i was on vacation in sacramento, waiting for my girlfriend to get off work, and so i decided that after a long day of walking around and touring the city, i would go upstairs, get a table, get a beer, and wait for her. i had planned that we would meet at burgers & brew for dinner, though i knew going in that i would be waiting nearly an hour. when i arrived to the rooftop terrace, it was immediately apparent by the reaction of the staff that i was not welcome. as soon as i asked for a table, the very next thing out of the host's mouth was, "are you going to eat dinner?" yes, of course, i responded, but told them that i would be by myself for about an hour before my date would arrive; would that be okay?
i got the most suspicious look that i think i have ever gotten from someone who isn't necessarily a bigot. i was literally looked up and down twice, with particular attention paid to my tattoos and slightly sweaty appearance. the host did not immediately seat me - she instead went to someone else and told them my situation, at which point the second person (a manager?) came over and said, "we only have tables for people who are having dinner."
"i am having dinner," and i explained the rest.
another suspicious look, but at some unspoken signal the host took me to a table. once seated, i took out a book and set my laptop on the table (this was a 2-person table) - i was working towards my phd and thought i would use the opportunity to study.
15 minutes later, a member of the wait staff comes over. i order abeerand water.
15 minutes later, i have to wave the wait staff down again and ask them for the same order. while i am still waiting, i ask a passing member of the staff about their wifi - at this point, i have the wifi open on my laptop and point to the available options, one of which said "burger & brews guest" or something like that. i asked him what the wifi network and password were.
he starts to say it, pointing to one of the options -- and then suddenly he stops, stumbles over his words, and awkwardly says, "we don't have wifi."
okay.
i literally had no other service for 30 more minutes. even after my date arrived, i still could not get any service. *nobody* came to the table at any point in that half hour.
incidentally, in that time multiple other parties were seated and served, some by the same member of the wait staff who was supposed to be attending our table.
when the wait staff finally returned, i at once closed my check and left. my poor date had to deal with us finding somewhere else to eat, but i refuse to give my money to anyone that makes it exceedingly clear that they do not want my business.
this is a review for their j street location, but if you belong to the same owners, you deserve the same review.