Alison F.
Google
If you are considering hosting an event here, perhaps pause and reconsider. This establishment does not know how to professionally handle common issues that might come up in a bar atmosphere during an event where alcohol is being served. I was the matron of honor for a wedding that held their reception here this past weekend. Early on in the night, one of the guests was allegedly inappropriate toward one of the bartenders because they would not serve him shots. This interaction between one guest and one bartender shaped the rest of the night. From then on, the bar tenders remained tense, sensitive, judgmental, and suspicious toward all wedding guests, which escalated and culminated in the owner asking the bride and groom to end their reception early because the staff thought a second guest had brought in an outside drink (folks were drinking for free, it was an open bar, so not sure why someone would have done that) and that a third individual had served a minor (after speaking with him, he said he jokingly poured beer foam in an empty cup, teasing his young relative, who had asked him if he could have a beer, and apologized for the joke that was in poor judgement). I ask this: What would the bar owner have done during a regular night in a college town where three people out of ~75 or so had acted out of pocket? Removed the trouble makers, right? Because otherwise she would be losing out on hours of profit. That’s not what she did in this situation. Instead, the owner approached the bride and said “I’m sorry, we need to wrap it up,” a couple times. Unsure what to do, the bride agreed to a last call. They announced last call around 10:30 p.m. when the couple had paid for the venue and staff until midnight. Within ten minutes of announcing last call and serving ADDITIONAL FRESH DRINKS the owner was screaming, getting in guests’ faces, including screaming at a minor, slamming chairs, whipping a towel on a table in a threatening way, and telling the entire reception to get out of her bar. Once everyone was out, I had to calmly ask her to please stop screaming at the bride and groom. It was incredibly unprofessional and frightening. This woman clearly has trouble managing her emotions in a healthy way. As the bride and groom were approaching the bar because they still had to settle the bill, the owner had the audacity to suddenly back track, saying the bride and groom were nothing but respectful, it was just some of the guests that were the problem. I can’t help but feel like the bar owner felt comfortable shutting the reception down early because she knew she’d get paid either way. The contract the couple had signed had a 20% gratuity built in — so she didn’t have to worry about her staff not getting tipped — and it meant she didn’t have to pay her staff for the rest of the night. They could all go home early. In my opinion, she owes this couple a DEEP apology for causing their special day to end this way.
