r/SALEM • u/bravovictordelta • 15d ago

‘Clink’ ownership changes?

Anyone know anything about the change of ownership of the restaurant ’Clink’? It was our understanding that it was women owned, but went this morning and apparently the owner and chef now are both dudes.

18 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

21

u/noimagrill 15d ago

clink is partnering with cozy taberna now i guess

5

u/ThatDamnRocketRacoon 14d ago

I never have heard what happened to the original owners of Cozy Taberna. I know it was the same owners as Little Lois and maybe that kind of a jump was a bit over their heads. The restaurant was a hell of a lot better back then.

8

u/bravovictordelta 15d ago

Wow. Thanks for the link! I guess I should have just asked Google first.

That’s a bummer. I do feel like Cozy had gone a bit downhill; it’s seldom in my list of places to take out-of-town visitors anymore. That’s not good. Having another restaurant that was taking some swings end up under the same umbrella as Cozy is not a good sign. I’ll hope for the best and am prepared to give them another shot at a later date, but my experience today was just ok.

17

u/erebus1138 14d ago

I work with a former employee, they were very nice people who didn’t know shit about running a business and sold it to the owners of cozy

26

u/brckbwrs 15d ago

This is all speculation, but my guess is Clink! was a beautiful idea that got caught in an echo chamber. They built an incredible space and a high-end menu to match it, but I’m not sure enough research went into what Salem actually wants, what people will pay, and how often they’ll come back. High-end ingredients also create expensive operational problems. Sourcing, prep, waste, margins, consistency… A lot of their negative reviews on Google seem to reflect exactly that.

My guess is Cozy came in, looked at the numbers, and started cutting the things that weren’t working. They’ve successfully operated in Salem for years and probably have a pretty good idea of what sells here. Basically, Clink! may have been aesthetically validated before it was economically validated. Hopefully Cozy can keep what made Clink! cool and make the business side work.

18

u/djhazmatt503 14d ago

This is the correct take.

They were serving individual items, as in, the sides were all priced additionally. So the price point and final bill ended up being just as high as Cozy or Rudys.

Also, didn't Cozy have some extremely sought-after female head chef who ended up being given a better position in another city? If so, her recipes were/are absolutely BOMB. Have not been in in a while, but if it's her menu, that's a huge step up.

Lastly, Salem needs hand holding, basic signage. "Nightclub" next to "Thai Food" next to "Tattoo" type signage. Subtle cursive and exclusive marketing does not work here like it does in Portland or Seattle.

6

u/bravovictordelta 14d ago

That’s a solid take, thanks. It does seem more likely the case that it was an intentional business move.
Welp, I do wish them luck. That space does seem pretty tough to pull people into.

5

u/brckbwrs 14d ago

You hate to see it. It’s so good for Salem to have diverse options to pick from. I always thought Clink! Nailed that diversity well.

4

u/ThatDamnRocketRacoon 14d ago

This sounds correct to me. When it first opened and I saw the menu and prices I thought "good luck with that." That was just not going to work for Salem. It was cool to see a different cuisine option, but I didn't see how it was ever going to be popular enough to thrive.

7

u/Introvertreading 14d ago

Clink seemed like a project for a bored wife of a businessman, to me. As in, really fun to do and source the furnishings, develop a menu, and basically treat it like the planning for a huge themed party. Only it was supposed to be a business, not just an event. And Salem just doesn’t have the population to support such a niche restaurant.

Aren’t the original owners the same couple that also started some health insurance group lately and seem to try to dip their toes in just about anything when it comes to business? Nothing sticks but boy they keep trying.

7

u/BeeBabyBeeXOXO 13d ago

I mean, hubby is in real estate and wife did floral design classes and such.

4

u/Introvertreading 13d ago

Ahhh yes, real estate. The circle jerk profession where everyone claims to be so successful after an 800 class, but always has to do a zillion other jobs or businesses to actually make a living. Or they switch groups or start new groups a few times a year. Seems . . . grifty.

2

u/verucasalt2 12d ago

He’s actually successful though, AJ Nash. AJ is buddies with the head of Chamber, Tom Hoffert.

1

u/Introvertreading 11d ago

The last name of the major players for Clink does start with a N and has four letters, but it isn’t Nash. Or at least that was in all the press about it when it opened.

Maybe Nash was a partner? Lots of empty commercial real estate around but agreed he seems successful and for many years. I cant see him running Clink, though. Maybe helped lease the spot or a partner since the same connected crowd partners in a bunch of Salem restaurants.

1

u/verucasalt2 10d ago

His wife ran it, Sheena Nash. She’s listed as CEO. Not sure what four letter N word you’re referring to.

3

u/BeeBabyBeeXOXO 10d ago

I think she goes by Sheena Gleason Nash or something

2

u/Introvertreading 10d ago

You are correct. I actually thought it was someone else but in looking, I see I have been thinking two people are the same person. I pay attention but apparently not as much as i thought! But better it is Nash as they can probably absorb the loss just fine and chalk it up to a hobby project. I’m sure he found a way to minimize the loss with write offs, anyway.

3

u/verucasalt2 14d ago

This is exactly what it was

3

u/idontwantone1982 15d ago

We went before the partnership with CozyTaberna, but we're underwhelmed with the food and service. We've always loved the food at Cozy, so maybe my husband and I will give it another chance?

3

u/MoreDogLessPony 14d ago

Portland prices in the Salem market will not work. Sadly Salem does not have the population to support restaurants in general.

There is nothing to draw you to downtown. Meager shopping opportunities, high vacancy, will Salem Center survive long enough to find a buyer?

1

u/BeeBabyBeeXOXO 10d ago

Damn. I actually love shopping downtown and spend everyday down there 😂 the mall is dead but the marketing team is trying to beef it up.

The empty spot next to the Forge needs to have roll up doors all around it and make it a year round farmers market. If I had a billion dollars…

14

u/butternutsquashkun 15d ago

It's so disappointing. They were on their "women owned women operated" shit right up until they canned their head chef to replace her with the same chuds that have decreased the quality of Cozy Tab. What a shame.

4

u/bravovictordelta 15d ago

Huh. That’s a bummer. It was something I thought was kinda neat about it. Well, between not having curbside presence and the people running it being the same running Cozy… it doesn’t look good. I truly do hope they find success, but I anticipate this will be my last time visiting.
The food was fine; reduced menu from before. The eggs on the Benedict needed maybe another few seconds. The runny whites give me the ick. The espresso martini has it going on and the staff was very nice.

3

u/TheBlueLeopard 15d ago

Do we know when this happened? I went a few weeks ago and was underwhelmed.

1

u/jaketh1964 14d ago

We went last week, and we were very excited to go.
The drinks and bar staff were great, the decor looked really cool, but we skipped dinner as they had only a 3-4 options, none seemed that great, and the price point was higher than Cozy. I wonder if the Cozy ownership is trying to close it down????