It should seem plainly obvious to any restaurateur that there are few things more important than restaurant reviews that consistently praise the quality of the food and the service that the restaurant offers. Yet there are many owners of restaurants who are somehow unaware of the fact that the presence of a reviewer in the restaurant is often a make-or-break moment.

This is especially the case for new restaurants like the one recently opened by Adam Kutner. A restaurant that debuts to poor reviews is not going to do well initially, which is a fairly disastrous outcome. A poor initial review is notoriously difficult to overcome, and restaurateurs must be aware of the fact that a reviewer will shape the perception of the restaurant for quite some time.

There is nothing worse for a restaurant than a takedown by a respected critic. A bad experience at a restaurant that is being reviewed can lead the reviewer down a dark road that is filled with hyperbole, and no one is going to eat at a restaurant that serves food described as “edible Novocain.” Restaurateurs must take caution and pay attention to the importance of the review in order to survive in an industry that relies so heavily on the words and opinions of others.