Freetown Kitchen on Springfield Avenue
Cool - that's where Burnet BBQ was - right
jamie said:
Cool - that's where Burnet BBQ was - right
Yup. Report back. I think you’ll love it.
Burnet BBQ is still where it's been for the last decade -- at 1363 Burnet Ave. It's a favorite with us, but Freetown Kitchen sounds interesting.
Above posters are referring to Burnet Barbecue's former location on Springfield Avenue in Maplewood.
I realize that, but it must have been there a long time ago. In 2012 and possibly earlier, the space belonged to another restaurant, not Burnet BBQ. I believe it was called Churasco or Churrasco.
Aha! Did a search, and it was Burnet BBQ back in 2007 before it was Churrasco. I appreciate the long memories, but didn't want anyone to think Burnet BBQ is no more.
I'll give them benefit of doubt and assume that some emergency came up but this is too weird not to report.
We decided to try it tonight, ordered on line for pick up, got charged, and showed up to find the place closed.
On the way back, we signed in to CC company to reverse charge and it showed that the reversal of the charge was already pending. It's still weird.
bub said:
I'll give them benefit of doubt and assume that some emergency came up but this is too weird not to report.
We decided to try it tonight, ordered on line for pick up, got charged, and showed up to find the place closed.
On the way back, we signed in to CC company to reverse charge and it showed that the reversal of the charge was already pending. It's still weird.
Yeah, you'd think they would have left a note on the door or something.
more empathy please during a giant rainstorm and pandemic, maybe they got sick or couldn't get there to put up a sign. especially if they were already giving people their money back, they were probably having a really bad night.
I'm not mad or looking for a personal apology but if you're unexpectedly closed on a Saturday night and your order system is somehow on autopilot charging people for food they are not going to get, you should post something after the fact even if its just "We had an emergency that caused us to close unexpectedly etc." A business that pretends like nothing happened is not one I'm going back to.
I’ve never used their online system. It’s much easier to just call them.
Calling would have saved me a trip, it would not have made for an easier ordering experience. Place was closed. We tried calling when we were at the building. No answer so they did not have any kind of call forwarding system.
I'm sure something happened and maybe its terrible, who knows. But when (if?) they reopen, they should post something just for the sake of customer relations.
bub said:
Calling would have saved me a trip, it would not have made for an easier ordering experience. Place was closed. We tried calling when we were at the building. No answer so they did not have any kind of call forwarding system.
I'm sure something happened and maybe its terrible, who knows. But when (if?) they reopen, they should post something just for the sake of customer relations.
I doubt they know about MOL.
My guess is they will say something somewhere even if its a note on the door. I hope so. They may not know about MOL but they do have their own web site.
BTW, the reversal of the charge disappeared on our CC system. Only the charge is pending now. The CC customer rep told us to wait and see if it goes through. It has to go through before you can dispute it. It just gets weirder.
bub said:
BTW, the reversal of the charge disappeared on our CC system. Only the charge is pending now. The CC customer rep told us to wait and see if it goes through. It has to go through before you can dispute it. It just gets weirder.
As long as the charge hasn’t gone through all you can do is wait until tomorrow. Call them then. Just strange that they wouldn’t be open on a Saturday evening, this was before the rains started right?
They had posted on social media they were closed yesterday, 8/21 and would reopen today.
I love their food and we typically order online but it’s not always ready when it should be. That said, it’s delicious and a great value.
By social media, do you mean Facebook? They aren't reaching as large an audience as they could by incorporating MOL and Nextdoor into their social media PR.
Try it again. Food is excellent and the folks who run it are quite nice.
FYI as of this morning, the cc charge seems to have disappeared.
I don't want to belabor this to death. It wasn't handled well but its not a catastrophe and I will try the food.
In what has to be the worst recommendation I can think of in recent history, a third person has the same issue. This is off FB
“ Hey, what’s the situation with Freetown Kitchen? I placed an online order via their website which uses clover for ordering. I have done this multiple times before. I drove over to pick up, and the place is locked up no one inside? Call phone, no pick up and no way to leave a message. Frustrated, they have to cancel that order and credit the card. Can’t a business disable ordering via apps if not open for business?“
avoid.
I think what it comes down to is they forgot to disable the app when they made the late decision to close that night, for whatever reason. Presumably, in the ordinary course of business, you preset the times and days the app is on so people don't order and get charged during your normal closed days and times.
I agree it’s weird. I saw the Facebook post mentioned above and now don’t see their Instagram saying they were closing Saturday but would be open Sunday.
Since I saw the post on Saturday I have to imagine there is some kind of emergency and hope everything is ok.
Redfruit said:
In what has to be the worst recommendation I can think of in recent history, a third person has the same issue. This is off FB
“ Hey, what’s the situation with Freetown Kitchen? I placed an online order via their website which uses clover for ordering. I have done this multiple times before. I drove over to pick up, and the place is locked up no one inside? Call phone, no pick up and no way to leave a message. Frustrated, they have to cancel that order and credit the card. Can’t a business disable ordering via apps if not open for business?“
avoid.
Go easy on yourself. Your recommendation to avoid something that has worked “multiple times before” for someone isn’t the worst I can think of.
DaveSchmidt said:
Redfruit said:
In what has to be the worst recommendation I can think of in recent history, a third person has the same issue. This is off FB
“ Hey, what’s the situation with Freetown Kitchen? I placed an online order via their website which uses clover for ordering. I have done this multiple times before. I drove over to pick up, and the place is locked up no one inside? Call phone, no pick up and no way to leave a message. Frustrated, they have to cancel that order and credit the card. Can’t a business disable ordering via apps if not open for business?“
avoid.Go easy on yourself. Your recommendation to avoid something that has worked “multiple times before” for someone isn’t the worst I can think of.
You’re wrong. Someone recommends a place to me, I order food from that place, I go to pick up the food from that place, and it is closed and then I can’t get my money back from the credit card company without a battle. This is the definition of a terrible recommendation. 0h, and then you learn the same thing happened to at least two other people!
Avoid.
Did you have to battle, Redfruit? I assumed every one else's charges disappeared like mine did and the restaurant had something to do with it. The charge went from pending to gone. We did not have to dispute it.
Redfruit said:
DaveSchmidt said:
Redfruit said:
In what has to be the worst recommendation I can think of in recent history, a third person has the same issue. This is off FB
“ Hey, what’s the situation with Freetown Kitchen? I placed an online order via their website which uses clover for ordering. I have done this multiple times before. I drove over to pick up, and the place is locked up no one inside? Call phone, no pick up and no way to leave a message. Frustrated, they have to cancel that order and credit the card. Can’t a business disable ordering via apps if not open for business?“
avoid.Go easy on yourself. Your recommendation to avoid something that has worked “multiple times before” for someone isn’t the worst I can think of.
You’re wrong. Someone recommends a place to me, I order food from that place, I go to pick up the food from that place, and it is closed and then I can’t get my money back from the credit card company without a battle. This is the definition of a terrible recommendation. 0h, and then you learn the same thing happened to at least two other people!
Avoid.
ridiculous take.
Elle_Cee said:
By social media, do you mean Facebook? They aren't reaching as large an audience as they could by incorporating MOL and Nextdoor into their social media PR.
Actually, I think they posted on Instagram. I don’t necessarily agree but several local small restaurants focus on Instagram and maybe Facebook, not much else. At least Freetown has a full menu online. A lot of places have nothing.
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I love this place! Check it out if you've never been there. Pan African Soul food. Really great chicken, shrimp, salmon dishes and wonderful sides. They have a great kale Caesar salad, rice and beans, etc. I haven't tried the red snapper yet. I don't think you'll be disappointed.