I have been coming to the Spar for over 25 years, as well as my extended family and many of my longtime Tacoma friends. I have always raved about the spectacular service, committed and loyal employees, and the amazing food. The one thing that always stood out was the consistency in both food quality and delivery, and friendly customer service. My visit today as well as my past 2-3 visits unfortunately was a disappointment. I was going to take the time and write a review in hopes that the owner would read it and see it as an opportunity to make improvements. However, after reading more than 30 reviews that have previously been written over the last 6 months, the owners response to any negative reviews was either defending poor customer service, or mediocre food quality. It was very apparent that the owners responses was defending anything that was not deemed positive. I realized that I would be wasting my time sharing the details about my below average experience. This is very sad to me because this is exactly how small businesses fail over time and how long time committed customers will slowly find a new favorite restaurant where they can be assured to have both great service and quality food. I am a professional, and I understand the challenges of the restaurant industry today as well as challenges in finding quality employees right now. But, it’s a shame when the owner doesn’t seem to welcome anything but positive commendations from her customers. This will eventually lead to a loss of customers and a dying business. I really miss the previous Spar owner (Kathy). She most definitely knew how to run a successful restaurant business, how to retain long-time quality employees, and how to ensure consistency with both food quality and customer service. She listened to the feedback from her customers and welcomed it, recognizing it as an opportunity to make things better. She was very friendly, engaging, and hands on. She knew what was going on in her restaurant and she insured that both customers and employees were taken care of. I believe this is why she had tenured employees that wanted to work for her and truly cared about her business as if they were the owner. She was one of a kind. This is how the Spar came to be what it was, until she sold it. Folks, there are a lot options in Tacoma to eat - be careful where you spend your hard earned money. Lastly, please put more effort into training your employees, and please think about the potential negative impact to your business by defending what you may deem as negative feedback you receive from your loyal customers. If they didn’t care they would not take the time to share their experience and opinions. Something to ponder .