Mother's Day Was Ruined. And I Need the Owner to Know.
Let me tell you something. I've worked in five-diamond restaurants. I've worked Applebee's got the pin to prove it. Fried chicken spots. Everything in between. So when I tell you what happened here, know that I'm not some customer who doesn't understand how restaurants work. I know exactly how they work.
My best friend lives in Camarillo and honey, he has been raving about this place for months. Every time someone comes to visit, he brings them here. He made our Mother's Day reservations well in advance. Our party of six. This man has easily dropped thousands of dollars in this restaurant. He loves this place. Loved.
We arrived early. Server was ok. Seated us at 11, full house, two-hour window we understood the assignment. I ordered the chicken and waffles. Everything came out hot and fast. We're laughing, talking, having the best time and then I look down at my plate.
There is a bug. Crawling. Through my eggs.
My son grabbed his phone and got the picture. My husband God bless him, shot up to find a manager because that's what you do. That's what any reasonable person does.
He found her. Her name is Cheryl.
And Cheryl said... "You should've taken it up with the server."
Strike one.
Then she walks over to our table with an attitude and before I can even hand her my plate, she looks at me and says, "How do you want your eggs?" Like I'm supposed to take the same food back. The food with the bug in it. I was stunned. Not just by the question by the energy. It was off putting. She was annoyed. Like somehow WE were the problem.
My kids were horrified. My best friend, the man who loves this restaurant was completely embarrassed.
I asked to look at the menu. I wanted something different. Reasonable, right? We waited. The server came back, completely in the dark, said something like "I guess something was wrong with your food?" Sweet kid. Felt terrible when we filled him in. I said I'd just take a burger. He said of course they'd remove the chicken and waffles.
THEN he came back.
"We're going to have to charge you for the burger."
WTH, I thought he had lost his entire mind.
He disappeared again, came back, apologized I believe he genuinely felt bad. This has happened before when I have been a server and a manager is more than happy to offer you another dish and take off the other one. But Cheryl? The manager? Never came back. NOT once. Instead, she made her rounds to every single table AROUND us. Laughing. Greeting people. Interacting with guests. For 15 to 20 minutes, we sat there and watched her deliberately avoid our table.
And that's when it hit me the thing I didn't want to think. I looked around. Really looked around. And we were the only ones. WELL, I was the only one who was African American woman. Me and my kids. My bestie and my hubby are of European descent.
I don't SAY that lightly. Honestly? It makes me sick to even say it. But I couldn't find another explanation. Neither could my friend, who sat straight up in his chair and saw it too up close and personal. He was angry. I had to calm everyone down and say this wasn't worth it.
I canceled the burger. We left.
It was the worst Mother's Day I have ever had in my life. I have never been treated like this before. It's 2026. People have diverse families. What happened?!
To the owner -- I'm hoping you're not her, and I'm hoping you read this. Your friend lost a loyal customer who brought everyone he knew through your doors. You lost our table, our money, and our trust the moment Cheryl decided we didn't matter. The moment she decided that she couldn't be bothered. I travel all around the world speaking, training and I have never been treated to poorly.
I called hoping to speak to the OWNER. Cheryl called me back. Are you for real? She HAD a chance to make it right. But clearly she didn't care.
She had every opportunity to make it right.
She chose not to. read more