I'm struggling to understand how on earth this place is still open. Incredibly bad & slow service.
I was staying at a hotel down the road for a conference in Baraga. The hotel staff recommended Irene's for a dinner option, because it's practically next door. I called them & asked if they delivered. The man who answered the phone seemed annoyed by this question & flatly said they don't do that. (Also, NO CREDIT CARDS.)
Arrived & needed a table for 2. No one greeted us. A paper plate on the wall with a handwritten note on it instructed us that if they're really busy, go to the kitchen & place your order. We started to do this & were told by a very hostile woman that we should have a seat at a table & that they were "very busy."
There was one other group dining in. During the hour that I was there, I saw maybe 2 customers come in to pick up a carryout pizza. This didn't seem busy enough for the downright hostile & completely overwhelmed attitude from the staff.
After being seated about 20 minutes, an incredibly ticked off man stumbled out of the kitchen & walked toward us. On the way, he picked up a chair from another table & slammed it down on the ground so hard it shook the floor & startled us. He told us that they were "really busy" & it was going to be a while, but with an attitude that seemed like "why are you here?" instead of "please be patient." He told us if we wanted plates or napkins, we would need to get them ourselves from the table by the kitchen. We placed a beverage order (just soft drinks, they don't have alcohol).
It took about another 20 minutes to get our soft drinks. While we were there, a group of 10 came in. They got the same annoyed attitude from the staff & were scolded for following the directions on the paper plate on the wall to order at the kitchen. I guess 20 minutes wait for placing a drink order & the scolding from the staff was too much for them. They walked out without being served. The man & woman running the place didn't seem bothered by the loss of these customers.
Another 20 minutes later (now there an hour), we approached the waitress & asked how our CHEESE PIZZA (nothing out of the ordinary that should take a long time) was coming. She told us it might be going in the oven eventually some time later. We tried to get a general idea of a timeline & were told "listen, we told you that we're busy!" She then said she'd check with the cook right away & proceeded to rearrange the chairs at the empty table next to us.
We sat there in awe at how bizarre the customer service was here. About 10 minutes later we just asked her (still in the dining area & not checking on the pizza or helping other customers) if we could just cancel the order & pay for our beverages. Grumpy McGrumperson the cook heard us from the kitchen & yelled "I TOLD YOU we are busy!"
The locals claim that no one this far north has air conditioning. So they dine out on hot days & that makes the few restaurants busy in the summertime. But this truly did not feel busy enough to merit the level of hostility & confusion. I've seen newly hired teens juggle far more pizza orders in this much time at other pizza joints. I saw one other table with a pizza when we came in, one that came in & walked out for not being helped while we were there, & 2 carryouts. Never heard the phone ring once for new orders during our hour visit. The staff appeared to be the owners & family members. Just seemed like they were very confused about how to make a pizza.
Can't say anything for the quality of the food, but based on my experience & what I observed around me, I think I made the right decision. read more