White Hen's New Management

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I feel just horrible for talking smack about the upscale White Hen in Ball Square earlier today, because I just found out the scoop about its management change. The store has been taken back by corporate, and according to the clerk, the takeover was not by choice of the family who were running it. There was a new clerk or possibly manager there as well, who seemed to have been "air lifted" (as my boyfriend put it) in from corporate. I wouldn't be surprised if more than just the family have lost their jobs.

I completely apologize for everything unkind I said about their unconventional inventory choices. The family was trying to do something different, and whatever the details are in this situation, I hope they're going to be okay.

Comments

[ron_newman]

I'm very sorry to hear this. But I thought White Hens were franchises, not company-owned?

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

I suspect that corporate can step in if the franchise is not being run to corporate's standards of excellence.

[rhi-chan.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm glad for the new management because the old manager was almost always very rude and the service sub-par. I like some of the newer employees.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Aw, I was bummed -- all the old staff are rapturously in love with my 13-month-old, and the people there yesterday didn't notice her :(.

I get a kick out of the yuppiest White Hen on earth, but I guess I was the only one.

[rhi-chan.livejournal.com]

I liked their selection of randomness, definitely... just the service was a real turn-off.

Somewhat unsympathetic.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Hey, if they wanted to run their own show they shouldn't have bought into a franchise, which is agreeing to run someone else's show. For whatever it's worth, I'll always choose a local store over a chain, even quirky understocked ones.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

man, that's too bad. they carried Boylan sodas (the all-natural ones too, not just the mostly-natural ones), and a bunch of awesome local stuff like Moon Brine pickles and those tasty cookies.

I used to stop there every time I needed to walk home from Davis/Powderhouse because the T decided not to run the 89 on a weekend again.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Oh, so THAT's who that guy is. "Air lifted from corporate" pretty much describes him. He's got this strange intensity -- there's nothing he actually says or does you can fault, but I just sort of feel this aura of disapproval and suspicion emanating from him, as if the previous management attracted to many of the "wrong kind" of customers and he's hoping to get rid of us, too.

I realize that describing it like that is probably just my hyperactive imagination, but all of my roommates get a weird vibe from him too. I go there for a few things I can't seem to find anywhere else, and I hope they don't stop stocking some of my favorite things (I'm not familiar enough with White Hens to know if they are standard inventory or not).

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

There must be multiple corporate air-liftees then, because the one we saw was a woman. Damn. I need to be more careful what I wish for. I just wanted some more basic necessities, but I sure didn't want that family to lose their business. :-(

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know there still WERE any White Hens around.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

oh yeah! up here in gloucester, ours is open 24/7 *and* has subs and a deep fryer. mozzarella sticks at 5 AM? the white hen man can!

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

mozzarella sticks at 5 AM

Very jealous...freakin frakkin Somerville laws won't let them stay open past midnight, let alone 24/7.

[ron_newman]

There's a big and very popular one on Hanover St. in the North End.

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

Oh no! This is horrible to hear. I hope that they don't change things up too much, but I'm sure they will. Grrrrrrr. . .

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

From what I've read, White Hens are trying to become very gourmet--a cross between Whole Foods, Panera Bread, and Starbucks. And they are chasing the Whole Foods consumer.

[ron_newman]

Which is what the Ball Square location already looked like. So why change?

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Good question. I would guess that the type of items stocked probably won't change too much. I'm guessing that the change had to do with profitability. Perhaps the store wasn't as profitable as headquarters wanted it to be.

When I was in college I worked at a restaurant in which the manager was fired every fall by the company bigwigs. The store wasn't as profitable as the higher-ups wanted it to be. It never seemed to me as if it was the manager's fault. But the managers always paid the price.

[elements.livejournal.com]

So basically they want to raise the prices even higher? GAH.

I LOVE the White Hen exactly as it is, and the staff have always been superbly beyond friendly. I've had very pleasant real conversations with multiple clerks there too.

WAH.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Oh. Barf.

[lac.livejournal.com]

Interesting...that's not the story he told my mom last week. I didn't find the owner rude, but there was one girl there, his daughter I think, who was regularly rude to customers. In general though...I have had good clerk experiences there.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've never had a problem with them.. And I love their selection of fresh veggies and locally baked bread...

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

That's too bad that the family is gone. The owner and the daughter could be a little abrasive at times but nothing too bad.
(actually I was pretty good friends with the Mom before she left...)

But the store did have a few problems. Stocking seemed irregular at times and there was that 2-week tobacco suspension.

[suzybuzz.livejournal.com]

they're way too expensive for a white hen, but that's sad about the family.

[smileytypepers.livejournal.com]

Ah man. I kinda feel bad too.