Y&H Straw Poll: When A Restaurant Moves, Does It Affect Your Experience?

This week's Young & Hungry column is devoted to restaurants that have moved recently, including the much-beloved Nava Thai in Wheaton, and how that affects your dining experience. I come down firmly on the side of change. A move changes a restaurant forever. It stops being whatever it was originally and becomes something new, even if the restaurant doesn't change its menu one iota.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it takes patience on the diner's part. It takes time to adjust to the new environment, just as it takes time for cooks to adjust to a new kitchen. In some ways, I'm beginning to think you can't render a solid opinion on a restaurant that's moved until you let it settle into the new spot. How long do you need to wait? I don't really know, maybe six months? Otherwise, you'll be colored too much by its previous incarnation.

All right, enough of my thoughts. What do you think? Am I just blowing too much smoke over this issue? Does your loyalty to a restaurant allow you to forgive the changes that come after a move? Or maybe the relocation doesn't affect your experience at all? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery