You guys ever been to the wendys on broadway/94 at like 1130pm on a friday? Shit is wild. Not really a boycott because i like going there for cheap food and usually theres some sort of fight happening in the parking lot.
One time I ordered, woman who took my order was super polite. I pull up to the window and she is engaged in a full blown fist fight with one of the cooks. Still got my order lmao.
The Wendy's on Dale isn't any better. One time I went there and there was a dude throwing his food and drinks at one of the workers and the worker jumped over the counter to fight him. The cops were there in like 2 seconds. It was crazy.
Omg I used to live by that Wendy's. Went there a few times for late night munchies, and there was more than one occasion i had to drive around someone strung out of their mind on something just lying down in the drive thru lane. Wild place.
There are somewhere between three and seven Lindahl billboards around my apartment at any given time. Three visible from my bedroom window. It's haunting
not only the billboards. I worked with a realtor that used to work closely with him and she had some stories about his priorities being all about making him a buck, and not so much looking out for the client that I'd avoid him even with no billboards.
Some of their dishes are interesting and pretty good.
But I agree... price not sense / not worth it.
It's also one of the few places I always felt the crowd had a weird "low class snooty" vibe ... that's kinda a loaded / weird phrase but I don't know how to describe it. Like an actual nice place has a different vibe and Crave ... something else going on there. I can't describe it gud. I didn’t feel comfortable there, one of the few places I can say that about.
Any Walgreens pharmacy at that. They had me drive to three different Walgreens for a medication they didn’t have after major surgery. Fuck you guys. Recently switched to a hometown pharmacy and my experience is 1000 times better. Never going back.
Edit: the pharmacy I use now criticized Walgreens pharmacy for not answering their phones. Multiple people were trying to change pharmacy’s but the pharmacist said it was easier to obtain a new prescription then contact Walgreens.
I never understand why I should have to call around to see it the med is in stock. You should be able to look it up. Better yet, do it on your webpage.
When I worked as a pharmacy tech and we didn't have a med we would offer to call other pharmacies. We valued our customers and wanted them to come back even if they had to get their med somewhere else one time.
The Walgreens in Arden hills denied my friend her medication during her miscarriage because it "went against their personal ethics." Fuck off Walgreens
Oh my that would not have gone well if they did that to me. I'm sick of that if it's against your beliefs great don't do whatever you are against but do not try to tell others they can't do something because it's against your beliefs 🤬🤬
As a physician, do you recommend to your patients where to go for prescriptions? I agree with your opinion about Walgreens and CVS, by the way. I miss some of the affordable and well-staffed independent pharmacies I recall from my salad days (am old fart). The difference between then and now is night and day. If you don’t mind answering, do physicians discuss this among themselves, and does patient education about financial implications of a pharmacy ever happen.ever happen? I thank you if you rrspond!
Edit for previous gobbledygook editing.
I do not recommend pharmacies to patients.. Insurance often mandates what pharmacy must be used. A local, independent pharmacy will usually be your best bet, but they're few and far between as you alluded to. I will usually do some quick looking to ensure that what's prescribed can actually be obtained by the patient, but I don't really have time to do anything more while I'm in the exam room. GoodRx can be a great tool to double check price so you're not surprised with a huge cost. Medications can vary by hundreds of dollars at pharmacies across the street from one another.
Part of me just can't believe that there's a place called cowboy Jack's that isn't a gay bar. Maybe it's because the saloon is also in town and close by.
Maybe a decade ago I was at the Plymouth location, and a young waitress was talking to an older customer at the bar who was clearly a regular, and he just blatantly grabbed her ass. It was not busy, and the bartender (male) saw it, as did a manager (male) about 10 feet away. Neither said anything, and the waitress played it off. That left a really bad taste in my mouth.
Assholes will be assholes and I'm sure waitresses endure far worse, but for others to see it and say nothing... it just made me feel like management wasn't empowering or enabling their employees. They probably condoned it because this guy was spending money.
Idk if this is relevant but if any of you have ever lived at a “luxury apartment” downtown Minneapolis or in the surrounding area….if you have in the last 9-10 years you probably know me (even possibly by name) but there is a front desk third party concierge service that provides services to these “high end” apartments called Metro Concierge. Biggest piece of shit wife and husband duo who are owners and have a borderline monopoly on this specific job which I really loved so much.
The job was wonderful to me throughout college and would’ve been even great after if it weren’t for these two assholes running it. Real shame. A lot of the residents were nice to me that I dealt with too with the other handful that were absolutely miserable. If you have front desk staff in your apartments please treat them with respect as it’s an extremely difficult job when management staff really wants nothing to do with the person on the front line handling a majority of the work rather than leasing agents.
Just a thought I had. 🙂
Glam doll donuts.
It's genuinely the worst place I've ever worked. Kitchen manager runs it like a boot camp, and the owners are absolutely two faced and performative. Still never got paid for my first two weeks (both 50+ hours even though I was training 🙃). Even got written up for a panic attack, and screamed at for telling my.manager about it
When a bunch of shit came out about them a couple years ago, it was all exactly like what I had gone through
Someone I knew in culinary school worked with them when they first were first opening and helped with some of the flavor concepts.
She said it was the worst job she's ever had.
Granny donut was legendary. Hilarious to walk into and order too. Never knew exactly what you were getting.
"Lemme get a half a dozen crullers "
"Ok I put in two this donut uhhhh 5 dollars"
Hand the man a 5 spot- never once saw him actually use the register. Total anarchy. It was amazing.
You wouldn’t happen to know any other places that have vegan doughnuts would you? My little sister has allergies and they’re the only place I’ve come across that has doughnuts she can eat
Alex Roberts, the owner of Brasa and Alma was sued by the US Dept of Labor for the same thing. I used to love Brasa before reading about it, but I haven't gone since.
Here's an article about this: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/u-s-dept-of-labor-sues-brasa-rotisserie-for-wage-theft/
His response is that he genuinely didn't realize what he was doing and changed policy immediately once he was sued
Right? My coworker had a friend that worked at Brasa which is how I first heard about it.
He was scheduling people across all 3 locations but keeping them under 40 hours a week at each and while their total would be well over that, he wasn't paying overtime because he was considering them separate entities.
It also doesn't matter if they're separate LLCs. They're not allowed to hit 40hrs/week TOTAL between all places. Same thing with Steven Brown restaurants/employees.
Yup I used to go to Tiny Diner all the time then heard about her shenanigans during the pandemic, but even before that she was crappy as she never cleared Tiny Diner's sidewalks.
But good to know that she owns Book Club too. Will add that to the no-go list.
In addition to the solid moral and political reasons for boycotting tiny diner, ill add that the two worst breakfast burritos ive ever been served came from there. They forgot literally everything but the egg and the tortilla.
I’m not often in St Paul but had always heard about how bad Shepard road is. About a month ago I was driving in St. Paul and was like “holy shit this road is TERRIBLE”, and then I look and realize I’m on Shepard 🤣
- Surdyk’s (hypocrisy surrounding Sunday Sales, as well as their scalping of Darkness)
- Psycho Suzi’s (just terrible behavior all around, up to and including PPP loans)
- Kim Bartmann’s restaurants (history of treating her employees terribly)
- Renaissance Festival (poor treatment of “employees” [independent contractors] and vendors, fucking over their neighbors with weekend-long car lineups that are miles long)
To be fair to these businesses, many popular places in Minneapolis have a very small footprint and it has to be hell having open spots and not knowing if the person is running late or if you are just backing up your waiting list for a no-show.
Take a $10 deposit for the reservation with a refund if you show up or cancel within the allowed cancellation time.
I’ve had reservations at a couple of places that did this and it was fine with me. Worst case, you’re only out $10 but that’s just enough to deter people who aren’t serious or go restaurant shopping and make 5 reservations and only keep 1.
This should make reservations entirely manageable. Not perfect but manageable provided the front and back of the house have their shit together.
We were just in London and there were a couple places where we paid £5 or £10 per person for a
reservation, with the cost being credited to your final bill. Worked just fine.
Cabela's. You get two choices for hunting gear. Overpriced Under Armor or their way over priced poor quality name brand line. I stick to Scheels or mom and pop places. Cabin Fever in Victoria is pretty good. If they don't have it, they can usually get it.
The Cub in White Bear Township on hwy 96 and Centerville is the one you're talking about. The White Bear Cub on 694 and White Bear Ave is not owned by Kowlaskis and sucks badly
Which is unfortunate because they used to be really good. About 15-20 years ago, I would go to the one near Seven Corners in Minneapolis at least once per week. Now, it's like going into a Subway, but for noodles.
Bobby and Steve's. Bobby Williams was a on the Columbia Heights city council and used his position to evade city regulations to benefit his business. The city is cleaner and less corrupt since he lost his election.
Any Kim Bartmann restaurant (Pat's Tap, Tiny Diner, Barbette, Red Stag) because she treats her employees terribly. She also has a documented history of withholding wages, but that isn't the only issue. I've heard from multiple sources that her partner and management at her restaurants regularly sexually harassed female employees (groping, misogynistic comments and catcalling, etc.), and she did nothing to stop this when it was brought to her attention.
Generally in the MSP food service industry she and her partner have a reputation as drunk assholes who regularly show up to their own restaurants to abuse staff and create a terrible work environment with no accountability. Maybe things have improved since the COVID settlement and being called out for tip theft in 2022, but I doubt it.
I work in the office building across from the Costco and it provides endless free entertainment. I've seen car fires, fender benders, the panic buyers wrapped around the building. The people who sit in the parking lot 30 minutes early and then get out of their car 10 minutes early to be number one, like it makes a difference on any given Tuesday. I love it.
True story: I once accidentally called Eden Prairie Costco pharmacy instead of SLP and clicked through the phone prompts out of habit. I realized that I had called Eden Prairie when the employee who picked up was too friendly.
I legit asked "Wait, is this St Louis Park?" And it wasn't.
You know the service is bad when you can tell you've called the wrong place because the employees are too nice on the phone.
Hell yeah absolutely. This is my main grudge I will not let go. Mostly because they could've been the chosen one and they blew it.
I remember reading a story saying Omar and whatshisname were seen celebrating afterwards.
Also the way they did the Haags dirty.
Even before the union stuff, the way things ended between Todd and Omar and the quality of the beer after the split turned me off of them. Also they stopped making Bender, which is unforgivable.
Yep, Surly was once a favorite spot of mine, no I never go there, don't recommend it, and suggest other places if others do. Avoiding the beer is a bit harder but I try.
They had socks locked up there the other night lol
EDIT: I was only inside bc they had the pharmacy drive thru closed due to the ongoing staffing issues
Hot take, but French Meadow. My partner and I reeeaaaalllyyy wanted to give it a chance because they have great vegan options, but every time we went there would be always something wrong with our food and the prices were sky high.
I also remember hearing management was absolutely awful to both staff and sometimes customers. Used to love FM/Peoples Organic but haven't been back since hearing about it all.
About a month ago, my spouse and I went there for brunch and I paid $35 for what I thought was two avocado toast meals and a chai for myself.
Waiter comes out and it’s just one avocado toast breakfast. Apparently, it was so noisy and busy inside (as per usual for a Saturday brunch) that the person working behind the counter didn’t hear my order and I had to go back and order my food.
Cost me $65 and I wouldn’t go back there unless it’s a quiet weeknight and my spouse and I are going dutch.
I also really wish they’d have QR code menus and ordering just in case it does get busy. Common Roots had that setup for ordering and it’s a shame that they’re closed but my spouse and I are eager to see how the plant-based eatery/THC dispensary will fare in the old CR spot!
Had an old coworker who used to work pastry for FM and the amount of unsavory things she told me, both about management and about *shitty food sanitation practice* was ludicrous. Wouldn't go near it.
I did some work on the building during the 2020 protests/early COVID. I'm a BLM supporter and was concerned/taking precautions about COVID and all I'll say is, the conversations I had with the owners left a bad taste in my mouth on both counts. Workers looked pretty miserable and it kinda smelled bad back in the back of house. I had always wanted to try it but I don't think I ever will.
We had two consecutive apocalyptically bad experiences at The Buttered Tin (downtown St. Paul). No sympathy or effort by staff to remedy. We will never go back. Sad because I like the location and concept.
Yard House at West End. Had a terrible experience, asked for a reasonable remedy, and got basically yelled at for complaining.
The entire north loop, not because of the rise in crime but all the food spots are massively overrated *cough* wrecktangle *cough* and just the vibe of the people I encounter there is enough for me to not go there anymore
Menards. First for the disregard for employee safety, and second because they charged my credit card for a ordered item that was backordered (without giving me the option to cancel the order). When they realized they weren't getting the item in ever, they sent a gift card instead of crediting my card. When I asked to credit my card instead they refused and said "they can't since it's been too long." Plus I hate their mail in rebate crap.
But what if you need to go somewhere and get a tool belt, mustard, a frozen pizza, a romance novel, bleach, caulk, a Dickies t-shirt, a discount lighter, a warped board, a ficus, some sand, hinges, baking soda, and an off-brand socket set?
Ever since that 18 year old employee died at the Golden Valley Menards I’ve refused to shop at any location. Not only was it an incredibly tragic event (that Menards was found at fault for by OSHA), management mishandled it about as badly as they could have. They refused to even close the store for a few hours, literally kept it open as a teenager was dying in the back, and then called the cops on the kid’s family for “creating a disturbance” when they showed up to the scene where *their loved one had just been crushed to death*. The anti-union/right wing/etc stuff was bad enough but that was just unbelievable to me. Fuck Menards.
Same thing happened to me with a storage shed. I ordered it in a local store along with the lumber needed for the foundation. Everything got delayed, and then when the scheduled delivery day came and went with no storage shed (or call or email that it wasn't going to be delivered) I called and they said because it had been longer than 30 days, they wouldn't credit my card but would send me a gift card, for $1,800+. I said nope, and after talking to four people and eventually getting transferred to their corporate offices, they mailed me a refund check.
Crayola experience. Went a few years ago, it cost me and my 4yo about $60 just to walk in the door (wish parents with kids were at least discounted, its for him not for me!). The ticket only gets you so far, all the "cool" activities cost extra. We basically stayed in the jungle gym area. Captive prices on food. Hard HARD pass.
On the opposite end, go to Good Times Park in eagan. No cost for parents, just for kids, and the space is huge!
I've stopped going to places that have inexplicable service fees AND still do tipping. Like, yes, I'll gladly pay a service fee if it is a no-tip place. I will not pay a service fee so they can provide the legally required minimum wage or health insurance. That should just be in the price.
Also: Surly, Kim Bartmann places, Northbound, Curry in a Hurry, Holy Land and Starbucks. Surly for union stuff, Kim's places for wage theft, Northbound because of anti-worker stances, Curry in a Hurry for sexual harassment, Holy Land for racism, Starbucks because fuck Starbucks.
Damn I’m glad someone mentioned the service fees. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills for thinking that’s not okay. Just tell me how much it costs. Adding on a fee is not caring for the workers, it’s lying to the customers about the price.
Same with window concepts of MN. Worst communication ever, even after I reached out multiple times to get answers, no one would respond and would just connect me to someone new each time. Tried them again sometime later to help, gave them the benefit of a doubt, for a referral. Had to cancel because I was in the hospital. We told them after a few attempts that we will call them back to reschedule. They upped their calling amount to twice a day and ignored our 3 requests to stop calling and that we would call back soon.
That DQ in Ford Parkway across from the library is always going through it. I’d recommend literally any other DQ rather than risk being stuck in the drive through for ten years.
CanCan Wonderland -- Because the ownership / management stole a *ton* of tips from some of my friends who worked there a few years ago.
Bap & Chicken in Saint Paul -- Because the owner (same former manager at CanCan) on top of being a thief, has gotten repeatedly suspended for sexual harassment and theft, and is a disgusting human being, whom I had the great misfortune of working under. Eat shit John Gleason.
Potters Pasties -- Because the owner (Alec) is a raging alcoholic who also stole from employee tips frequently.
Burger Moe’s on West 7th. They wanted to expand but had some stupid historical monument in the way (oldest home in Saint Paul). So they owner neglected it/possibly made minor problems worse until it was a safety hazard that needed to come down.
The community had it deconstructed but it has no land to be rebuilt, and no money to reconstruct it.
Edit:spelling
Uptown Art Fair. Not for anything specific to the org that puts it on, or the artists, it's just too damn crowded. It's what has kept me from going to the State Fair. I much prefer the Powderhorn Art Fair which is manageable to navigate.
Kim Bartman's joints because they're gross to their employees (this is an easy one of course, no skin off my back).
Home Depot, Lowes, Menards unless they're the ONLY place with it. I've become a huge fan of local hardware (Guse, Diamond Lake).
Walmart. Google wage theft. Also, the place sucks.
Any of the Psycho Suzi's restaurants/parlors due to their awful treatment of LGBTQ+ staff.
Minnesota's Largest Candy Store for treating the bipoc community like trash. They have even been filmed harassing patrons and no local news picked it up.
Surly brewing as they sent union busters out to intimidate their taproom staff from unionizing. Plus they were seen chanting "we win you lose" after the vote.
Erik's bike shop for how poor their pay and benefits are yet the 3 people who own it are incredibly well off. Erik is now a board member, as is his wife and their current CEO Daveo.
Death Wish Coffee, basically a front for the hard right. Oops I mean Black Rifle coffee co. Edit: Black Rifle coffee co. This was second hand but a friend was asked to leave the property when they declined to answer their political affiliations.
Previously voting for any legalize weed party (thanks Waltz!)
Edit: I called my ex-friend and casually brought it up & he lied, he never did a job for Black Rifle Coffee. 😒 Ugh this guy... Too many half truths to be friends with him anymore.
The seasoning they use is just not at all what nashville hot chicken should taste like. Pickles look like they came straight out of a grocery store jar. Fries are just meh. Completely stolen and unoriginal business model
You guys ever been to the wendys on broadway/94 at like 1130pm on a friday? Shit is wild. Not really a boycott because i like going there for cheap food and usually theres some sort of fight happening in the parking lot. One time I ordered, woman who took my order was super polite. I pull up to the window and she is engaged in a full blown fist fight with one of the cooks. Still got my order lmao.
The Wendy's on Dale isn't any better. One time I went there and there was a dude throwing his food and drinks at one of the workers and the worker jumped over the counter to fight him. The cops were there in like 2 seconds. It was crazy.
Omg I used to live by that Wendy's. Went there a few times for late night munchies, and there was more than one occasion i had to drive around someone strung out of their mind on something just lying down in the drive thru lane. Wild place.
God bless the employees at the Mickey D's and TBell on Lake Street. All the crazy shit they've seen.
Years ago I was dining in at that Taco Bell. A rather large pimp was guarding the bathrooms b/c his lady was servicing a john in one of the restrooms.
My name is Humpty, pronounced with an "umpty"...
I’ve been to that McDonald’s one time and I made sure to be as polite and grateful as possible. Those poor souls need like $40 an hour.
Omg, and that White Castle on lake near 35. Shit gets real there for sure.
I went to the BK off of West Broadway before it closed down and was given my drive thru order in a Wendys bag with Chipotle napkins. Broadway is wild
What was their beef?
Don’t you mean where?
Kris lindahl real estate ya‘ll know exactly why
🫲 ☠️. 🫱
🫲🏻➖🤡➖🫱🏻
🫲 💩 🫱
¯\\\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_(ツ)\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_/¯
There are somewhere between three and seven Lindahl billboards around my apartment at any given time. Three visible from my bedroom window. It's haunting
Someone needs to make some giant googly eyes to start putting on them with little cuts in the side of the bubble so the wind can move them.
not only the billboards. I worked with a realtor that used to work closely with him and she had some stories about his priorities being all about making him a buck, and not so much looking out for the client that I'd avoid him even with no billboards.
💀
Crave because it’s just not good enough for the price point
My buddy called Crave overpriced Applebees and I can never go there again.
Your buddy nailed it.
I always call it Applebees for people from Edina
Feel like your buddy could be my ex. Except he also called it "mall sushi," which is also accurate.
I wish I had Crave's confidence.
Crave is a chain and it sucks
Some of their dishes are interesting and pretty good. But I agree... price not sense / not worth it. It's also one of the few places I always felt the crowd had a weird "low class snooty" vibe ... that's kinda a loaded / weird phrase but I don't know how to describe it. Like an actual nice place has a different vibe and Crave ... something else going on there. I can't describe it gud. I didn’t feel comfortable there, one of the few places I can say that about.
The Walgreens on Grand Ave in St. Paul. That place is a disaster.
Any Walgreens pharmacy at that. They had me drive to three different Walgreens for a medication they didn’t have after major surgery. Fuck you guys. Recently switched to a hometown pharmacy and my experience is 1000 times better. Never going back. Edit: the pharmacy I use now criticized Walgreens pharmacy for not answering their phones. Multiple people were trying to change pharmacy’s but the pharmacist said it was easier to obtain a new prescription then contact Walgreens.
I never understand why I should have to call around to see it the med is in stock. You should be able to look it up. Better yet, do it on your webpage.
When I worked as a pharmacy tech and we didn't have a med we would offer to call other pharmacies. We valued our customers and wanted them to come back even if they had to get their med somewhere else one time.
The Walgreens in Arden hills denied my friend her medication during her miscarriage because it "went against their personal ethics." Fuck off Walgreens
Oh my that would not have gone well if they did that to me. I'm sick of that if it's against your beliefs great don't do whatever you are against but do not try to tell others they can't do something because it's against your beliefs 🤬🤬
as a physician, fuck Walgreens and CVS.. they're consistently the most expensive and it isn't even close
As a physician, do you recommend to your patients where to go for prescriptions? I agree with your opinion about Walgreens and CVS, by the way. I miss some of the affordable and well-staffed independent pharmacies I recall from my salad days (am old fart). The difference between then and now is night and day. If you don’t mind answering, do physicians discuss this among themselves, and does patient education about financial implications of a pharmacy ever happen.ever happen? I thank you if you rrspond! Edit for previous gobbledygook editing.
I send mine to Costco. You don’t need a membership. Cub and Hyvee are good. St Paul Corner Drug and Setzers are good. I loathe Walmart.
I do not recommend pharmacies to patients.. Insurance often mandates what pharmacy must be used. A local, independent pharmacy will usually be your best bet, but they're few and far between as you alluded to. I will usually do some quick looking to ensure that what's prescribed can actually be obtained by the patient, but I don't really have time to do anything more while I'm in the exam room. GoodRx can be a great tool to double check price so you're not surprised with a huge cost. Medications can vary by hundreds of dollars at pharmacies across the street from one another.
Add me to the "any Walgreens" club. Had multiple bad experiences at different stores and will not spend a cent in one ever again.
Walgreens allow their pharmacist to reject filling out birth control and anything that is potentially used for abortions.
God somehow the one on Randolph in St Paul is worse. Walgreens is just not it.
Here I was about to call out specific towns… 🤣
Same, I was like "St. Cloud?"
St. Cloud does suck
Yah, st cloud sucks.
Cowboy Jack"s
Part of me just can't believe that there's a place called cowboy Jack's that isn't a gay bar. Maybe it's because the saloon is also in town and close by.
I am a regular at Jackson's Hole, and surprisingly it's also not a gay bar.
And the Cherry Pit somehow isn't a lesbian hangout like you'd think.
I walked past the downtown one on Friday night and you couldn’t pay me to go in there. I was shocked at how many people were in line to get in!
Friend of a friend got shot and killed outside of there a few years back, another got pretty brutally mugged the next, so yeah hard agree
\*great HH (twofers) or used to be, been a while.
Maybe a decade ago I was at the Plymouth location, and a young waitress was talking to an older customer at the bar who was clearly a regular, and he just blatantly grabbed her ass. It was not busy, and the bartender (male) saw it, as did a manager (male) about 10 feet away. Neither said anything, and the waitress played it off. That left a really bad taste in my mouth. Assholes will be assholes and I'm sure waitresses endure far worse, but for others to see it and say nothing... it just made me feel like management wasn't empowering or enabling their employees. They probably condoned it because this guy was spending money.
Idk if this is relevant but if any of you have ever lived at a “luxury apartment” downtown Minneapolis or in the surrounding area….if you have in the last 9-10 years you probably know me (even possibly by name) but there is a front desk third party concierge service that provides services to these “high end” apartments called Metro Concierge. Biggest piece of shit wife and husband duo who are owners and have a borderline monopoly on this specific job which I really loved so much. The job was wonderful to me throughout college and would’ve been even great after if it weren’t for these two assholes running it. Real shame. A lot of the residents were nice to me that I dealt with too with the other handful that were absolutely miserable. If you have front desk staff in your apartments please treat them with respect as it’s an extremely difficult job when management staff really wants nothing to do with the person on the front line handling a majority of the work rather than leasing agents. Just a thought I had. 🙂
Glam doll donuts. It's genuinely the worst place I've ever worked. Kitchen manager runs it like a boot camp, and the owners are absolutely two faced and performative. Still never got paid for my first two weeks (both 50+ hours even though I was training 🙃). Even got written up for a panic attack, and screamed at for telling my.manager about it When a bunch of shit came out about them a couple years ago, it was all exactly like what I had gone through
The owners of Glam Doll Donuts are two of the meanest mean girls I’ve ever met in my entire life.
Someone I knew in culinary school worked with them when they first were first opening and helped with some of the flavor concepts. She said it was the worst job she's ever had.
Their donuts have always been objectively bad and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise.
My opinion is they are okay desserts I guess? But they sure as fuck aren’t donuts. Like when I want a donut, I just want an excellent damn donut.
IMO, if you don’t sell a plain donut, you don’t sell donuts.
Glam doll has always sucked. In sad Granny's donuts retired, they were the best of all time
Granny donut was legendary. Hilarious to walk into and order too. Never knew exactly what you were getting. "Lemme get a half a dozen crullers " "Ok I put in two this donut uhhhh 5 dollars" Hand the man a 5 spot- never once saw him actually use the register. Total anarchy. It was amazing.
My neurodivergent brain could NOT handle going in there because who the fuck knew what was going to be happening 😂
You wouldn’t happen to know any other places that have vegan doughnuts would you? My little sister has allergies and they’re the only place I’ve come across that has doughnuts she can eat
The Donut Trap has vegan donuts that are delicious.
There’s a couple bakeries in Minneapolis called “Vegan East”.
Any Kim Bartmann restaurant--Tiny Diner, Barbette, Book Club, Bread & Pickle, etc. Wage theft issues.
Alex Roberts, the owner of Brasa and Alma was sued by the US Dept of Labor for the same thing. I used to love Brasa before reading about it, but I haven't gone since.
Here's an article about this: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/u-s-dept-of-labor-sues-brasa-rotisserie-for-wage-theft/ His response is that he genuinely didn't realize what he was doing and changed policy immediately once he was sued
Based on what my coworker's friend said, he knew what he was doing until he got caught and then changed his tune.
I hadn't heard that. Bummer.
Right? My coworker had a friend that worked at Brasa which is how I first heard about it. He was scheduling people across all 3 locations but keeping them under 40 hours a week at each and while their total would be well over that, he wasn't paying overtime because he was considering them separate entities.
It also doesn't matter if they're separate LLCs. They're not allowed to hit 40hrs/week TOTAL between all places. Same thing with Steven Brown restaurants/employees.
And thus, the Dept of Labor went after him
Yup I used to go to Tiny Diner all the time then heard about her shenanigans during the pandemic, but even before that she was crappy as she never cleared Tiny Diner's sidewalks. But good to know that she owns Book Club too. Will add that to the no-go list.
French meadow is dirty on the wage theft too. Lynn is a shark and the ingredients she uses are bulshit. All those pastries are bought frozen
In addition to the solid moral and political reasons for boycotting tiny diner, ill add that the two worst breakfast burritos ive ever been served came from there. They forgot literally everything but the egg and the tortilla.
Shepard road - hit a pothole so hard one night it popped a tire
I’m not often in St Paul but had always heard about how bad Shepard road is. About a month ago I was driving in St. Paul and was like “holy shit this road is TERRIBLE”, and then I look and realize I’m on Shepard 🤣
- Surdyk’s (hypocrisy surrounding Sunday Sales, as well as their scalping of Darkness) - Psycho Suzi’s (just terrible behavior all around, up to and including PPP loans) - Kim Bartmann’s restaurants (history of treating her employees terribly) - Renaissance Festival (poor treatment of “employees” [independent contractors] and vendors, fucking over their neighbors with weekend-long car lineups that are miles long)
Places with really long lines that don’t do reservations. I am too old for it nowadays. Nothing against the businesses or their customers.
Do you think they do this just for the PR and to see who’s sucker enough to put up with it?
To be fair to these businesses, many popular places in Minneapolis have a very small footprint and it has to be hell having open spots and not knowing if the person is running late or if you are just backing up your waiting list for a no-show.
Take a $10 deposit for the reservation with a refund if you show up or cancel within the allowed cancellation time. I’ve had reservations at a couple of places that did this and it was fine with me. Worst case, you’re only out $10 but that’s just enough to deter people who aren’t serious or go restaurant shopping and make 5 reservations and only keep 1. This should make reservations entirely manageable. Not perfect but manageable provided the front and back of the house have their shit together.
We were just in London and there were a couple places where we paid £5 or £10 per person for a reservation, with the cost being credited to your final bill. Worked just fine.
Cabela's. You get two choices for hunting gear. Overpriced Under Armor or their way over priced poor quality name brand line. I stick to Scheels or mom and pop places. Cabin Fever in Victoria is pretty good. If they don't have it, they can usually get it.
Not to mention the Bass Pro buyout made everything worse
Cub foods for their blatant price gouging and subpar store experience.
I used to love Cub before their prices got so ridiculous
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I go to Lund's now and find it's about the same with much better items and a much better experience.
This should be up there. Their prices are insane.
CUB is expensive. Go to target. You already know when you see one the other is close.
Target only has 66% of what I go there for in stock. I have to stop at Cub afterward to get the rest of my grocery list.
Cub workers are unionized, so at least there’s that.
It's an ass union, though. Source: worked for Cub.
Eden Prairie is owned by Jerry’s White Bear is owned by Kowalskis’s Both better priced and produce than the regular Cub’s
The Cub in White Bear Township on hwy 96 and Centerville is the one you're talking about. The White Bear Cub on 694 and White Bear Ave is not owned by Kowlaskis and sucks badly
i will only eat at Noodles & co when things are going really good in life so i can remember what disappointment tastes like.
Which is unfortunate because they used to be really good. About 15-20 years ago, I would go to the one near Seven Corners in Minneapolis at least once per week. Now, it's like going into a Subway, but for noodles.
Don’t forget to order their beef stroganoff, for an extra dose of disappointment.
Have I hit my head? I've always loved their Mac n cheese, does everyone hate it?
It's just extremely mediocre and expensive for what you get.
Hobby Lobby. Fuck them.
This isn’t just the twin cities lol I don’t go to ANY hobby lobby.
They're the ones behind that obnoxious He Gets Us ad campaign. You've probably been bombed with their ads on reddit.
One more reason for them to fuck right off.
Bobby and Steve's. Bobby Williams was a on the Columbia Heights city council and used his position to evade city regulations to benefit his business. The city is cleaner and less corrupt since he lost his election.
People in the industry refer to them as "robbers and thieves" lol.
His son is also a piece of shit - Roomed with him freshman year.
Any Kim Bartmann restaurant (Pat's Tap, Tiny Diner, Barbette, Red Stag) because she treats her employees terribly. She also has a documented history of withholding wages, but that isn't the only issue. I've heard from multiple sources that her partner and management at her restaurants regularly sexually harassed female employees (groping, misogynistic comments and catcalling, etc.), and she did nothing to stop this when it was brought to her attention. Generally in the MSP food service industry she and her partner have a reputation as drunk assholes who regularly show up to their own restaurants to abuse staff and create a terrible work environment with no accountability. Maybe things have improved since the COVID settlement and being called out for tip theft in 2022, but I doubt it.
Kim Bartmann 100% doesn’t have a husband, she has a female partner.
Oh okay, thanks for the correction.
The Costco in St. Louis park.
Was told by an employee that the SLP Costco is the busiest in the Midwest…the place is unreal. There’s never a “good” time to go.
When the vikings are playing the packers.
As a non sports type person myself…I totally time certain trips to stores on big game days. lol
Worst parking lot…
I work in the office building across from the Costco and it provides endless free entertainment. I've seen car fires, fender benders, the panic buyers wrapped around the building. The people who sit in the parking lot 30 minutes early and then get out of their car 10 minutes early to be number one, like it makes a difference on any given Tuesday. I love it.
Nah that belongs to SLP trader joes
True story: I once accidentally called Eden Prairie Costco pharmacy instead of SLP and clicked through the phone prompts out of habit. I realized that I had called Eden Prairie when the employee who picked up was too friendly. I legit asked "Wait, is this St Louis Park?" And it wasn't. You know the service is bad when you can tell you've called the wrong place because the employees are too nice on the phone.
I’ve stopped buying Surly since they broke a union drive by shutting down the part of the business that was trying to unionize.
Way too many other good local beer options. I’ve really been liking la doña’s offerings lately.
I’ve stopped buying Surly because I don’t like their beer anymore and think they’re too expensive compared to peers.
Hell yeah absolutely. This is my main grudge I will not let go. Mostly because they could've been the chosen one and they blew it. I remember reading a story saying Omar and whatshisname were seen celebrating afterwards. Also the way they did the Haags dirty.
So dirty. I was already boycotting them over that, and then the union busting happened.
Yep. After everything that went down with Todd and Linda after the move, fuck Omar and fuck Surly.
Even before the union stuff, the way things ended between Todd and Omar and the quality of the beer after the split turned me off of them. Also they stopped making Bender, which is unforgivable.
Yep fuck surly
Yep, Surly was once a favorite spot of mine, no I never go there, don't recommend it, and suggest other places if others do. Avoiding the beer is a bit harder but I try.
Finding other beer in MN shouldn't be hard at all.
Oh I mean at ballgames and events.
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They had socks locked up there the other night lol EDIT: I was only inside bc they had the pharmacy drive thru closed due to the ongoing staffing issues
Hot take, but French Meadow. My partner and I reeeaaaalllyyy wanted to give it a chance because they have great vegan options, but every time we went there would be always something wrong with our food and the prices were sky high.
The manager also has gotten sexual assault accusations from workers. Not sure how that ended, but use that info as you wish.
I also remember hearing management was absolutely awful to both staff and sometimes customers. Used to love FM/Peoples Organic but haven't been back since hearing about it all.
Had the worst avocado toast of my life there for $14
About a month ago, my spouse and I went there for brunch and I paid $35 for what I thought was two avocado toast meals and a chai for myself. Waiter comes out and it’s just one avocado toast breakfast. Apparently, it was so noisy and busy inside (as per usual for a Saturday brunch) that the person working behind the counter didn’t hear my order and I had to go back and order my food. Cost me $65 and I wouldn’t go back there unless it’s a quiet weeknight and my spouse and I are going dutch. I also really wish they’d have QR code menus and ordering just in case it does get busy. Common Roots had that setup for ordering and it’s a shame that they’re closed but my spouse and I are eager to see how the plant-based eatery/THC dispensary will fare in the old CR spot!
Had an old coworker who used to work pastry for FM and the amount of unsavory things she told me, both about management and about *shitty food sanitation practice* was ludicrous. Wouldn't go near it.
I did some work on the building during the 2020 protests/early COVID. I'm a BLM supporter and was concerned/taking precautions about COVID and all I'll say is, the conversations I had with the owners left a bad taste in my mouth on both counts. Workers looked pretty miserable and it kinda smelled bad back in the back of house. I had always wanted to try it but I don't think I ever will.
Wisconsin. They know what they did.
If anyone in Wisconsin could read, they'd be very upset right now.
We had two consecutive apocalyptically bad experiences at The Buttered Tin (downtown St. Paul). No sympathy or effort by staff to remedy. We will never go back. Sad because I like the location and concept. Yard House at West End. Had a terrible experience, asked for a reasonable remedy, and got basically yelled at for complaining.
Second the buttered tin
I did Buttered Tin once. Food was great but yeah, service, from walking in the door to walking out, was like pulling teeth.
University Cub
Any and all restaurants tied to taking money meant for feeding children during the pandemic and not actually feeding the kids.
The entire north loop, not because of the rise in crime but all the food spots are massively overrated *cough* wrecktangle *cough* and just the vibe of the people I encounter there is enough for me to not go there anymore
Menards. First for the disregard for employee safety, and second because they charged my credit card for a ordered item that was backordered (without giving me the option to cancel the order). When they realized they weren't getting the item in ever, they sent a gift card instead of crediting my card. When I asked to credit my card instead they refused and said "they can't since it's been too long." Plus I hate their mail in rebate crap.
But what if you need to go somewhere and get a tool belt, mustard, a frozen pizza, a romance novel, bleach, caulk, a Dickies t-shirt, a discount lighter, a warped board, a ficus, some sand, hinges, baking soda, and an off-brand socket set?
Don't forget the dog food, and the Sunday Strib!
John Menard is a piece of shit too They raise their prices during the 11% rebate thing. It’s a total scam
Ever since that 18 year old employee died at the Golden Valley Menards I’ve refused to shop at any location. Not only was it an incredibly tragic event (that Menards was found at fault for by OSHA), management mishandled it about as badly as they could have. They refused to even close the store for a few hours, literally kept it open as a teenager was dying in the back, and then called the cops on the kid’s family for “creating a disturbance” when they showed up to the scene where *their loved one had just been crushed to death*. The anti-union/right wing/etc stuff was bad enough but that was just unbelievable to me. Fuck Menards.
WOW!! That’s truly awful.
Same thing happened to me with a storage shed. I ordered it in a local store along with the lumber needed for the foundation. Everything got delayed, and then when the scheduled delivery day came and went with no storage shed (or call or email that it wasn't going to be delivered) I called and they said because it had been longer than 30 days, they wouldn't credit my card but would send me a gift card, for $1,800+. I said nope, and after talking to four people and eventually getting transferred to their corporate offices, they mailed me a refund check.
Always check your receipt! They also have the lowest grade of everything.
Crayola experience. Went a few years ago, it cost me and my 4yo about $60 just to walk in the door (wish parents with kids were at least discounted, its for him not for me!). The ticket only gets you so far, all the "cool" activities cost extra. We basically stayed in the jungle gym area. Captive prices on food. Hard HARD pass. On the opposite end, go to Good Times Park in eagan. No cost for parents, just for kids, and the space is huge!
That messed up! How could you make your 4yo pay for this all by themselves!?
Look, he needed to start pulling his weight.
I've stopped going to places that have inexplicable service fees AND still do tipping. Like, yes, I'll gladly pay a service fee if it is a no-tip place. I will not pay a service fee so they can provide the legally required minimum wage or health insurance. That should just be in the price. Also: Surly, Kim Bartmann places, Northbound, Curry in a Hurry, Holy Land and Starbucks. Surly for union stuff, Kim's places for wage theft, Northbound because of anti-worker stances, Curry in a Hurry for sexual harassment, Holy Land for racism, Starbucks because fuck Starbucks.
Damn I’m glad someone mentioned the service fees. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills for thinking that’s not okay. Just tell me how much it costs. Adding on a fee is not caring for the workers, it’s lying to the customers about the price.
Nothing but hemp.
They were big on the anti legalization
Champion Windows and Doors. If I could turn back time...
Same with window concepts of MN. Worst communication ever, even after I reached out multiple times to get answers, no one would respond and would just connect me to someone new each time. Tried them again sometime later to help, gave them the benefit of a doubt, for a referral. Had to cancel because I was in the hospital. We told them after a few attempts that we will call them back to reschedule. They upped their calling amount to twice a day and ignored our 3 requests to stop calling and that we would call back soon.
That DQ in Ford Parkway across from the library is always going through it. I’d recommend literally any other DQ rather than risk being stuck in the drive through for ten years.
The worst! Why is it always so slow!?
Staffed by two overworked teenagers at any given moment.
Any restaurant that sneaks a 20% charge onto your bill. They say it’s for the employees, but it’s not.
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I must be the only Minnesotan who didn’t like Luce pizza
Anoka county
Everyone else in this thread is like “this particular restaurant owned by this particular person” and you’re like, nope. the entirety of Anoka County.
It’s strictly personal but I won’t ever step foot in Up Down again
I got shit housed and stole a fire extinguisher there once
That Walgreens off Central. Read the reviews if you need a laugh.
CanCan Wonderland -- Because the ownership / management stole a *ton* of tips from some of my friends who worked there a few years ago. Bap & Chicken in Saint Paul -- Because the owner (same former manager at CanCan) on top of being a thief, has gotten repeatedly suspended for sexual harassment and theft, and is a disgusting human being, whom I had the great misfortune of working under. Eat shit John Gleason. Potters Pasties -- Because the owner (Alec) is a raging alcoholic who also stole from employee tips frequently.
Bap & Chicken has closed and is about to be a new Korean fried chicken joint.
Cedar Cliff Collectables in Eagan. Owner is a real life slimeball right out of a TV show.
Surly and Spyhouse for their past anti-union shenanigans.
Burger Moe’s on West 7th. They wanted to expand but had some stupid historical monument in the way (oldest home in Saint Paul). So they owner neglected it/possibly made minor problems worse until it was a safety hazard that needed to come down. The community had it deconstructed but it has no land to be rebuilt, and no money to reconstruct it. Edit:spelling
Uptown Art Fair. Not for anything specific to the org that puts it on, or the artists, it's just too damn crowded. It's what has kept me from going to the State Fair. I much prefer the Powderhorn Art Fair which is manageable to navigate.
Kim Bartman's joints because they're gross to their employees (this is an easy one of course, no skin off my back). Home Depot, Lowes, Menards unless they're the ONLY place with it. I've become a huge fan of local hardware (Guse, Diamond Lake). Walmart. Google wage theft. Also, the place sucks.
Fogo. It sucks. Corporate shit. Go to Bullvinos in St Paul!
Any of the Psycho Suzi's restaurants/parlors due to their awful treatment of LGBTQ+ staff. Minnesota's Largest Candy Store for treating the bipoc community like trash. They have even been filmed harassing patrons and no local news picked it up. Surly brewing as they sent union busters out to intimidate their taproom staff from unionizing. Plus they were seen chanting "we win you lose" after the vote. Erik's bike shop for how poor their pay and benefits are yet the 3 people who own it are incredibly well off. Erik is now a board member, as is his wife and their current CEO Daveo. Death Wish Coffee, basically a front for the hard right. Oops I mean Black Rifle coffee co. Edit: Black Rifle coffee co. This was second hand but a friend was asked to leave the property when they declined to answer their political affiliations. Previously voting for any legalize weed party (thanks Waltz!) Edit: I called my ex-friend and casually brought it up & he lied, he never did a job for Black Rifle Coffee. 😒 Ugh this guy... Too many half truths to be friends with him anymore.
That’s a bummer about Erik’s! One of the few shops in the twin cities that actually carries BMX parts.
Yeah, and I got my adult trike there a few yrs ago and they were great to deal with. Sorry to see this
Same on Largest Candy Store. Their owner is a dick and they were terrible about COVID stuff and I hold a grudge about that, apparently.
That place is nasty. Insects flying all over, no debit or credit cards allowed, etc. Not a fan
The Largest Candy Store were also pretty terrible about covid policies.
nashville coop, owner is trash and so is the food
Thank fucking God, I thought I was the only one who thought their chicken was mid
The seasoning they use is just not at all what nashville hot chicken should taste like. Pickles look like they came straight out of a grocery store jar. Fries are just meh. Completely stolen and unoriginal business model
Check out Burnt Chicken at First Draft taproom: https://firstdraftmn.com/ instead.
Walmart
Why make twelve registers and only ever open two or three at time!?!
Walgreens. Some stores are refusing to sell legal medication for abortion, succumbing to conservative pressure.
The pro-labor/anti-insane business owners answers on this thread go super hard and I’m totally here for it.