I was up here for a tournament in which they were a large sponsor of. Inside the bags were coupons for some of their signature items. The owner, who is also a good player spoke highly of his food, and gave me some history on his start in the business, which was very intriguing.
I decided to give the food a try after playing and found myself pretty hungry. The location in Athens is very close to the town center, which the tournament was being held at. (about 1/2 mile away)
The location from the outside is a very dingy looking place, as is the inside. The staff were full of kids that didn't seem like they were busy and were more for playing on their phones than helping others.
When i presented the coupon to them, the guy behind the counter said 'ok, you can get WHATEVER you want then...' which was surprising to me, since the coupon said specifically what it was good for (a healthier choice).
I ended up getting a 'bowl'. Being a person who has allergies, I asked the staff to change their gloves, as they just served someone prior to me using them on dairy. He questioned me 2x before finally changing the gloves.
When I told him the ingredients I wanted in the bowl - rice, a very small amount of black beans (which he ended up giving me a heaping spoonful of), lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, jalapenos (picked and fresh), pico de Gallo, and a few other items...they were all jumbled together, making the dish look quite messy.
The chips that they offer for free is a nice touch, however they are VERY THIN and have 0 flavor to them. in addition, when taking them out, they use a scooper, but also the guy handled a few that fell out with his bare hands!
What made me a little uneasy on the location as well as the cross contamination of some of the items...the tomatoes and lettuce had cheese spilled into them. They didn't seem to wear gloves when handling the money versus providing the free chips, and the non caring attitude compared to similar chains (such as Chipotle or Mos). Also, they don't know anything about the sauces - as I asked which is the spiciest one, and they pointed me to it, however it was the most mild flavored sauce i had ever had. (i think it was more tomato based than anything else)
I know that they have heavy competition with others around the area, but if you are going to try and stand out among the others, you may want to act like them as well! greet the guests, show that you actually care, and even be sanitary! (you don't need 3 people behind the counter if it is not that busy! have someone clean the areas around the food prep).
I do wish my experience was better here, especially knowing owner, but I guess after owning so many locations, some just fall through the cracks. read more
