Stir Fry (Johnson City, TN)

Stir Fry was once in the top five restaurants in the Tri-Cities, but over the past three years they have fallen out of the top ten. I know that the original owner passed away a few years ago, perhaps that is the reason for the decline.

The focus now seems to be on the profit potential of serving liquor and beer and as a result the overall quality of the restaurant is not the same. The food quality, service, cleanliness, and nightlife atmosphere have all declined drastically.

The nightlife atmosphere used to be what made Stir Fry so unique in the Tri-Cities. On a weekend one could arrive for a late dinner and hang around to socialize and listen to a good band. The clientel was somewhat upperclass for the Tri-Cities, you could enjoy a late evening at the bar without being subjected to the rednecks and thugs one encounters at any other bar in the Tri-Cities.

It would seem as if the management of Stir Fry began wanting to get as many warm bodies in the door as possible and so the dress code was ignored and instead of booking jazz bands they started booking college bands and hosting events like the very laughable "fashion shows" which consisted of college kids sporting clothes from the oh so fashionable Johnson City Mall. It didn't take long for the demographic of the clientel to change and trouble ensued. The police began frequenting Stir Fry because of the fights and very obvious underage drinking. Instead of focusing on enforcing the dress code and booking bands that attract an upperclass clientel they instead began checking I.D. at the door, charging a cover charge, and forcing customers to wear paper bracelets to identify that they were over the age of 21.

I realize that this is not a blog on nightlife, however Stir Fry now pretends to be both and by lowering standards with regard to the nightlife, both food service and nightlife have declined drastically. Many other once succesful dinning establishments have been blinded by the quick money of liquour and beer and as a result they were eventually forced to close their doors or they are struggling to survive.

Three years ago Stir Fry would have recieved high marks, not any more.

Ratings (1-10)

Food: 5.5
Service: 4
Cleanliness of Restaurant: 5
Clealiness of Restroom: 3 (overuse = strong urine odor)
Value: 6