I have been coming to Kalico Kitchen for years and have always been impressed with the customer service, the readiness to refill my coffee cup frequently without having to be asked, the interest in regular visitors, the availability of specialty hot sauces, personalized coffee cups on the wall, gatherings of happy people visiting with one another, an atmosphere of good will, etc. Then last year, my daughter was at Kalico with a friend she hadn't spent time with in years and, after they ate, they chatted.. until someone approached them and told them they had been sitting there too long without buying food, who then asked them to leave and vacate the table for someone else. My daughter was made to feel ashamed; as a result, no one in my family has been back, except for myself, and I came because the service was still great and I like the food. So today, I decided to check out the new location on Monroe. None of the servers were familiar to me. As soon as I entered, a young girl asked me if I would like to sit at the counter; since I wasn't given the option to sit at a table, I said yes. There were two elderly men, one seated at each end, and I sat in the middle. Then I found out the stool was wobbly and narrow with very little back support. (Frankly, no one should place a gray haired fat woman on an unstable stool when she hangs off both sides of the seat as it wobbles back and forth. The fact that the server saw a single person instead of a couple or a group and decided the stool was appropriate irked me right off the bat.) While I was waiting, watching the four or five servers talking with one another in front of the cooks' area, I realized there was a single chair at a small table at the end of the counter where no one was sitting, right at the entrance to their prep area, so I asked the girl if it was available and I shifted to the table. I was sitting right in front of the place where all the servers congregated. But I had to ask for refills on my coffee. None of them looked in my direction unless I tried to find a moment when I could catch their eye as they conversed and lift up my cup to indicate it was empty. When my food came, the server remembered to offer Ketchup and Tobasco, but didn't notice that there wasn't any salt or pepper on my table; I had already helped myself to cream and sugar because that wasn't there either. So I'm guessing they don't usually seat anyone at that particular table. Here's the thing -- I was seated without being offered more than one option, I had to ask to change seats, I had to ask for coffee, I stopped eating halfway through my meal and waited for someone to notice I needed a to-go box, and when I had my debit card out, waiting to pay, a different server said "thank you for coming, have a nice day" and I had to tell her I hadn't paid yet. She said she'd look for my waitress but no one came for several minutes and she didn't give me a follow-up to say when anyone would come. Once I received the payment ticket, I thought about offering a tip, but I felt the tip wasn't earned and if I paid it, I would be rewarding the worst lackadaisical service I've received in a long time. And on my way out, my own server was at the door greeting a couple of older men who were entering, but she didn't pay any attention to my leaving and didn't say goodbye or thank you. This probably sounds like Whining to you. But greetings and coffee refills and frequent inquiries and quick notice when anything is needed, with thanks and goodbyes... these were things I had learned to expect. I acknowledge that all the servers were new, as far as I could tell. The tables are farther apart now. You don't hear other conversations. And there were a lot of patrons. But the way of serving has changed at Kalico Kitchen and not for the better. I may continue to patronize this restaurant, but I'm not sure it will be any time soon. read more