This was my second visit to this location and the difference in customer service was stark. Both times I came later in the evening, after going to an event nearby at the Grove. Both times, it was pretty much completely empty inside--only one other table occupied each time.
The first time, the service was warm and friendly and we didn't feel rushed or pressured to make a decision. The person working was a nice guy, probably in his twenties or thirties. My friend and I ate, packed up our leftovers, cleaned up after ourselves, and left a bit before they closed.
Tonight, there was a shorter, older woman working. As we came in, she greeted us with a smile, telling us that they were only doing takeout orders and not offering dine-in service any more. As we were trying to decide what flavors we wanted, she also came over to let us know that they only accept card and remind us again that they were only offering take out and no longer had dine in. Another person in our party walked in while we were at the kiosk and she said over the restaurant again, Hi! We are only offering take out at this time, no more dine-in! The other party in the restaurant (a couple) were still eating.. A third party walked in as we were finalizing our order and again, she said across the dining room that they were only doing takeout and no dine-in.
The girl from the couple that had already been in the restaurant when we came in got up to use the restroom and as she was walking in, the woman behind the counter yelled over to her that the bathroom was "out of order." When she came back out, we heard her say to her boyfriend that "there was nothing wrong with the bathroom." As they were gathering their things to leave and started walking out, she asked them loudly across the restaurant to clean their table and throw out their trash. To be fair, they did have quite a bit of a mess but they were also the only table that needed to be cleaned. When she came out from behind the counter to wipe it down, she had the most pathetic looking little napkin.
As my group was waiting for our order, two other parties came in to place orders: one at 8:25pm and one at 8:28pm. She did not greet them, just turned from the window as she was packing our order to tell them that the kitchen was closed.
The table we sat at to wait for our order was filthy and sticky. She also told the first couple that the bathroom was out of order, again, across the restaurant.
My group's order was handed over to us at 8:30pm. We spent almost $100 and ended up sitting in our cars in the parking lot to eat.
The last couple got their food and left around 8:35pm. The restaurant was completely empty after that and she walked out at 8:54pm after flipping all the chairs and doing what appeared to be minimal cleaning of the tables with just napkins--not a single rag or spray bottle in sight.
The last two employees locked up and left before 9:15pm.
I'm not sure if this is their normal routine each night, seeing as the other employees also left pretty quickly after closing, but it would be appreciated if their business hours were changed to reflect when their kitchen is actually open. If we had known that their last call was at 8 or 8:15, my group would have absolutely chosen to go elsewhere so that the staff and crew could do their cleaning duties and leave in a timely manner. I have high anxiety and would never try to go to a restaurant with less than an hour before closing, let alone sit around inside and impede the crew from their closing duties. But we got there before 8, one group got there around 8:10, and they turned away two others more than a half hour before their posted business hours ended for the day.
It's such a shame that my first experience was followed up with this. We really enjoy the chicken here, even though the prices are a touch high. Boneless thighs might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is PHENOMENAL for people who have food texture sensitivities like me and this is the first place I've found that offers it, instead of breast tenders or nuggets like most other places.
But despite how much I love the chicken, I won't be coming back if I see the same person working at the counter again. She made us feel unwelcome, as if we were inconveniencing her ability leave, even though she left before the listed close time.
BHC, please update your business hours online so Yelp and Google both reflect correct hours or at least clarify when your kitchen will be closed. Your posted hours out front state a closing time of 9pm. If this is not permitted behavior, then please coach your employees. read more