-century old. But just a third of a mile away on Broadway is Punch Bowl Social, with a comparable menu, a similar retro vibe, a thousand seats, four bars and old-school entertainment such as bowling, ping-pong, darts, karaoke, shuffleboard and arcade games. Plus, it's a "gastro diner" with lobster rolls, chicken and waffles, quinoa salad and brussels sprout slaw in era when Hard Rock still relies largely on burgers, wings, ribs and pulled pork sandwiches.
Danger signs arose for Hard Rock as early as 2010, when the CBS News site Moneywatch wrote that the chain had "a reputation for mediocre food in an increasingly foodie world. . . . It's time to freshen up the menu and improve food quality."
That article added: "Negative comments about the menu and slow service are legion online."
Fast-forward to Detroit in 2018. Scrolling through local Hard Rock reviews at three sites shows a mix that's mostly positive. The prime-location spot at One Campus Martius earns 3 stars out of 5 on Yelp, 4.2 out of 5 at its Facebook page and 4 out of 5 at TripAdvisor.
And yet . . .
The 15-year run ends Jan. 26.
Gripes sprout regularly like weeds among the flowers. A sampling from the past six months:
- "It was my first time here and I was disappointed. The floors were dirty, still had food under the table from the previous diners. The bathroom was shoddily stocked. The food was subpar and overpriced." -- Natasha Garza (Oct. 28)
- "Ordered chicken tenders and didn't care for the taste of them. Husband ordered a steak and it was basically all fat, not worth $23. Won't be returning." -- Shelby Jorah, Clinton Township (June 24)
- "We first went there and had a great experience. . . . Second time we went there it was awful. The waitress never came to our table. They weren't really busy at all. Just terrible." -- Stephanie A., Detroit (Nov. 25)
- "How disappointing. We arrived before it got really busy. Per one of the waitresses, it was shift change -- which was to excuse that we waited for 20 minutes without a server taking our order. The sides to our food came out wrong or were missing and we had to let staff know twice about that before that was corrected. We didn't get refills on drinks because our waitress only came to take our order, drop off the first round of drinks and then again to take our money. We actually thought the quality of the food was good, but the service (or rather the absence thereof) ruined the experience." -- Markus M., Flint (Nov. 19)
- "I was a bit disappointed by this Hard Rock. I’ve been to so many across the country and this was by far the least impressive. The staff was friendly and the drinks were fine, but the atmosphere is lacking." -- Cheree C. (Aug. 24)
- "Very touristy. The food is decent, but it's not worth the price." -- Nicole E. (July 22)
- "It was a Wednesday afternoon with not very many patrons. yet service was extremely slow. . . . Our food took forever. I have been in several very crowded Hard Rock Cafes and my food has never taken as long as it did yesterday. Thank goodness I wasn't in any rush or on a lunch break from work. The food was very good, but not sure if I’ll be visiting this Hard Rock again." -- John R. Shaw, Monroe (May 24)
- "I went last night around 4:30. The place was not busy at all, but a server never came to our table. I had to ask the hostess twice if we were getting a server, she said she couldn't find her. The hostess was rude, so we finally left. I told a couple on my way out good luck getting served, we never did. A table overheard me and said they were also still waiting for service.. . . I will never be back. This location gives the franchise a bad rep." -- Patty Bauer, Macomb Township (May24)
- "We arrived and put our name in. We were told it would be 30-minute wait. After waiting for 45 minutes, we asked for an update. We were told by the host that the manager informed him not to seat anyone else and it could be another 30-45 minutes. No explanation, no solutions, just a no." -- Erik S., Colorado Springs (Nov. 17)
- "Service was horrible. . . . Drinks way overpriced. Several times Thursday night there was nobody behind the bar for several minutes. But in spite of all this, I still had a good time." -- Mike Apostolou, Royal Oak (May 19)
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