We've been coming to Willie's for over 20 years. It used to be one of the few places in town that…read morefelt consistent, not just in service, but in spirit. Lately, though, it's clear that whatever made this place special has been pushed aside, if not completely forgotten.
The sudden disappearance of your bartenders is baffling. Turnover is normal in a college town, sure, but this wasn't a natural shift, it feels like a purge. The heart and personality of the place left with them. What's left behind feels generic, transactional, and hollow.
Then there's the decision to go cashless. I'm not sure who thought that was a good idea, but it's incredibly tone-deaf. It's inconvenient, exclusionary, and says more about your priorities than you probably realize. For a place that used to feel local and grounded, it now feels like it's trying to be something it's not, and failing.
Willie's had something rare, real character, built over decades. Watching it unravel this quickly is disappointing, to say the least. We won't be back, and that's not something we say lightly.
Good luck, truly. But maybe think about what made people come here in the first place. And who.