We simply wanted to enjoy a cute sister day date, so we searched for a nice place to have lunch and came across Aria's Kitchen in Burr Ridge, IL. The restaurant was very cute, and because the weather was beautiful for a Chicagoland afternoon, we decided to sit outside.
We were seated under an outdoor umbrella positioned to the right of my sister. Our server was very polite, and our drinks and food came out in a timely manner. Unfortunately, shortly after we started eating, the wind became very strong, causing the umbrella to fall directly onto my sister.
Her drink, which had barely been touched, spilled into her salad. The sauce she had on the side spilled all over her, as well as the rest of her food. Another patron and I had to physically lift the umbrella off of my sister. At that time, there were no staff members outside, and no one immediately came out to check on her or see if she was okay.
The other patron who helped us commented, "That's really light, not much in there," referring to the umbrella base. A server who was not our assigned server eventually came outside, and we explained what had happened. She offered to move us inside and bring the food in. She asked whether we wanted to simply have my sister's salad remade. We explained that we wanted all of her food remade because the sauce had spilled over everything. I decided to keep my own food.
Neither of us had the opportunity to finish our drinks, and we were moved inside. At that point, we noticed the two servers talking to one another and looking at us through the window. Shortly afterward, another couple entered with children, appearing to be additional patrons.
My sister asked to speak with the owner. The server told us that the person who had just walked in was the owner and asked us to give them a moment to get settled. She later returned and told us that the owner was busy and could not speak with us at that time, but that our bill would be taken care of.
I want to be very clear: we are two Black women, and at the time, we were the only Black patrons in the restaurant. I am not making a definitive accusation of racism, but I do believe it is important to acknowledge how the situation made us feel and the experience we received. We were extremely dissatisfied with the way the situation was handled.
It was my sister's birthday, and what was supposed to be a special sister-day celebration ultimately turned into a very disappointing experience. More than anything, we were disappointed that no one from management or ownership came out to check on my sister to make sure she was not hurt after an umbrella fell directly on her. That was incredibly disheartening.
We are women of class and standards, and this was never about the cost of the meal. There were witnesses to what happened, and my sister should have been shown more concern and consideration following the incident.
The experience honestly left us wondering: If we were another race, would we have received the same treatment?
I hope the ownership and management take this review seriously, not simply because of the food or the bill, but because of how a customer is treated when something unexpected and potentially dangerous happens on their property. Customer service is about more than being polite when everything is going well--it is also about how you respond when something goes wrong. read more
