If you love Chef Nates food and his wife Colleens awesome hospitality and customer service then you probably won't want to go to Terrafin Station anymore. Yesterday they were "fired" (yes, they are 25% owners) and told by Ed (25% owner) and his "daddy" (Mr. 50% owner) that they were no longer needed. In a nutshell, Ed and Nate had a disagreement and Ed called his Daddy. Between the Garner and N. Raleigh locations there were well over 100 comments on the FaceBook pages from disappointed and upset patrons that will no longer be spending their money at Terrafin. As of right now, the Facebook pages for both locations have been removed. DH and I can be counted among the very disappointed customers.
This is very disappointing. Nate and Colleen WERE Terrafin. I saw Nate just about every time we went, ALWAYS friendly and concerned about his food and his customers. Ed......not so much. The North Raleigh location was beautiful and had a lot of potential. Sad turn of events and one they are likely to regret. I personally will not be darkening their door unless they make this right.
This is very sad news, but thank you so much for sharing. We ate there often enough that we got a $10 reward in the mail almost every week. I have accumulated enough of them that several have expired in my purse. But without Chef Nate we will spend our money elsewhere. I guess Ed got cocky since the tables have been full, but time will tell whether they can survive without Nate and Colleen.
Just saw a note from Colleen on her personal facebook page thanking everyone for their support. They'll be meeting with a lawyer tomorrow morning, and then beginning the search for a new place. Hopefully they will stay in the 40/42 community!!
That really stinks, and I was one of the ones that posted on their FB page. I can't believe they took the whole pages down and didn't just delete the posts and change it so others couldn't post on them. Hopefully Nate & Colleen will open up somewhere close by and stick it to Ed and his daddy. Ed needed Nate more than Nate needed Ed, from what I saw.
Hmm...maybe the old Chop House location. It's nearby, has ample parking, and looks pretty big from the outside.
From what I understand, Colleen set the Facebook pages up for both locations and was the only administrator. She made the post about what had happened so that everyone would know. She "unpublished" the pages yesterday. I would guess that was so that it could not be held against them in their effort to get their investment back and until they get solid legal advice.
That makes sense, thanks Tassy. I would hope that they get more than their initial investment back. I personally like the idea of the old Chop House location that 42Local mentioned, but I'm not sure that's a great location for them to be successful.
Actually Michaels was successful for a long time and when the owners split the remaining owner opened the Lighthouse which wasn't so successful (so i was told). Then came Chops which was really successful for quite awhile until the two owners had a falling out and the owner who was the Chef left, then it went completely downhill from there. I still believe with the right owners Chops is a great location, since Chops closed this area has grown even more in both residential and commercial businesses.
Aside from being too far off the beaten track for anyone but locals... if that had been successful for anyone, there would still be a restaurant there and not vacant building for 5 or more years.
There is quite a bit more to it behind the scenes as to why no one is there right now but being a good location for success is not one of the reasons
We loved it when it was Michaels! Tried it when it was Lighthouse and Chops, but didn't like it as much. I think it's a good location. I've often thought with renovations, it would be a great place for wedding receptions or a place with dancing because it could be pretty roomy inside and has good parking.
It is sad that people post such mean things about one sided stories. I do not know what happened but there are three sides to every story. Not going there anymore is up to you, but what gives some of you the right to act like you know what happened and air out the owners business? You act like you love this area yet you try to get others to stop going there. Like I always say, everyone is a hypocrite-just a matter of what degree. Did you ever think of the Terrafin employees that depend on their jobs to feed their families. Is it ok that they suffer because you post one sided nonsense to stop patrons from going there?
In it's heyday, Chop's actually did have bands, dj's, and dancing. They had a dancefloor they would put down for special events or holiday events. It was a lot of fun for a couple years.
I'm just going off of what i've heard other people say, and our own opinion. It doesn't garner enough drive-by traffic. No one is going to just fall off of I-40 or Hwy 42 and end up there. It is a location that has to rely on word of mouth and local advertising. As for the owner and taxes, etc... he is just making it not an attractive parcel to rent on purpose. I wouldn't trust someone like that.
Oh please.. rein it in some Rez.. those that commented loves the food that was set up and cooked by the chef not by Ed.. So in essence if the chef isn't there anymore the food menu won't be the same.. when one goes to a place to eat its because of the Chef, not the bookkeeper of the place.
HeHe, you have a valid point. Let's just not assume that it is going to crap right out of the gate though. Nate trained everyone in the kitchen. We will see how it plays out.
