At least at my local Red Lobster, yes. It’s not a place I would choose to eat. Might as well go to Long John Silvers. But slower service.
We had to stand around for like 10 minutes before someone even acknowledged us to be seated. I was close to leaving already. And the food was mediocre at best.
Huh, I put them in the same category as Olive Garden, Applebees, Fridays, and several others.
Nothing stellar, but acceptable and a good bit better than Long John Silver’s (which is barely even edible IMO).
I’ll be sad if they disappear but mainly due to the cheddar bay biscuits.
I imagine that some outfit will buy the right to keep producing the mix… sort of like how Chi Chis is no more but you can still buy the salsa.
Back in the day (late 2000s), our go to places for reasonably ok food (with big portions) where Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Chili’s, and Appleby’s.
2 out of 4 of them are now kapputt in the US.
Which other one is going under? We have OG, Applebee’s, and Chilis near me.
Applebee’s has gone way downhill, imo. OG is… fine, but it’s easy to find good pasta. I still kinda like Chili’s, decent selection, and they have deals now for an appetizer, main, and drink for around $15.
Is Chili’s still up and running in the US?
They have closed down in several states now so I figured it was spreading.
The locations near me are still going.
I wonder if places like this might get a little boost from fast food prices ramping up so much. And fast casual. In my city it’s cheaper to go to Chili’s than Chipotle or Panera.
WTF@this
Never heard of a McDs Gold Card. Apparently they give the card to about 150 high flyers/year.
IFYP
Met my wife at a chi chi’s!
Long story incoming.
It was raining hard at school pickup today. My husband was there waiting for the kids. Earlier in the day, my son’s teacher emailed us to let us know his tics were severe. Nothing we can do, she acknowledged, she only wanted to let us know.
So at 3:23, my son came out. Alone. School is out at 3:30. My husband asked why he was out earlier, and he said his teacher told him to head outside. And she also said “I can’t take it anymore.”
So my husband confronted her when she eventually came out and she denied ever saying that. My husband told her he didn’t believe her. My son doesn’t lie. He’s not perfect, but he is very honest, and he was only stating the facts of the situation. He wasn’t trying to get his teacher in trouble and he didn’t think much of it - but we did. So they left the school.
After they got home, he got a call from the principal. He said that the teacher came to him and said that she DID say it, but it wasn’t about him. So my husband said he didn’t want to talk about it now, and they could discuss it later when he wasn’t so angry about it. He’s planning to talk to the principal tomorrow.
So then a bit later we got an email from his teacher that said:
“I just wanted to communicate with you that I did send mini-NA out before our line came out, at 3:23, only because I saw you standing out there in the pouring rain. I communicated that to him.
I did say ‘I can’t take it anymore’, but in response to the announcements firing off, kids coming and going, a few kids coming up to me about an incident that had just happened during packup, and just trying to get everyone ready to leave. It was not related to mini-NA at all. This wasn’t an appropriate thing to say no matter the circumstance, and I recognize that.
I can understand why he would feel that way, and why you would in turn think this way.
I love mini-NA. I think he’s funny, smart, creative, and has so many other wonderful qualities that have contributed to our classroom experience.
The last five minutes of this day were really challenging. I hope that you understand. I will speak to him about it tomorrow and apologize to him. I don’t ever want a child to think that I feel negatively towards them. ”
I don’t know how to respond to this. I’m glad she’s going to deal with it directly with our son. He’s feeling pretty confused about the whole thing. He didn’t think much of it at the time, and we didn’t share our thoughts with him, but he is wondering why he was singled out and wonders if it was because of his tics.
I told him that he should ask his teacher all of the questions he has, and share how he feels, when they talk tomorrow. He can decide if he can forgive her, but I reminded him that we all make mistakes and we all have bad days - and it’s all about being accountable after the fact.
I don’t want her to lose her job. I don’t want to get litigious about this. But I’m so tired of the whole thing. And I’m sad that my son feels the burden of her frustration, and in turn wonders if he is a burden himself. I just want him to finish the rest of the school year so we can move past this. So I’m considering just keeping the peace for the next three weeks.
Am I remembering correctly that this teacher has given indications in the past that your son’s tics in fact DO bother her?
I mean, without knowing background her story is certainly plausible. I have inadvertently said the wrong thing at the wrong time and had it misinterpreted, certainly.
But you know this teacher. Your son knows this teacher. Your gut is probably right. The fact that your son wasn’t bothered initially lends credence to her version of events. If you didn’t want to completely drop it you could ask him about that. But there’s also something to be said for letting it go.
Great job by your husband’s initial confrontation. Also a great job by your husband by leaving.
And that is a great email from the teacher, after correctly speaking with the principal.
Four other children who heard your teacher would think those comments were about them.
You could also choose to give the teacher a vote of confidence by telling her “I understand” and (hopefully) see the boost those words give her as she could probably use it.
Parenting is hard when you care.
Yes, she has admitted that she gets frustrated by his tics, but has assured us that her frustration is never on display. I have my doubts.
Of all people, I GET it. After hearing him tic on a bad day for 8+ hours, I often too get frustrated, and I have needed to step away for a bit to deal with my feelings. He doesn’t have too many bad days, though. He will have stretches where it gets bad, and then much longer stretches where it’s in the background. I think we have gone through 3-4 bad periods this school year. The beginning and end of the year can be tough because of all the change anticipated, and testing.
My son likes his teacher a lot, and he is well aware of his condition and how others perceive him. It doesn’t really get him down; people ask why he tics and he will nonchalantly tell them he has Tourette’s and he can’t help himself, and he doesn’t feel shame about it. I’m positive that he will encounter kids later in his life who aren’t as kind and accepting, but we have been really fortunate. All of the issues we have had have come from adults. His teachers telling him to stop, strangers mocking him, etc. I didn’t expect it to come from adults while he is still so young.
I like his teacher, too. I don’t doubt that she loves my son and is able to see him as a person beyond his disability. But I have told her countless times that all we are asking from the school is to not treat him as a nuisance to be dealt with. Don’t single him out, don’t punish him, don’t treat him differently.
If there are situations where he needs to be separated for testing or similar situations, just bring him into that conversation and give him some control about how that happens. He knows that his tics can be disruptive, and that causes him anxiety - he knows that he will test alone with a teacher because of it, so he doesn’t have to have that on his mind. I want these situations to be about accommodating him, not about “dealing” with him.
And I know we will have to educate people on this, every year, probably multiple times a year. We are okay with that. We know that this isn’t something everyone has encountered before. And mistakes will happen along the way, too. Let’s just try to keep the focus on the right things and we will be good.
I have 3 of the 4 within a mile or 2 of my home. The other one is about a 10 minute drive.
Reading that makes me want to 
. Your son is lucky to have such a great mom. And I know you’re not posting for accolades and probably don’t feel like you’re going above & beyond but it sounds like you both have a really healthy outlook on his condition, which I bet isn’t always the case.
I am cautiously optimistic that her explanation is true and that they are able to put this behind them and move on.
I hope your kid witnessed all of this.
My kid admitted that he could have made me something at school this week for Mother’s Day, but didn’t feel like it. That kinda sucks…
Today, there are some people who are hiding in the shadows of all the flowers and proclamations of love, those of you for whom Mother’s Day isn’t so happy.
Those with unfulfilled longing for motherhood. Those whose mothers weren’t the parent they needed. Those who are separated from their mother or child(ren), whether by death, disease, addiction, or geography. Those entangled with complicated feelings with adoption or foster care. Those left holding the pieces after the loss of their child(ren)’s mother.
Wishing peace for those of you for whom Mother’s Day isn’t so happy.
My son works with a 40yo single mother. She disclosed that her kids didn’t do anything for mothers day. So yesterday on the way to work he bought her some flowers.