E G.
Yelp
GLUTEN INTOLERANT BEWARE
I finally figured out why I've been in so much pain. Reached out to the company with the note below. Haven't heard back, so...here's a review so others can watch out.
Dear Evergreens,
Your feedback form did not work for me so I'm trying here and hoping you'll forward this appropriately.
I've been traveling through the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on a weekly basis since early January (and for about six weeks in 2023) to get to specialized chemotherapy appointments not available to me at home in Alaska. Since I need to eat healthy with a cancer diagnosis and also have a few other health issues such as severe gluten intolerance and mast cell disease which can cause anaphylaxis in response to old or chemical-laden foods, Evergreens is a lifeline for me to be able to actually eat while traveling. There is almost nowhere else in the airport that provides food I can safely eat, especially without walking long distances, which I don't want to do after receiving chemo.
Unfortunately, over the last few months, I've been struggling with some debilitating joint and muscle pain following my travel days that kept me mostly on the couch or bed for days. I have two small children, which makes that extra hard. I normally chalked this pain up to chemo or other meds I'd received, but it occurred to me each time that it was similar to my gluten reaction, and I think I now know why it's been happening.
Tonight I watched an employee of yours cross-contaminating food bins. Your employees wear gloves which they seem to change between customers, and they have tongs to use in each bin, but this guy threw together a flour burrito wrap, reaching his gloved hands directly into bins of lettuce and other ingredients after handing the tortilla. This may not seem like a big deal to a normal person who doesn't have to deal with food sensitivities, but I know from experience this slight level of cross-contamination will put me in bed for days with pain, cause diarrhea, high irritability, and trigger autoimmune attack on my thyroid, which is also painful and which will eventually lead to the death of my thyroid. It takes six months to clear gluten fully from your system because it has a long half-life, so it's kind of a big deal especially when you work hard and spend a lot to avoid it. Not melodrama, just medical fact. I've spent in excess of $80 to get a gluten-free meal at your Seatac shop, and unfortunately I think I've been paying for the privilege of extra medical problems and pain...while going through weekly chemo. So tonight, after witnessing this behavior, I dropped my meal in the trash unopened and went dinner-less tonight. After chemo, this means I might spend the hour-long drive home throwing up, but I'll take that over what I've been going through the past several weeks likely thanks to your staff.
If you don't want to be a gluten-free restaurant, you don't have to be. But if you're going to advertise yourself as having gluten-free options, it's not honest to do so or fair to customers who trust you if your employees are cross-contaminating food either due to inadequate training or thinking gluten intolerance is a stupid fad they don't really have to bother about.
I hope you'll fix this error and see to it that employees receive thorough training to avoid cross-contamination, which is possible and easy.
Thank you.
