Eric W.
Yelp
UPDATE in Answer to Manager's Response Below:
Thanks for your response, James. It sheds some light on the multitude of bad reviews I see for your establishment. Your staff member was the antithesis of "nice" when she asked me to dispose of my coffee. She was downright rude and disrespectful. Despite her rudeness, I was completely and totally respectful to your employee and only hoped for the same treatment in return. You've lost yet another loyal customer.
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I'll preface this by saying I've been a customer of The Italian Pie Shoppe for nearly two decades and the food is really good here. So good, in fact, we had been to the restaurant three times in the past month and a half. However, something happened during a visit yesterday that made me vow to never go back again.
On our way from the car to the door we were approached by a homeless man, Lorenzo, asking for money. I offered to buy him a meal in a nearby restaurant Shish, because it's fast. My wife went into the Pie Shoppe and got us a booth while I bought Lorenzo a gyro and a coffee next door. He told me he didn't drink coffee so, not wanting to waste it, I brought it with me into the pizza shop, found my wife, and sat down.
We ordered a couple of menu items and a couple of beers totaling $40 or so. The food arrived and I was eating I took a sip of the coffee. Shortly after, the waitress came by (who I believe is the owner/manager) and very rudely and condescendingly told me I needed to get rid of the coffee if I didn't buy it there as if I were a small child, or a criminal. She said there's a sign in the front stating no outside food or drinks.
The issue was, as I was coming in I was focused on finding my wife, not looking at the signage. I can understand the restaurant's policy. What I can't understand is the unprofessional way in which this situation was handled and communicated. I'm forty six years old and never in my life have I been treated so rudely at a restaurant. My wife and I prefer to patronize local neighborhood businesses but we refuse to ever again support The Italian Pie Shoppe.