Ric G.
Yelp
Wow, I feel very yucky after having visited here today.
I've been coming here nearly my entire adult life. How long's this place been here? 20+ years? Well that's how long I've been coming. The potato pancakes are my favorite and you can't find them anywhere else like here.
So I brought my mom today for lunch. I also have a service animal (dog). His name is Chaga.
We sit down and the waitress asks if he's a service animal. I say yes and she says ok he can't be on the booth. Ok, he's not, but noted.
Then 5 min later, the owner comes from the back and says, oh he slipped by. I said, no the waitress asked us about him. The owner said, I don't care. (Just ready to fight.) Is he a service animal? Yes, he's a psychiatric service animal. Emotional support? No. What's his job? Tactile touch for grounding. Well emotional support animals aren't allowed here. He's a psychiatric SERVICE animal. Ok, we'll make sure he stays under control! And then turns away disgruntled. (There are times when I experience extreme anxiety. It's 100% within my lawful right to have a psychiatric service animal for grounding me in those moments.)
Very cold, no hi. No welcome. Just plain rude and with energy like, oooh I just hope he gives me the wrong answer so I can kick them out. And a clear pre-conceived notion that I'm probably lying.
Looking back, the energy from our waitress felt like she was sick of the owner's bologna too. Cause right when we sat down, we were like she seems in a bad mood. But who wouldn't be under tyranny?
So we order and our food comes. Maybe about 2 minutes in to taking our first bites the owner comes out of the back and says if you can't keep your dog under control you have to leave!
I was legit shocked, like excuse me, what are you talking about? She says, he needs to be under the table at all times!! I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU ON CAMERA THIS WHOLE TIME.
Ok, let me explain what was really happening. Chaga was within a 1.5 foot radius next to our booth the entire time. He maybe repositioned once or twice in between lying down, and at one point he was maybe laying 1.5 feet away from our booth with the leash a little taught. Not blocking the walkway but a little out, nothing crazy. Then he put his front paws on the booth while his back paws were still on the ground and I started giving him a back scratch. (He's a short lil 12 pound dachshund poodle mix.) I was kind of doing this on autopilot as I was talking, not thinking much of it because he was being good.
That's when the owner came out and scolded me because his front paws were on the booth. She was watching me like a hawk on camera I guess, just waiting for me to make a wrong move. How unsettling. (I feel bad for her employees, imagine how she must watch them on camera.)
She said, he can't be begging and has to be under the table at all times!! And then proceeded to kick us out, causing a huge scene in front of the whole restaurant. Wasting a whole table of food and screwing her waitress out of a tip.
In reality, Chaga wasn't begging at all, he just had his front paws up as I was scratching his back and he was sitting *next* to our table, not *under* the table. And he was actually sitting under the table between my feet maybe half the time. He wasn't disrupting any other customers and he didn't make a peep.
The owner just seemed psycho and totally unreasonable about it.
A great shame, she'll probably be able to ride out her downfall a little longer because she owns a breakfast institution and can afford to be rude to customers. But we'll see how long it lasts.
It really makes me sad because I didn't even get to eat one bite of my darn potato pancakes!! Ughhh.
Legit the meanest restaurant owner I've ever met.
Edit: Zero integrity from this owner. She is lying through her teeth.
Refused all requests to control him? NO ONE SAID ONE THING to me about him the entire time I was seated. NOT ONCE. Except the waitress and owner initially asking about him being a service animal. Honest to God's truth.
Saying he was begging at other tables - complete lie! Sniffing other tables food? That doesn't even sound possible. I hope her employees are reading this so they know how phony she is.
Like I said, the worst was he was maybe lying 1.5 feet away from the table with the leash a little taught.
And then I walked back in and recorded a 1.5 min video completely by myself, didn't say one word to anyone else and then left. I've now included that video as proof. Tell me if I was screaming and making a scene.
Just because I've been coming for 20+ years doesn't mean I have to be a regular and the waitstaff knows me. I only come when I have cravings for potato pancakes, which happened to be today.
POST RECEIPTS OR IT NEVER HAPPENED. I would love for you to post the surveillance tape you were watching. Let the people decide! If I'm wrong, I'm willing to admit it - are you?