Our critique group recently decided that they wanted to find a new place to meet. We had been meeting at a local Panera, but it wasn’t centrally located to all of the members in the group. So we embarked on our quest. We had a few requirements that had to be met:
Central Location-
Our group is made up of women from the North, South, East and West areas of San Diego. A central location would cut down on travel time for everyone.
Reasonably Priced- We meet every other week and if the location is expensive it can really add up.
No Waitresses/Self Serve- As a former waitress, I didn’t want to tie up a table for hours even if we did leave a decent tip.
Vegetarian menu- Several of our members are vegetarians, so a steak house was out of the question.
Able to accommodate 6 people without difficulty.
Like Goldilocks seeking the perfect porridge/chair/bed the search was on. With a general area in mind, I found myself visiting every taco shop, coffee shop, and restaurant in a 5 mile area.
We found a location that matched nearly all of our criteria when we realized we had to add a new requirement:
Must have decent food!
So the quest continues. We will be trying a new location tonight and hopefully it will work. But just in case it doesn’t I’d like to ask this question:
Where do you meet for your critique group?
I’d really love some suggestions.
Happy Critiquing,
Suzanne Santillan
Writing on the Sidewalk
Good luck finding a perfect location! My group used to meet at Panera. Such a great place. Too bad it wasn’t centrally located.
Hi Suzanne, first I have to say I LOVE the way you tied in Goldilocks with this post! and I can totally relate to the subject of searching for the ideal location for critique. I’m the facilitator of our group, so we’ve been through this a few times in the past 10 years. Last year we began meeting at a super cool coffee house near the Mission Inn, in Riverside. Awesome artsy vibe. Perfect till summer arrived and we discovered our perfect spot had no AC. So, it was back to Panera. Cooler days came and I could hardly wait to get back to the coffee house, but good food seemed to overrule cool artsy vibe and a quieter meeting place. And since majority rules, we’re back at Panera. Love Panera, but it’s more crowded, lots noisier and love the menu, but not the calories. Personally, I’d rather be fed by the art and not so much the food. Though, cinnamon crunch bagels are good! LOL!
Hope you will do a follow up and let us know what type of meeting place your group lands at. And yes, central location is important. And maybe a place with all you can eat chips and salsa!
All the best for a productive 2013!
Maria 🙂
We meet at Panera in Carmel Mtn. Ranch; it’s as close as we can find to a central location for our members who come fr all compass points. Since we meet in the a.m., good coffee more imp. than menu.
Good luck w/ your Holy Grail search.