I was in Charlotte yesterday and was awfully excited at the prospect of stopping by my old fav, "The Penguin" for lunch. This was the coolest, most iconic restaurant/diner in Charlotte--the place where I would tell people visiting from out-of-town that they "had to visit!" Now, not so much.
The atmosphere was gone, the people (regular patrons/employees) were gone; the fried pickles were so-so, the cheese fries were not the legendary ones I remember, the hushpuppies were gone, and the black-bean veggie burger was some dried out piece-o-crap vs. the delicious runny mess that I longed for.
What the hell happened? I came home and did some research on the Internet and apparently the former owners got the boot last October and the current owners are trying to franchise this once legendary establishment. Shame on you for turning the best diner experience EVER into some "Applebee-esque" nightmare.