A Landmark Disappears
By: Mr. Wilson on
March 30, 2012
Valentino's and WRK want to demolish the original Valentino's building and replace it with a mixed-use development. Valentino's will be part of the replacement project, but we all know it won't be the same. Perhaps it will be better.
I'm skeptical.
Valentino's has been in a funk for years. Sure they still have many locations, but if quality rather than quantity is the indicator of success, Val's doesn't have it. They serve low-quality, low-cost slop directly out of the freezer at ridiculously inflated prices. They aren't alone in that, of course. But they could do better.
One example: it shocks the heck out of me that Valentino's can only manage to keep two of their buffets open in Lincoln. This is the heart of Valentino's country, and yet there are half as many Val's buffets today as there were 15 years ago. Why? I argue that it's because Lincoln's dining scene has matured significantly over the past two decades, while Val's remains mired in the past. Indeed, nostalgia is one of the most important reasons Val's is able to keep its doors open at all. Valentino's as a brand is built upon what used to be, not what currently is. That can only last so long before it crumbles.
Which brings me back to this new development at 35th and Holdrege. The current Valentino's building is no doubt outdated and ready to go. But that building is an important part of the Valentino's brand. Take it away, and you take away a tremendous chunk of the nostalgia that breathes life into the chain. Without that link to history, Valentino's is little more than an expensive hybrid of Fazoli's and Cici's. Will people continue to pay the "Valentino's tax" as the history fades away?
I am a Valentino's customer. I grew up on their pizza and I enjoy it from time to time. (Try jalapeno and cream cheese. Mmm.) I want them to be a success. But over these past several years I've had my doubts, and my most recent trip to the nearly-empty "Grand Italian Buffet" in Grand Island on Saturday evening left me shaking my head. Surely they can do better than where they are now.