Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill and Gadsby's Bar American both appears to have closed in Columbia.
Garbanzo was part of a small chain, and it definitely drummed up a devoted following. Folks have been emailing and posting in comments for a while, but I've been to crazed to even post.
Gadsby's Bar American had replaced Greystone Grill just off Rte 100. This was Robert Gadsby's restaurant. People have lauded the place for an innovative bartender, but I had heard so many disappointed reports that I kept postponing a visit in the hope that they would get it together. Now the Web site is gone, and the phone has been temporarily disconnected.
I'm always bummed when people work hard on a restaurant and see it close. This morning, Carole posted a comment on the Facebook page saying the Korshi buffet in Columbia has closed as well. No one answered the phone when I called, but I don't know the situation. Does anyone know the story? Does anyone know any of these stories?
14 comments:
Garbanzo had terrible falafel. I want a ROTI!
My dad went to Korshi somewhat regularly, and he did see it was closed down yesterday. Not sure why he liked it so much, but I think the main reason it closed is because the food was rather tasteless. It just wasn't tasty. Small selection and a lot of the fried foods tasted the same.
Garbanzo is closed. No sign above anymore, either. They recently changed their platters a bit, but we still thought it was pretty good. I hope Gadsby didn't shut down the BBQ place on Rt 1 also!! He's a great guy!
I thought Garbanzo was a huge disappointment, too, and am hoping for a Cava Mezze or, even better, a Roti! Korshi seems to have come and gone very quickly! We visited when it first opened and thought the price was high and the hot food wasn't hot, but would have been willing to return.
Although it is more of a hike (and sadly not in HoCo), Amsterdam Falafel (by the waterfront in downtown Annapolis) has much better falafel than Garbanzo ever did. I found the falafel at Garbanzo kind of bitter tasting and too tough and crunchy. The falafel at Amsterdam Falafel is very authentic, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Plus you get to fill your sandwich yourself from their topping bar: falafel in a pita with chopped tomato and onion salad, roasted eggplant, and their garlic aioli type sauce is amazing. They have less of a menu selection than Garbanzo, but what they do, they do pretty well.
Gads us had a horrible location and any restaurant at that standard is going to do poorly. No one thinks office park when they want to have a nice dinner out. We went there one time on a Saturday night and NO ONE was there. Mine waiter was resolving a check with a couple who was leaving. It was 6pm. We eventually were seated and he eventually offered is drinks. It was so weird. Food and martini were awesome. But only one other couple came in during that time. Horrible location. A breakfast and lunch place would do well.
Wish this article had come out a couple days earlier. Tried to go to Korshi on Friday for lunch, would have been first trip because we looked at dinner buffet there and thought the price was to high for what you got.
Saw the sign out front that basically said that they were closed "Monday" for a local holiday, but since it was Friday and they were closed assumed they had been closed for awhile. Tried the new Indian place in the same plaza for the first time, wasn't impressed, both House of India and Royal Taj have a better buffet.
Garbanzo closed both Maryland locations - I went to their website when I saw the Columbia one had closed, and they don't have any listed for MD at all (I think there was also one in Annapolis?).
RG's Barbeque Cafe on Rt. 1 is still open - just had the pit beef for lunch. I hope it's not in trouble either! I know they just lost one of their best staffers. If you like BBQ or burgers or pit anything, stop by! I don't think you'll be disappointed!
I attended a wine dinner at Gadsby's a couple of weeks ago and the group attending were told Gadsby had been in a bad accident and would be closing the restaurant. Unable to verify but hope he is well or recovering.
Garbanzo had three Maryland locations, Columbia, Annapolis, Gambrills and closed them all at the same time! I'm assuming it was some type of franchise issue.
I heard from another restaurant in the Dobbin shopping center that Garbanzo's was closing. My wife and I really liked the food but always felt the service was too slow. Couldn't decide if it was because of how it was organized or if people's lack of knowledge of the ingredients was the main culprit.
We went one last time the day before they closed and I spoke to the manager. He said the local franchisee was closing the 3 locations. The corporate parent out in Colorado offered positions to some of the remaining managers if they were willing to relocate (the Columbia manager I spoke to was going to do that).
The manager also said they may try to find another franchisee for the Maryland area eventually.
Following up on Anonymous' posting, looks like Mr. Gadsby was in an accident in August. Twitter feed is pretty empty after that posting.
https://twitter.com/RobertGadsby3/status/500992663483465728
Guess that explains the oddity we saw a couple of weeks ago when dining at RG's. We noticed him sitting in a running SUV when we went in...and then watched employees go out and talk to him occasionally. We were there about 30-45 minutes, and he never got out of the car! He clearly was conducting business from the parking lot.
So it looks like he's still overseeing RGs. Hopefully his recovery goes forward so he can get around more easily.
Sorry to hear about the accident, but Gadsby's the restaurant was… well, pretty bad. Food was excellent, but service – aside from the wonderful bartender – was poor and the ambiance was simply terrible. (It's an office park! There are exceptionally bright lights outside! Close the damn blinds!)
Maybe he can go change up the menu at Victoria's? Just keep him away from the rest of the business!
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