David B.
Yelp
The Bacunator meal gave me food poisoning, and being in the industry for a decade, I know what that's like. So I contacted the owner privately, who apologized, said they were looking into preventing it, and offered me a replacement meal. I was happy enough that I brought in a friend when I went back, hoping to still support the business. But at the till, the owner tried to convince me that I was wrong and it wasn't food poisoning. He said that I'm not used to veggie burgers, that it was the kombucha, that I had too many probiotics, that I have a sensitive stomach--none of which is true. I eat plenty of veggie burgers and it was my favourite kombucha. It was absurd! He even tried telling me that he personally made my meal that day, which isn't true, and he admitted it after I pointed that out. But the most obvious lie was when he said that he doesn't keep food products longer than a day! As if a restaurant operates that way! It's a dead giveaway that he doesn't know what he's talking about. He was spinning his wheels, so I chimed in that as a restaurant manager, I'm on his side, and he's actually taking a problem he already fixed and making it worse. I said that I was happy after the email, since he already apologized, and I even brought in a customer with me, in good faith. But he interrupted me to say that my friend has to pay! As I was just saying, that's literally why he's here! To support your business! We were baffled. Eventually, my friend got his meal and the owner gave me a burger. Thanks for the 'meal on us' and the weird, desperate argument. If Tera V didn't seem shady before, it sure does now.
I'm sympathetic to independent restaurants and chose Tera V to support a local spot. I know that the owner acquired it in March and it's been an exceptionally hard year. But it's clear that he actually has no idea what he's doing. He's trying to make a quick buck, not run a business. And based on his inability to handle basic parts of the job, I have no confidence in his ability to run a safe kitchen. Ironically, he made me all the more confident that he gave me food poisoning. I don't want any local business to go under, but Tera V is exceptionally bad.