Lida T.
Yelp
I have been a customer at Rustika for a long time and been left satisfied for a long time as well. Recently, however, I had an extremely unpleasant experience. We ordered 3 specialty birthday cakes for $ 800 because of our previously great experiences and clearly delineated our expectations. I understand that these cakes were not things that were done regularly, but the owner confidently reassured me that they could make them. We prepaid $ 400 in advance as they said that it was necessary for the costs of the samples. The owner set a date for the tasting- on the day of said tasting, I called to set a specific time but they said that they would rather do it an hour after the time I proposed, which was perfectly fine with me! When we got there, it was apparent that these slices of cake were whipped together without thought and clumsily concocted with canned fruit and subpar ingredients. The problem in this instance wasn't that they had forgotten about the sample day and were not ready, but the fact that they did not tell this to me. It would have been fine if they had postponed the tasting and put the cakes together with care- if this was the case I would not be writing this review. Afterwards, I decided that Rustika was not the right bakery for my particular event and called them to cancel the orders. They said they could not return the money I paid but that I could use this money for store credit later for any need in the future. I was content with this, so a few months later I came in to order empanadas and explained to the cashier the situation, and showed her the receipts. She brought out her order books and my receipts were in there as well. She was a bit skeptical though, which I do not blame her for, and I asked to clarify with the owner. She went and talked with a few of her coworkers and came back to tell me that he was out for the day. As soon as she told me, he came out of the restroom. It truly disappointed me that they lied to me, but I did not express that feeling at the time. I started talking to the owner and reminding him of the promises he made me. He said that we could not order these empanadas and he would refuse to make them for us regardless. He said that I was making false claims to store credit and that I was being irrational. I said that I would even pay the costs for the samples months ago but that I would really like the rest of the $ 400 back. He refused.
I felt robbed of my money, deceived and lied to, and I strongly advise that anyone thinking about placing large orders from here can at least consider my review and take it into account. I have never posted a one star review because I try to understand both sides of the story and be empathetic towards business owners. They may have a different story to mine, but I am recounting this interaction from my perspective. My intentions in this are not malicious or vengeful; I certainly do not want to see this store fail. However, I am here to share my personal experiences with this establishment and inform others about it. These are the receipts as proof.