C W.
Yelp
We have been regulars for years and loved this place but something has been off for a while. We've given it a handful of tries since, but most of the staff are just not nearly as outgoing and welcoming as before. And there's now a certain lackadaisical or at least dispirited or disinterested attitude that you can pick up on, if you were a customer both before and immediately after the pandemic. During today's visit we learned that there was an ownership change. I'm not sure when, but I'm guessing that's it. Today's visit will be my last.
The restaurant was not more than a third full on this Sunday morning at this time, and we took counter seats, which is something we have sometimes (several dozen) done over many years. As I say, this place has been off for at least a few months. When we realized it was taking much longer than normal to get waited on, we started a countdown clock. Sixteen minutes! Not until José -- always friendly and helpful -- walked by 15 minutes into this ordeal did ANYONE other than the bus/coffee person (who brought us our coffee 5 min after we arrived) even acknowledge that we were there. And no one said "Good Morning," "Welcome," "Be with you in a few minutes," or even look at us. Plenty of staff rushed by but it was as if there was no wait staff assigned to the counter at all. A couple who was close by at the counter also told us they also felt service was slow.
Mind you, the woman who I learned later is the new manager was merely standing at cash register midway down the bar not even twenty feet away the whole time. I took her to be a new employee who was not permitted to wait on customers or I would have flagged her down. And the person who I later learned is the new owner was standing next to her for ten of those minutes.
Also, part of our meal (toast) was not delivered with the rest of the food, and we were told it would be coming, but it never arrived.
When we had finished eating, our waitress was nowhere to be found (again), so we had to flag down another to get our bill. It's nice that they have the ability to pay by credit card (including your phone via QR code printed on check) now, which we took advantage of for the first time, but beware of a 3% surcharge.
The manager, as we had seen her do with the few other counter customers who had finished up before us, immediately came over to clear plates. "I hope everything was OK," she said. I told her of our disappointment, the particular issues of our visit, the fact that we have long been coming, etc. Her response: also disappointing. No explanation, no apology, no "sorry to hear that," or the like. Just "Oh."