Pumapayam Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) Don Patron Bar and Grill We just had a reunion at Don Patron Bar and Grill, and it seems that this place is the norm for many high school reunions . . . can I ask why? If you have this website, Reunion Team or Reunionteam.com organize your reunion, if they are going to charge you something on the level of a wedding reception head count, definitely get your money's worth and be a bit more involved. You pay $55/$65 upfront for a cash bar event, and the drinks were served in "midget sized" cups that were priced around $5-$6. The utensils and cups are plastic, and the overall seating is not much better than a Luby's. Food was Mexican themed, but as a friend of mine cleverly comments, "Which did you like, the eggs rolls or the chicken wings?" Yeah, it was basically heated up finger foods from the frozen section of the grocery store. Heck even a basic catered party has a cheese and fruit tray. Something that was not fried would have been nice. The night itself was pretty open; meaning other than setting a time and place, nothing special happened, which includes the attempt at a class photo. The class photo, was a joke, as they could not even fit everyone in the photo. Some of us were sprawled out on the floor. They also played music from 1998, and handed out nice T-shirts an advertisement for Reunion Team. A big blunder was handing out the directories and T-shirts at the beginning of the night when you signed in, like we really wanted to have that in our hands the whole night. Smart solution, hand them out upon exiting, it's not that hard to figure that one out. I laid my T-shirt down on a table and hours later, it was missing, but it was not missed. I was happy to have the event, as catching up with your friends are what made the night so much fun, but the location will not be missed. It would have been better had a time and place at a nice bar just been annouced, and we used the funds there on our own, and maybe just hired a freelance photographer that would willingly email everyone the photos for one set price (I am sure for a few hundred bucks someone would have done that). That is my 2 cents on it. Edited June 16, 2008 by Pumapayam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Don Patron Bar and GrillWe just had a reunion at Don Patron Bar and Grill, and it seems that this place is the norm for many high school reunions . . . can I ask why?It's the norm if your class organizers are lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeats Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 It's the norm if your class organizers are lazy.THIS. That was in the back of my mind all night long: "What a bunch of lazy a--holes." There was zero thought and zero effort put into it. And it showed, big time. If I was one of the "committee members," I'd be utterly ashamed of myself for how the night turned out. A lot of people put in time and money traveling here, getting a hotel, renting a car, paying for their tickets, etc...and to get Don Patron as a return on their investment was a joke.Pi, you are so right, dude. I would warn people away from Don Patron as a potential reunion spot -- or just as a lunch/dinner place, period -- at every chance I got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) A lot of people put in time and money traveling here, getting a hotel, renting a car, paying for their tickets, etc...and to get Don Patron as a return on their investment was a joke. K, you are right, as I totally forgot about the "out-of-towners". My investment for the tickets and bar was small compared to others who flew in and stayed in hotels. Fortunately, it seems that many people made the best of it with gatherings at restaurants and house parties throughout the weekend. They were smart, and heck, I heard some people even got lucky Saturday night, (10 years of pent up lust finally released! ) Reunion Team really made a healthy profit that night. I am just glad they got something right, as they pretty much contact everyone in our class, but it was really to their benefit. . . $$$$. More classmates, more money for them. I wonder if they will dare email out a follow up survey about their performance? Edited June 16, 2008 by Pumapayam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Don Patron is on our boycott list. We used to go there all the time for lunch but finally got tired of $15.95 nachos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Don Patron is on our boycott list. We used to go there all the time for lunch but finally got tired of $15.95 nachos.That is the most laughable price for nachos ever. What the heck are they using for the meat, filet mignon? Doubt it. There is WAY too much competition for Tex Mex in Houston for a place to serve food they way they do. And if the above item mentioned is the regular price for ball park food, good luck to them staying open for much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 The only thing that keeps them open is the captive audience and business travelers.Every time I go there I see Rich Kinder. Lord know he does not have to worry about his next paycheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Pi, you are so right, dude. I would warn people away from Don Patron as a potential reunion spot -- or just as a lunch/dinner place, period -- at every chance I got.but how can that be? their website states that their "restaurant offers the best margaritas in Texas, the most delicious food, and the best service in downtown Houston," and i seriously doubt that they would lie about something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 My sister in law called last night to BEG me to go to our 30th reunion, so that my brother would not be so bored. Aside from the fact that the only person I still talk to from high school IS my sister in law (and I can just drop by their house), when I looked up the details I saw that it is put on by Reunion Team. Price: $65. To see a bunch of people that I don't care about?I'm glad I saw this thread, although I could have guessed it would be like this. I love my brother, but I don't think even he could make me blow 65 bucks PLUS cash bar for this miserable evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 My sister in law called last night to BEG me to go to our 30th reunion, so that my brother would not be so bored. Aside from the fact that the only person I still talk to from high school IS my sister in law (and I can just drop by their house), when I looked up the details I saw that it is put on by Reunion Team. Price: $65. To see a bunch of people that I don't care about?I'm glad I saw this thread, although I could have guessed it would be like this. I love my brother, but I don't think even he could make me blow 65 bucks PLUS cash bar for this miserable evening. Forgot to mention, I was speaking with my friend who went to the Memorial H S 10 Year reunion this past October, turn about Don Patron's left many with a bad case of diarrhea the next day. Just thought I'd mention that, right before lunch and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gto250us Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Yes, this place is really a crummy Mexican place. Unfortunately, it is the only Mexican place in that part of town where one can walk during lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasVines Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 mine was at a similar place in San Antonio set up through a similar service....it was sparcely attended, but I saw who I wanted to see.....the only weird thing to me was the BBQ was pretty decent for catered BBQ, but there was a TON of it left and when everyone went outside for a quick group photo and came back in it was ALL gone...IE it had been cleaned up and removed by the staff even the cookies.....there was TONS left and I was going to have some more and I can't imagine that even everyone on the staff could take THAT MUCH BBQ home with them....and I would hate to imagine they were going to serve it up again....but you never know Don Patron sounds like Matts El Rancho in Austin....a #1 on the must miss list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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