I rarely leave reviews, but this experience was disappointing enough that I felt it was worth sharing.
This was my fourth visit to this location, and it will also be my last.
I stopped in with my three kids, ordered dinner, and spent about $50. We arrived while the restaurant was still open, placed our order, and no one mentioned they were getting ready to close. If someone had simply said, “We’re closing in a few minutes. Would you like your order to go?” I would have happily agreed.
Instead, we were welcomed in and sat down to eat.
From the moment we walked through the door, though, the atmosphere felt uncomfortable. Rather than being greeted with a smile or a simple “Welcome,” it felt like our family was viewed as an inconvenience because we might still be there a few minutes after closing. That first impression ended up matching the rest of the evening.
Before we even sat down, another issue came up.
I ordered a specific smoothie for my daughter, but it never came out. I went back to the counter and politely explained that it looked like the smoothie hadn’t been added to the order. I wasn’t asking for anything free. I literally said, “Just make the smoothie and charge my card.”
The employee looked at the receipt and said, “I know you didn’t.”
I replied, “Exactly. It was missed. Just make it and let me pay for it.”
Mistakes happen. That’s part of doing business.
What surprised me was how inconvenienced everyone seemed by simply correcting the mistake. There wasn’t an apology or even an acknowledgment that the order had been missed. It felt like asking them to make the drink was somehow an inconvenience, even though I was offering to pay for it.
Then, about four minutes after the posted closing time, another young employee—who looked like he’d stepped straight out of Superbad—walked over to our table and said, “I’m going to need you to leave.”
I told him, “You should never tell paying customers to leave like that after you invited them to dine in.”
Without hesitation, he replied, “She, the owner, told us to do it.”
That told me everything I needed to know.
If that’s truly the policy, the problem isn’t the employees—it’s leadership.
Closing time is when you stop accepting new dine-in customers. It shouldn’t mean rushing paying customers out the door after they’ve already ordered, been served, and are still finishing their meal. We weren’t sitting there for half an hour. We were about four minutes past closing with three young kids.
Five more minutes of patience would have cost absolutely nothing.
Instead, we threw away food we hadn’t finished, grabbed what was left of our drinks, and walked out.
As soon as we stepped outside, the doors were locked and the lights started going off behind us.
I’ve honestly never experienced anything like that at any restaurant.
When I got home, I started reading reviews and noticed similar complaints involving the Kingsport and Johnson City locations, which appear to share the same ownership. If that’s accurate, this doesn’t seem like a one-time incident. It feels like a customer service culture that starts at the top.
The ironic part is that I own five acres of premium commercial property directly across the street. After this experience, I’m going to contact multiple smoothie and fast-casual concepts and offer a full build-out package to bring a new standalone drive-thru smoothie business to Gray. This community is growing, and I believe it deserves another option that values customer service as much as the product itself.
If you’re looking for a similar meal but a much better experience, I’d recommend Jersey Mike’s. Every visit I’ve had there has been friendly, welcoming, and professional. Great food gets people to try a place once. Great service is what brings them back.
Unfortunately, this location turned what could have been a loyal customer into one who won’t be returning.