Kong's Tavern (formerly Gigglez)

[OkiePoke]

Ate at Go Go for lunch and stopped in to take a look. I will try to eat here soon and take some pictures.

[Thomas Vu]

Chef for Bonjour has taken over here, should be pretty good.

[TheTravellers]

Chef for Bonjour has taken over here, should be pretty good.

Is he splitting his time between here and Bonjour, or has he left Bonjour?

[Thomas Vu]

Is he splitting his time between here and Bonjour, or has he left Bonjour?

I'm inclined to say splitting time. Bonjour isn't open at night, and he's doing the dinner stuff.

[TheTravellers]

I'm inclined to say splitting time. Bonjour isn't open at night, and he's doing the dinner stuff.

Good to hear, and yeah, makes total sense (he was actually talking about opening Bonjour for dinner last time we were in, but I guess that won't happen while he has this going on)...

[Thomas Vu]

Good to hear, and yeah, makes total sense (he was actually talking about opening Bonjour for dinner last time we were in, but I guess that won't happen while he has this going on)...

Last time I talked to him about it, he said he was looking to have dinner stuff come up sometime in Jan/Feb. Hopefully by then somebody else is doing Gigglez.

[John Knight]

I went here for the first time yesterday evening and here is my review:

Positives:
1) The service
2) The staff
3) The food
4) The beer selection
5) Amount of TV's

Negatives:
1) Name of the establishment
2) Beer prices are a little high in comparison to other competition
3) Lack of parking

There were not many people there when a big group of us showed up. They offered us bubble tea which I thought was a little strange. It seemed to have more of a sports bar feel than anything else. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with how things were run. Everything you would hope for in a bar/restaurant was pretty much on point. However, I CANNOT get past the name.

For anyone that is interested, they are having several comedians come in Saturday, January 16th (I think that's the correct date).

[Pete]

^

Thanks!

Did you stick your head in the space to the west; where they have the comedians?

It's a separate bar I believe.

[John Knight]

^

Thanks!

Did you stick your head in the space to the west; where they have the comedians?

It's a separate bar I believe.

That's where we sat Pete. The east room had a different feel and was completely empty. Apparently the loft area in the west room is for VIP and includes bottle service.

[OkiePoke]

I think I'm going to eat lunch there today.

[Urbanized]

Such an unfortunate brand. I want the place to do well, but admit that I have been slow to check it out almost entirely because the brand turns me off, and I know others (and I'm talking people who frequent downtown places almost exclusively) who feel the same way.

[OkiePoke]

Nothing special about the place... It wasn't bad by any means. But, nothing that makes me want to come back soon.

The menu naming was definitely an off-put.

[bchris02]

Yeah I think the brand "Gigglez" is a big fail and will handicap the potential of what otherwise seems like a big hit.

[baralheia]

The overuse of the letter Z in their branding and menu is absolutely one of my pet peeves and, along with the "creative" item names, is definitely off-putting. As petty as I know this sounds, I'm pretty sure I'd avoid this place specifically because of it. Agreed, all of this is a total handicap to the potential success of this place.

[shawnw]

I kindz of likez the brandingz

[OkiePoke]

I kindz of likez the brandingz

Did you see their menu items?

[sooner88]

That menu is painful to read

[Urbanized]

What is too bad is that there is no question in my mind that they really put a lot of effort into all of it. I just get the idea that it was either done in a silo or that everyone they showed it to didn't want to hurt their feelings or be negative. They just really, REALLY would have benefitted from some professional branding advice. That is a corner that some people are often too quick to cut, but it DOES matter.

[OkiePoke]

Their location isn't the greatest either... Not saying a successful restaurant can't operate in this space. It is just another hurdle to overcome. Basically no parking.

Some marketing and changing the "Why did the Chicken Cross the Road? Sandwich" to "Grilled Chicken Sandwich" and then have their pun below it would be so much better...

What is their obsession with the Blazers hockey team? Is there a team still called the Blazers? I was confused by that.

Does SA own the lot directly to the south of Gigglez?

[bchris02]

Its a block away from McNellie's and Fassler Hall. People shouldn't have issues walking to Gigglez. In an urban environment, people can't, nor should they always park right in front of their destination.

[jrod]

Soooooooo, we giving it 6-8 months?

[pickles]

As a matter of principle, I will not be going to a place called Gigglez with a z. Especially not for the food.

Haven't changed my mind.

[PhiAlpha]

Haven't changed my mind.

Thought the same then gave it a try last night. The place is cool, the food is pretty good, and he staff is great, the owner even came out and talked to me for awhile. It really has an opportunity to be a good sports bar with comedy shows. I hope this place makes it....but also for a name change.

Maybe we can get them on Bar Rescue...they will make them change the name to something less stupid and would get a lot of publicity from it.

[bchris02]

Thought the same then gave it a try last night. The place is cool, the food is pretty good, and he staff is great, the owner even came out and talked to me for awhile. It really has an opportunity to be a good sports bar with comedy shows. I hope this place makes it....but also for a name change.

Maybe we can get them on Bar Rescue...they will make them change the name to something less stupid and would get a lot of publicity from it.

Agree with this.

The branding is the issue. Everything else about this place is a hit. As long as the current branding remains, I don't see how this lasts more than 6 months. It would be cool to get it on Bar Rescue.

[Pete]

They could easily rename it 'Gigs', as in a gig for comedians.

Might even be able to rework their expensive sign.