Gino's Pizza — Restaurant in Thunder Bay

lengthy read, skip on by if not interested

July, 2020- ordered 2 pizzas for pick up online from the Balmoral Street Gino’s in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

1 L Hawaiian 1 L Mexican

Husband picked up the pizzas, opened them when he got home, and the Hawaiian was correct, but the Mexican had all of the correct toppings AND all of the Hawaiian toppings on it too. I call the store, explain the situation, expecting a quick apology and maybe even an offer to send out the correct pizza ASAP- though we offered to go back. Nope. She argued with me, called me a liar, hung up on me(twice). Refused to give me her or her manager’s name, against policy says her boss. Before she hung up the second time I calmly tried to explain to her I have my online email receipt showing what I ordered is different than the store receipt we received(same order number, time and totals on both receipts). She didn’t care. Meanwhile, my husband is taking the pizza back to show her and ask to have the correct pizza made as we’re leaving 3 people hungry- she refused to have the pizza remade and they would not refund my debit card. Husband left the pizza on the counter and walked out completely baffled. I’ll try to save all the lengthy details, but long story short, I contacted a woman named Lisa C at head office no less than 3 times, and had back and forth email exchanges with her no less than 4 times, having to chase her down each time as she never once got back to me. The lousy $16 each pizza cost is nothing compared to the time and effort I’ve wasted simply trying to get my money back for one pizza. It’s not about the money. It’s about the principal, the horrendous customer service from bottom to top, and the fact that they have my money for goods I never received. Lisa C at one point did contact the Balmoral location owner/manager and simply stated he refused to refund even with the conflicting order receipts. Feel free to tag the owner if you know who it is, he can reach out to me and do the right thing(it’s never too late). To be clear, the owner and head office are very well aware of the situation, and after trying to deal with head office and even trying to get their first names, I now know why their location owners/managers and staff behave so badly. I attempted to call head office again tonight, and when I asked the name of the lady who answered the phone, she promptly hung up on me. When I called back I explained I just need to speak to someone who can resolve an issue at a local location she said she would transfer me, when I asked to who, she said Lisa. I said no thank you, who else can help. She said her boss, Jim who isn’t available now. I said I had been waiting 3 weeks for Jim to call back, she asked for my name. What!? I said no thank you again, I will call him again tomorrow.

For those who think I’m likely exaggerating the situation, you can find my call logs to HO attached, my email exchanges with Lisa, and the 2 differing receipts for the same order.

I’m aware I sound completely frustrated in my emails, because I am. I can’t imagine ever treating a customer this way, or not being fired for doing so. I generally only post good reviews, and have always given businesses an opportunity to fix their error when...

Update March 2025 Ownership must have changed. I know the owners had it for sale for a few years. The dough was very thick and undercooked ... very gooey and it just seemed like a different recipe. The ground beef they are using comes from an extruder and looks like little worms. It's not the regular ground beef that has always been used for as long as we have been buying pizza here. It just didn't taste the same at all. They were both bland. We didn't wait for delivery. We usually go pick it up so we can have it as hot as possible. It was very freshly made, but completely under cooked and pale. We almost always order 2 large pizzas. One with pepperoni and ground beef, the other with pepperoni, ham, and bacon. We really liked the old Gino's. It's so sad to have to look for a different pizza place. I have to drop the 5 stars to only 1 unfortunately and I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PIZZA ANYMORE!!!

In the pics, I took side shots so you can see the wet dough.

June 2018 Love the pizza. My daughter, her son, and my other daughter's husband have worked at the balmoral street Gino's in the past and got along great with the owners. They were always treated with respect. Have never had a problem with them or their food. They also have gluten-free pizza dough, which was awesome for my son (he's gluten intolerant). Recommended to...

“I put them in the oven four times, if I put them in any longer they would burn” Says the owner of this store. As you can see, they are COMPLETELY undercooked.

“I had a guy who came in and tested our food and they said it was fine”, which is super relevant to the situation we are dealing with as these are clearly the wings he tested. I was wondering who the guy the owner mentions so I can ask him how dealing with salmonella was.

This is completely unacceptable and quite frankly disgusting.

“It is just the veins, our veins are bigger than usual wing veins”, is the defensive line she uses as she argues that they are not harmful, we are clearly just delusional.

Please take a look at this photo attached before purchasing from this restaurant, may have a key factor in if you are willing to pay for raw chicken or not. Also take into consideration that they are not willing to help the situation but instead just throw it in your face that you are wrong.

Oh and by the way, the people in the restaurant making your food aren’t wearing masks whilst making your food. Great...