The wife and I went again to Las Troias on Sunday, for lunch, but I had hoped to try Sophia's today but it just didn't work out so back to Las Troias. I'm growing concerned about their ability to remain competitive and valid in the Shoals Market because there are still many problems that should have been overcome by this point in time.
The most obvious thing, that gives me some concern, is that the amount of business, for an after Church Sunday lunchtime, was quite down from what it was not too long ago. I'm wondering if people are starting to write it off and going back to their competition, which on Sunday would be mostly Casa Mexicana, in Florence, but Sophia's will soon be back on my list. I will say that the Salsa and chips were very good but there is still some underlying problems, with the lunch order, that should have been eliminated by now. We ordered the Fajitas, beef and chicken mix, but it took quite a while for it to reach our table and when it came it wasn't steaming and smoking like most are when they come out of the kitchen but appeared to have been setting a while before they brought it out.
Another problem was when it was brought out to our table there were no tortillas brought with it or the extra plates that we had requested early in the order so we had to wait, allowing it to cool more, while the waitress went to get the tortillas and plates and side of sour cream all which was requested when we made the initial order and before the Fajita plate arrived. I will say that the waitress was good, helpful, and friendly and Las Troias still offers a plentiful serving size for Fajitas giving you a large amount of meat and vegetables but I'm afraid that they are still trying to overcome some opening type problems and frankly I'm thinking that many patrons may be giving up on them and that their business is dropping off as a result.
I want all new restaurants to make it and I want to see everyone willing to take a chance and open a business to succeed and be rewarded but the reality is that so many don't. IHOP, in Florence, was one of the greatest examples of how mismanagement and failure to overcome opening problems can ruin a new restaurant to the point of closure and I hope that Las Troias will not repeat IHOP's horrible example because unlike IHOP there is quality competition waiting to take away any business that Las Troias fails to keep and Rosies continues to set the standard in Tex Mex for the Florence area and startups like Sophias are getting great publicity. IHOP didn't have other pancake restaurants there waiting to absorb those customers disenchanted and turned off by their opening problems, but Las Troias has Rosies, Casa Mexicana, Fiesta Mexicana, La Hacienda and others like Sophia's that are more than willing to compete for the Tex-Mex/Mexican fans.