Two weeks ago, we reported on the shuttering of four restaurants - Grotto on State, Mas, Meritage Cafe & Wine Bar, and Timo. Having nothing much to say on the subject, we focused on the fact that none of the websites reflected the restautants’ status as closed, and vowed to check back in a fortnight. Lo and behold, here we are!
But before we reveal our findings, a word on why this is significant at all, since it’s not necessarily intuitive. Basically, we feel strongly about striving toward accuracy and transparency on the Internet. A losing battle to be sure, but one we wage every single day in our capacity as content manager for MenuPages Chicago (and it certainly helps us when websites definitively tags their restaurants as open or closed!) We think the importance of keeping present one’s web presence will only increase over time, but for now, it’s rather scattershot.
However, two of the four websites did manage to post a “closed” notice, and we appreciate that. The Grotto’s homepage has a small white box stating that the restaurant is closed, and imploring us to stick with them for the impending springtime opening of a new location in Oak Brook. Timo’s site has been replaced with a single champagne-colored page announcing, ungrammatically, that the restaurant closed on December 31st. Or rather, that it will close, and we’re all invited to a NYE bash to shut the house down. It’s not timeless, being out-of-date almost the instant it was put up, but it gets the job done. Plus, the graphics are appealing.
Meanwhile, Mas is still telling us to make reservations and join their mailing list, and Meritage wants to host our parties from beyond the grave.
There are a number of possible reasons why these sites weren’t updated - laziness or trauma on the part of the proprietor, or maybe the generational gap that leaves many older people ignorant about the fundamental importance of the Internet. Regardless of the reasons, we commend the conscientiousness of the Grotto and Timo people. May your futures be bright and duly recorded!
Grotto on State [MenuPages]
Grotto on State [Official Site]
Mas [MenuPages]
Mas [Official Site]
Meritage Cafe & Wine Bar [MenuPages]
Meritage Cafe & Wine Bar [Official Site]
Timo [MenuPages]
Timo [Official Site]
[Photo: Mike Zuk/flickr]
