I walked into this restaurant excited to support a local business. I left feeling humiliated,…read moredisrespected, targeted, and completely unwelcome.
My colleagues frequent this establishment and spoke highly of the BBQ, so I decided to try it for myself. I had never eaten there before and knew nothing about the sides.
After tasting a small piece of meat that an employee gave me, I was impressed and ordered the turkey tips and rib-tip lunch special.
When the cashier asked which sides I wanted, I politely asked one simple question:
"Do you allow customers to sample the sides?"
I was told no.
I accepted the answer.
I did not demand anything. I did not argue. I did not become disrespectful. I simply said it was difficult to choose because I had never tried their sides before.
I was STILL going to purchase my meal.
That should have been the end of the conversation.
Instead, the interaction became unnecessarily hostile.
The manager, Veronica, stepped forward with what I experienced as a nasty, condescending tone and said words to the effect of, "You can't just go to a restaurant and ask them to sample sides. We don't do that!"
I turned to MY COLLEAGUE and mentioned that I had been to restaurants in other cities where customers were allowed to sample sides. My colleague mentioned Chicago.
We were speaking TO EACH OTHER.
The employee cutting the meat suddenly yelled across the counter:
"THIS IS NOT CHICAGO!"
Completely unnecessary.
We told him we were having a private conversation and that his response was rude and unprofessional.
That is when everything escalated.
Instead of management stepping in to calm the situation, Veronica and several employees became increasingly confrontational.
I stated that I did not appreciate the way we were being treated and that I might leave a review about my experience.
Apparently, that was enough for professionalism to disappear entirely.
Veronica instructed the staff NOT TO SERVE ME.
She then began cursing at me.
I was told to "get the f*** out."
I was called a "b****."
There was yelling, screaming, and multiple employees confronting two women who originally walked into the restaurant simply to have LUNCH.
Let me repeat that.
This entire situation began because I asked if I could sample a SIDE DISH.
I was told no.
I accepted the answer.
Yet somehow it escalated to being cursed at, called outside of my name, refused service, and ordered out of the restaurant.
My colleague had already PAID for her meal. During the confrontation, her bag of food was shoved toward her so aggressively that some of the food fell onto the floor.
After enduring degrading comments, I tossed the small brown paper tray I had been holding back across the counter. The cashier then threw it back toward me.
At that point, my colleague asked for her money back because she no longer wanted the food after witnessing how we were being treated.
We were initially told:
"WE DON'T GIVE REFUNDS."
Another gentleman eventually attempted to process her refund, while approximately four or five employees were involved in yelling and confronting us.
Then the police were called.
Yes.
The POLICE.
Over an interaction that began with a polite question about sampling a side dish.
When officers arrived, we explained what happened. The manager reportedly stated that she wanted us prohibited from returning.
Trust me, there is absolutely NO reason I would ever return to an establishment where I was cursed at, called degrading names, yelled at, refused service, surrounded by employees, and treated as though I had committed some serious offense simply because I asked a question about food I was preparing to BUY.
What troubles me most is how quickly the interaction escalated.
As an African-American woman, I cannot ignore how this experience made me feel.
Afterward, I spoke with people from different backgrounds who said they have asked restaurants for samples before and were not treated anything like this.
Based on MY EXPERIENCE, this encounter left me seriously questioning whether racial bias or profiling played a role in how aggressively and disproportionately I was treated.
I cannot tell anyone what was in another person's heart.
But I absolutely know what happened to me.
And the treatment was degrading.
The most frustrating part is that I actually LIKED the food I tasted.
I was ready to spend my money.
I accepted their no-sampling policy.
There was never a reason for any of this to happen.
Good customer service could have been as simple as:
"Unfortunately, we don't offer samples, but our most popular sides are..."
Done.
Instead, management turned a routine customer interaction into an aggressive, humiliating spectacle.
So let me be very clear:
I am NOT leaving this review because they would not let me sample a side.
I am leaving this review because of the DISRESPECT, PROFANITY, NAME-CALLING, HOSTILITY, AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, LACK OF DE-ESCALATION, and Bad customer service.
