It's Like a Night Club for Senior Citizens
Written: Sep 03 '00 (Updated Oct 28 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reasonable Prices
Cons: Most Everything Else
The Bottom Line: Bill Knapp's leaves little to be desired.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Bill Knapp's |
Bill Knapp's is a family restaurant with locations in Michigan and Ohio. It was founded in 1948 in Battle Creek, Michigan, by Bill Knapp. There are about 50 locations, mostly in Michigan, with a dozen or so locations in Ohio. All Bill Knapp's restaurants are fully- owned by the company. There is no franchising.
Menu Selection:
Bill Knapp's does offer a fairy good selection of food choices, but there is nothing here that you won't find at any other family- style restaurant. Some of the options include "Knappetizers", salads, soups, chicken, pasta, steak, fish, assorted sandwiches, fish, kids meals, and desserts. The selection is pretty good, but there is nothing unique among them. The prices are pretty good, ranging from $4.99 to $7.99 per platter.
As far as quality goes, Bill Knapp's food is bland. I go there every now and then, and the result is always the same. The portions are small and the taste just isn't that good. You don't leave with that "can't wait to go back" feeling. In fact, you will quickly forget you ever visited. The food isn't nauseating or anything like that, its just bland, boring, and forgettable and the portions are tiny.
Atmosphere/Service:
This is one area that really needs improvement! Bill Knapp's restaurants are about as dull as a 20 year-old pair of scissors that have never been sharpened! There is usually nothing on the walls, except maybe a picture or two. It looks like someone took an empty living room of an old, abandoned house, and then decided to setup tables and chairs and turn it into a restaurant. At the location just down the street from me, they tried to "spice up" the place by adding a television in the area near the entrance, where you sit and wait for a table. Now that's inspired decorating, wouldn't you say!
One other thing about Bill Knapp's that you should consider, before you decide to visit, is that it's still primarily a haven for senior citizens. The management of Bill Knapp's is supposedly trying to change this image, but I see no signs of this. The last time I was there, everyone in the restaurant, except for myself and the waitresses, was at least 50 years of age. In fact, seated at the table next to me was an older guy, about 70, surrounded by his older friends, who were singing Happy Birthday to him, while the waitress brought out his free chocolate cake (that's a standard at Bill Knapp's. they give you a free cake and a discounted meal on your birthday). There's nothing wrong with this, of course. But, if you're looking for a trendy type of place to hang out with a 20- something crowd, you shouldn't come here.
Service at Bill Knapp's is ok, but they do seem a little slow, even when the restaurant isn't that busy. Maybe they are just trying to move at the same pace as most of their customers? (Just kidding, of course!)
Final Thoughts:
Bill Knapp's is a poor restaurant overall. The food is bland and tasteless and the atmosphere is virtually non- existent. If the management wants to attract more people, they really need to address these major problems. Until then, unless my grandmother feels like dining out someplace, you won't find me at Bill Knapp's.
In a nutshell, it's a boring, and forgettable dining experience.
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Recommended:
No
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