Groupon Cuts Off Daily Deal Addict Thomas Street Bistro

Here's the heartwarming story of Thomas Street Bistro, a plucky restaurant that may have outsmarted Groupon and other daily dealers, by allegedly reducing the quality of its food and service to such a level--so as to profit from daily deal offers. Capitol Hill Seattle surfaces the issue, after a reader notified the blog that he had received a Groupon email inviting him to seek a refund: "Thanks for purchasing the Groupon for Thomas Street Bistro. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to cancel this deal." This, despite the fact that Groupon already paid the restaurant.

According to CHS comments, Yelp reviews, and Groupon customers, the food and service at Thomas Street Bistro have seriously deteriorated during the last two years of heavy daily deal usage. Thomas Street Bistro owner Adam Freeman appears sanguine about the increasingly negative customer experience and the cessation of Groupon business. He tells CHS, "[w]e achieved enough return business from those daily deals. We think what is best now is to go back to being a small neighborhood business." Freeman says that he has no plans to close Thomas Street Bistro, but neighbors don't seem to find this welcome news.

· With 'the most daily deals' in Seattle, Groupon Cuts Off Hill's Thomas Street Bistro [CHS]
· All Dealfail Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]