Tuesday, January 06, 2009
If You Enjoy Mäni’s, PLEASE READ!
Thank you all for enjoying our bakery and food for since 1989! And Happy New Year.
As you know, 2008 was a year like no other in our lifetimes.
Some industries and segments of our society have been greatly affected by the economic downturn. We all know about the financial and real estate sectors, but many don’t know about the impact of the economic belt-tightening on many restaurants and bakeries, especially in the last few months.
Unfortunately, we face the very real possibility of not making it through 2009, unless we can modify our business to function more efficiently in today’s environment.
We need your help to continue. We need your support. If you want to see Mäni’s stay in business, we need your economic support and feedback. Even if that means just coming by for a single cookie, or bringing your friends for a snack, breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner.
Please understand we will not be able to continue as we were. We will have to reduce the bakery selections. This is your opportunity to let us know what you really like, not only by telling us here on this blog, but with your purchasing preferences. We will be closely monitoring selections during January 2009. And we will also be watching our overall sales volume.
Just to let you know, December was the weakest sales Mäni’s has ever had. At this level we will not be able to continue.
As with many businesses, our operating expenses are fixed. Some have increased dramatically, such as our rent which has risen 81% in less than two years. Others are fixed contracts. We have reduced staff, which was painful, but if we can’t improve sales, we won’t be able to cover our expenses.
Please let us know how we can provide the products and service you’d like now.
Thanks in advance for your continued patronage, ideas and support! We look forward to seeing you at Mäni’s soon.
Larry Maiman
Founder
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Comments
I will be there!
Mani’s is my FAVORITE spot in LA. I used to be there at least 3 or 4 times a week for an entree, latte, and dessert. But, ever since the price increase back around July and the economic downturn, I’ve had to cut back. For instance, I was in love with the dark chocolate mousse cake… just can’t afford it any more. Maybe you could consider some cheaper menu items? No matter what, anytime I can scrape some pennies together, I’ll be in there for my truffle heart cookie and a sandwich!
I am in the restaurant biz and I understand the problems encountered when trying to keep costs down and prices affordable. I have been enjoying Mani’s since you opened. I even took a baking class from Mani back in the day. I have lived in the “OC” for the past 25 years. I used to be able to get my Mani “fix” at Mother’s Market (a local health food store), but Mani’s stopped delivering to them several years ago. I usually stop by every few months and stock up on my favorite items (eclairs, cookies, cupcakes). I was really craving Mani’s around the holidays, seeing as how all of my refined sugar eating friends and family were indulging in their desserts. When I had a chance to stop by, I was saddened that the hours had been cut and that you were closed. I did end up ordering on line and having my boyfriend drive up there to pick up my goodies. Please try to ride out this poor economy! Would it be more profitable to only run the bakery, not the dining room? One thing that we have done to lower our overhead is to do our shopping at Restaurant Depot and Sam’s Club, rather than having everything delivered. Good luck and I’ll try and make it out there a little more often.
Thanks Polly!
I live in OC and love, love, love your products! I would buy daily if you were closer. If for some sad reason you have to close doors, then please consider wholesale/deliveries only to natural food stores, like Mother’s. I understand the increased costs associated with running a retail food store, perhaps wholesale with high volume through whole foods could help keep you in business.
I love all wheat-free and vegan products! There are no good manufacturer’s of wheat-free, vegan, and low sugar products. Please, please consider a different business model and approach.
Sincerely,
A big fan!
My birthday is coming up(Friday) and I’ve heard amazing things about your vegan cakes. I can’t wait to visit your shop!!
kd
My favorite vegan cake is the Carmelized Apple Cake.
Larry, I hope you make it through the recession!! Very upset to hear about your 81% rent increase… absolutely ridiculous. We love your excellent menu which is filled with cheese alternatives & wheat alternatives & meat alternatives! The only place of its kind in Los Angeles! The recession has hit us hard too, but I’ve been coming in a few times a week over the last few weeks to buy your delicious peanut butter bites. Just trying to help out in any little bit that we can! We’ll try to come by more often for full meals, too, because we love your breakfast items.
i am a health nut with a major sweet tooth and mani’s is by far my favorite bakery. my husband and i absolutely love the chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie. it is hard to swalllow the fact that it now costs $3.50, but to us it’s worth it!
I have been a regular since Mani’s first opened. It is a fixture in my life. When my daughter was little we used to visit after nursery school. Now she is graduating college and we come for lunch whenever she is home. Mani’s is my favorite place to eat in LA. I travel frequently for my work and especially seem to need my Mani fix just before I leave town and upon my return. I keep trying to cut back both because of the calories and the cost, but now I hear that you really need me to keep coming…just the excuse I need! Happy Valentine’s Day. I guess I’d better come in and get some chocolate. I’ll be right there.
Blessings, Rabbi Anne
I know it’s hard out there; i went through major back surgery last year and am now trying to find work after months of recovery. Even tho I don’t make it in 2-3 times a week like I used to, I still try to come out there 2-3 times a month (last week i was there twice! oh joy!) I LOVE your place and have been coming there since I discovered it 6 mos after I moved here (now it’s been 6 years!) Please don’t close-I’ll cry massive buckets. Altho the prices have gone up, you guys ROCK! and I love the staff, jerry and Nico and Misael are the best. I still order as much as I can, but less of what I used to. Here’s to many more years!xox
We love Mani’s. Though it is noon on a Saturday, the restaurant is maybe half full yet we’ve been sitting here 30 minutes waiting for food. You need to be faster.
You should check out the responses you received from LA Eater:
http://la.eater.com/archives/2009/02/13/rally_cry_manis_requests_your_economic_support.php#comment-275801
Larry-
you’re really off-track. With the tough economy, you’ve just offered customers (who are also suffering) less and less. Higher prices, shorter hours, reduced service standards, fewer bakery choices and reduced freshness. All these things are only going to make your business worse. The only way you’re going to make it is if you can invest in making your offering better and cheaper. Take a note from the automakers—you have to adjust your business to be relevant to the customer—we’re not going to keep bailing you out because we feel sorry for you.
You’d think with the tough economy, Mani’s would stick to their business hours better. One night, the BF and I were nearby and he wanted a delicious chocolate-covered shortbread cookie at Mani’s.
I checked the website just to make sure they were open and it said they closed at 11pm. We got there at 10:15pm, the door was locked, but there were still cookies in the display case and someone behind the counter. The person behind the counter came to the door and mouthed that they were closed, and I pointed them at the website on my phone which showed their hours and said please, but no luck.
Maybe the December sales were down because the restaurant wasn’t open during their posted business hours.
Also, I don’t think I can afford to come by for a single cookie when a single cookie costs as much as $4. I can almost buy a meal for that amount.
hey there, i am a local vegan and was devastated to hear that mani’s was in trouble. i rushed over and had lunch at mani’s this weekend, and i loved it. it will be a real tragedy if this restaurant goes away.
i reviewed manis and urged other people to go there. you can see my post here:
http://www.quarrygirl.com/2009/02/16/save-manis-bakery-vegan/
My fiance and I were regular customers for nearly a year at Mani’s. We would go for breakfast/brunch pretty much every Saturday or Sunday and would also go for a chili dinner and/or some baked goods (she loves the chocolate chocolate muffins and I love the carrot cake muffins) multiple times per month. While we agree with a lot of people that Mani’s prices are too high, we would bear them because Mani’s was our place.
While Mani’s service was always a bit shaky, except for one woman who was always great and would take care of any problem immediately, we loved the place. Of course, that didn’t stop the kitchen from trying to sub a hamburger bun for an english muffin on my fiancee’s eggs florentine on a near weakly basis and us having to send it back.
Well, that all changed in the summer of last year. We had not come in for two weeks because we were out of town, and we returned to one of the bigger let downs you can have with one of your favorite restaurants. We returned to see your new menu, which was really unnecessary given that the old menu did the job just fine. Indeed, the menu was missing some of our absolute favorites, including the Spinach Nest and the Three Fer. Now, I learned that as part of Mani’s efforts to “cut costs” (as if potatoes cost much of anything) that things involving potato pancakes had been removed from the menu. While I wasn’t happy, I could understand that. However, what is so hard about adding an extra egg white, extra pancake and extra slice of turkey ham to a customer willing to pay the higher price? The response from the waiter, along with a blank stare, was “its not in the computer.”
Additionally, the waitstaff had completely turned over (again) and the service was absolutely atrocious. The only ones who seemed to be getting anything done were a recently promoted manager (Josh I believe his name is) and your long time bus boy who is always worked to the bone. We waited more than 15 minutes to even have our drink order taken, then another 20 or so to get our food ordered (I finally got my 3 Fer after Josh said that it wasn’t actually a problem). In the mean time, we accidentally spilled our cream for our coffee and no one came to help. One waitress (we’ll talk about her in a minute) even looked over and smiled as she walked by. We waited 10 minutes to get someone with a rag over to just sop the stuff up, and our waiter was nowhere to be found. Indeed, a guy outside was so upset at the service, he came in yelling at people.
Anyway, we were not happy after that experience, but we chalked it up to a new guy who would either shape up or be gone and came back the next week hoping to have the service we remembered. Well, that was shot right away when we decided to order. I was hungry, so I asked for the 3 fer, which I had been told would always be available by request because of how simple it was to make. The waitress, who was the same one who smiled and walked by while we struggled with the spill a week before, gave me the same line about the computer. When we mentioned that Josh had said it wouldn’t be a problem, she just said “Josh isn’t here” and called over the manager working that day. She was apologetic but gave the same response. At that point, I told them not to worry about it and to just do the 2 Fer. Apparently my willingness to accommodate was so upsetting to the waitress that she stormed off and slammed the back door by the restroom so hard the whole, crowded restaurant noticed. So we naturally left immediately and had our pancakes at Du-pars.
A few months later, we decided to give Mani’s another chance out of our former attachment to the place. While things generally went ok, it took us half an hour to get our check despite having asked for it repeatedly.
We haven’t been back since.
Mani’s was a really special place. The combination of pricing out your key clientele, the absolutely dreadful service levels and the unnecessary and unwanted menu change is what has changed it into a place people don’t want to go to and part with their harder than ever earned money. If you want to survive this economy, you need to find ways to make the place better, not nickel and dime the menu, alienate people with your service and price your customers out of your restaurant.
Dear QuarryGirl:
Thank you so much for all your support, it is very much appreciated!
BTW, Your site is awesome!
Larry I have been coming to Mani’s for 6 years and in the last few weeks have pushed all my friends to get there as much as possible; but PLEASE have a few gluten free choices like the peanut butter bites, please! I not able to spend as much as I used to but have been there 8 times in the last 3 weeks.
Thanks!
"Mani’s Bakery on Fairfax, which has been in business for over 20 years, is one of those places that people seem to either love or hate. I haven’t come across anyone who’s neutral about it. Me? I’ve got my foot firmly on the LOV..."
I love Mani’s Bakery and I really don’t have a strict preference or anything but I will say that your scones and soups are some of the best I’ve had in LA. Customer service is great and the staff is energetic and efficient. What I really like though is that of all the restaurants I’ve been to (ever) this is the only one where the waitress upon hearing that I was lactose intolerant offered to put in a special order of rice cheese with my turkey burger. I haven’t gotten that anywhere else and it may just be because the people at Mani’s are a little more attentive. I really like going there and I hope you guys continue doing business.
More gluten free options are needed. You guys are who my digestion depends on. Please keep it coming!
Ok, got it Hannah, thanks for your feedback.
btw, have you tried the lemon poppy seed cake, GF?
Larry, your story is very compelling and I hope you will do much better this December… All the best!
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