Ncounter • Tempe AZ
I’ve been eating more frozen yogurt. And favor the self-serve shops. The kind with 20 flavors, toppings, get what you want, throw it on the scale, pay, and enjoy. And I notice this breakfast/lunch place with outdoor seating next to my fav yogurt joint. Lots of college kids, busy, plenty of staff, so I figure, why not? Wow, it turns out, what a hip place!
One positive sign in a restaurant: smells good. Another? Busy, with plenty of staff. The second might mean more to me, in case I have a cold. It means their cash flow is good; they are not cutting staff, cutting portions, pushing the expiration date of plated product.
After a second foray into Ncounter, I got facts. Grudgingly, with suspicion, Danny the manager came to our table. Interview and camera shy, he nevertheless filled in some gaps. Dan-Dan started as a busboy with the family 15 years ago, and has worked every position in the place. They attract the BIG THREE. College kids, locals, and area workers. The food has always been good, they buy local, they start with quality. Good business plan.
Tempe is a super-hip college town with big business within walking distance of a vibrant Main Street . . . Mill Avenue, it’s called, if you are into accuracy and stuff. Ncounter’s founders have been in the food business for decades, and it shows. Fair portions, excellent quality, and even more important, healthy and tasty. And great quality. Which is worth mentioning twice, because restaurants usually make their buck off filling you up without regard for sodium and fats. Here, you’ll feel good leaving the table. Hours later, you won’t have “diner indigestion”, for sure!
American Lunchbox 