Posted on 04/14/2006 5:37:45 AM PDT by Coop
Edited on 04/14/2006 5:42:21 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
A two-year tradition for wounded war vets is about to go by the wayside. A downtown DC steak house that’s catered to injured troops every Friday night is about to close.
Fran O’Brien’s landlord [Hilton] is forcing out the steakhouse of the same name.
“We're not feeling very good about leaving and especially the Friday night dinner,” O’Brien said.
With the restaurant soon to close, so too will go a hang-out spot that troops have been able to call home while healing, if only for a few hours every week.
In a statement from Hilton hotels, a spokesperson writes: "this is a business decision whereby Hilton Hotels is exploring several options to utilize this space."
But the decision impacts more than just the business that's getting the boot.
A Hilton hotel spokesperson say they are -- on some level -- hoping to keep the Friday night alive without Fran O’Brien’s.
The attorney is. Believe it or not, there are good, honest, PI attorneys, they just all have a bad rep. My boss has done a lot of pro-bono work, and more often than not gives a fee reduction to increase the settlement to the client.
There are a lot of poor, uneducated people who do not know their rights and are prey for insurance companies that try to make them sign a release for pennies when they have genuine injuries and no means to obtain treatment, if they can even find a provider who will treat them. Many won't.
I felt the same way you do before I started working there.
More often than not, folks who are seriously injured have no recourse due to the fact that the responsible party has no, or minimal, insurance and they do not qualify for the freebies our government offers. I know scores of people whose lives have been turned upside down due to their injuries. Some injuries have no treatment and they have to live their lives in pain. Not to mention the financial problems they face if they have ANY sort of physical employment/obligations, which most people do.
Brian Kelleher, General Manager
Capital Hilton
1001 16th Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia,
United States 20036 Tel: +1-202-393-1000
Fax: +1-202-639-5784
Hey Coop,
This is the 2nd day I've sent emails to the links listed on the other thread as others have done. There will be complaints made...whether it does any good remains to be seen.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Thanks, April.
I may have missed something when I read the full article but I didn't see anything anti-military. It's true the free dinners won't be available to our wounded personnal at that location but I don't see the decision to use the space for something else as anti-military.
It's a business decision with consequences I'm not happy about, but business is too often a cold hearted undertaking run by people without a heart.
The restaurant can continue to offer the same gesture of thanks if it chooses to open in another location.
It's apparent to me the Hilton hotel chain is not up to the task of properly serving disabled persons, either in facilties or in common courtesy. Therefore I will be no longer be patronizing them, and I suspect many of the people I forwarded this outrageous story to will feel exactly the same way.
I agree that this is a bit of nastiness by Hilton, in the very least by not giving them any adequate warning of the intent not to renew. Hopefully they'll be able to relocate successfully if Hilton remains unmoved.
I wonder if there's another culprit to be considered here: Sarbanes-Oxley.
SOX is all about mitigating *any and all* risk factors. It could very well be that this has been a recurring problem for Hilton (likely at other sites too) in their SOX audits, and they're being forced to reduce certain risks that come from whatever tenants they have hither and yon around the world. This one, with the extra attraction for various disabled persons, would sort close to the top of these kinds of lists.
Just a thought. SOX is evil, and easily evil enough to be responsible for this kind of decision-making. Especially since the excuse remains something written by an attorney and not a business manager.
From what statement did you draw you conclusion?
It reads: In a statement from Hilton hotels, a spokesperson writes: "this is a business decision whereby Hilton Hotels is exploring several options to utilize this space."
They haven't even established a reason to take the space. There was also information, a thread yesterday, regarding the short time frame kicking them out and lack of reason.
Let 'em hear about it, please.
I thought the family that owned Hilton Corporation were religious. Mormons IIRC. However, PC has taken hold of the corporation, no doubt from someone above that allowed PC libs access to decision-making process.
Someone needs to contact the top muckety-muck as well as the PR departments. Make this thing look ugly in the media. They'll change ASAP.
That's what we're trying to do. Please help.
Thanks Mrs. N! Me too :)
Morning Coop.
I did let them know how upset I am about this.
Yup - it was on the news last night.
Actually, I recruited some of my coworkers to call/lobby. Even the libs were ticked...
You are welcome.:)
The short time frame is what ticks me off.
It's not completely unusual to relocate a restaurant, but to say they have to completely vacate in two weeks?
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