Blood Brothers Brewing — Restaurant in Toronto

Warning: Violation of Food Safety Standards and Lack of Crisis Management

Despite the appealing atmosphere, several issues quickly emerged among our birthday guests last Friday. As someone with a background in Market Research and Business Quality Management, I was particularly attentive throughout the night.

• Service Failures: The staff, clearly overwhelmed, delivered wrong orders. In one instance, I received an order intended for someone else. Amid the chaos, I opted not to return the dish but mentioned I would eat it on the spot. Later, an attendant realized the mix-up and simply redirected the already-touched food to the correct customer. When that customer requested a replacement for receiving a tampered dish, the staff refused and responded rudely.

• Unequal Treatment: A notable discrepancy in service was observed: while a male guest was allowed to pay the bill separately, a female guest was met with shouting. She was also indirectly characterized as overreacting by the staff's tone and approach when she attempted to address an error regarding separate billing. This unequal treatment further compounded the negative experience.

• Sanitary and Environmental Concerns: Later in the evening, guests noticed mice around the venue. A video of the pest activity was recorded and attached to a review. Instead of addressing these health concerns directly, the management resorted to indirect measures.

• Crisis Management Failures: Deflected Responsibility Coerced the host guest, during the birthday party, into asking his female companion to delete her negative post, causing discomfort and embarrassment. Next day, sent an email to the birthday person instead of directly addressing the negative feedback from the affected guest.

This response raises serious concerns not only about customer service but also about the ethical treatment of consumers. In Canada, consumers have the right to leave honest feedback without fear of retaliation. Reviews are a fundamental part of consumer rights and transparency in the marketplace. Attempting to pressure or intimidate a guest into deleting a review is not only unprofessional but also contradicts the principles of fair business practices outlined by the Competition Bureau of Canada, which protects consumers from misleading or unfair business conduct.

Professional Quality Management Perspective From a quality management standpoint, this experience highlights critical failures in both operational execution and customer relationship management. The lack of prompt and empathetic crisis management not only jeopardizes customer trust but also potentially violates local sanitary regulations that mandate a clean, safe environment free from pests (Ontario Food Premises Regulation, O. Reg. 493/17).

Moreover, the unequal treatment - where a male guest received preferential service while a female guest was shouted at, her concerns dismissed, and even coerced into deleting her review—demonstrates a significant failure in upholding equitable service standards. A well-managed establishment should ensure that every customer is treated with respect, reinforcing the importance of robust staff training, adequate staffing, and strict adherence to quality and safety protocols.

Final Thoughts: This experience revealed that the establishment prioritized protecting its reputation over delivering a good customer experience or managing the crisis. Instead of addressing the issues, they reacted defensively, trying to suppress criticism rather than solve the problems. If they had focused on the customer experience, the situation could have been resolved effectively.

With so many positive reviews, I now wonder: are these truly genuine experiences, or is the absence of negative feedback the result of management’s repeated requests for review deletions? Businesses that genuinely care about their reputation should focus on consistent quality and addressing concerns professionally, as authentic positive experiences build a strong brand - not review...

EDIT: I'd like to update my review after speaking with a representative from the brewery. They reached out to me rather quickly and assured me that they took what they felt were necessary steps in response to my review. I'm very happy with their decision and willingness to make my negative experience a positive one. For that I will most certainly go back next time I am in the area. I can now recommend this brewery to anyone if they are close as the beer is fantastic.

The beer itself was solid and very tasty, but the service and atmosphere ruined the entire experience. The line to purchase a drink and a bottle are separate but right next to each other and with how small the actual facility is, you end up with people reaching in front of you to order and pay for a drink, which is really inconvenient.

We asked if one particular beer was available in a bottle to purchase and the guy (wearing a red hat) who was running the bottle checkout just shook his head and raised his arms in an "are you stupid?" sort of way before flatly telling us it won't be available until later this year.

We finished our beer and wanted to pay and get out but because there was 1 person running the bar it took forever and you risked cutting in front of someone who had been waiting in line. The red hat guy from earlier tried jumping between the bottle line and behind the bar to help catch up but seemed like the customers were nothing but an inconvenience to him, with other customers asking questions and him doing his "are you stupid?" arm raise again. He acted like every single customer is just "supposed to know" the way things work around there. Well, I'm sorry, but your brewery doesn't run like any other brewery I've been to and it's quite confusing for a first-time guest.

We decided that we wanted to purchase a couple of bottles though, because we did like the beer. When we finally got to the front of the line to make the purchase and pay, red hat man looked at our (US) money and rudely said "Do you have anything else?" When we inquired about what he meant he said, "That's fake money. Do you have Canadian money?" We were taken aback and when we asked if our $100 bill was too fake, he changed his tune and said it was fine and tried to act friendly and interested in us.

If this is the type of service that is deemed acceptable, this place won't last long, no matter how good the beer is. I've seen many similar complaints that match up to my experiences and it doesn't actually seem like anything is being done about it. Is this guy one of the owners and can't be fired? If so, he needs to reevaluate his duties because customer service is not one of them. We will not be coming back here ever again simply because of him and we will pass the word on to avoid this brewery as well. It's a shame because the beers we tried were actually very good but they just don't seem to care one bit about...

Good beer. Absolute chaos on the inside.

Like many Toronto breweries and restaurants who have found success with the young social crowd, Blood Brothers seems to have been entirely unprepared to handle its popularity, and seems unwilling to accommodate it.

The few times I've been inside, even on weekdays, it's been standing room only. Hard to fault them for that in such a small space - since they are a brewery, they have limited seating (maybe 25 seats including the bar), which is understandable. They also allow dogs and strollers, which makes it more hectic, but is fairly common for breweries these days.

What's not cool is the total lack of a system once you're inside. The bottle shop and drinks line are currently one and the same, staffed by one bartender who has to keep running to the back for some reason. There is another bartender who only takes care of bar orders, and will ignore you if you try to get their attention. The line cuts right through the bar area, and quickly becomes a mess once it merges with the seating area. None of this is made clear to you upon walking in, you're just meant to know somehow.

Once I had figured out the line I was meant to be in to purchase some bottles, it became obvious that nobody was respecting what little system there was. People kept cutting in front and ordering drinks for themselves and all their friends. After about 15 minutes of this, I went to the front of the line to ask one of the bartenders what I should be doing, and they told me to get back in line. As I tried explaining the confusion (where is the line? am I meant to fight cage-match style with people who cut in front?) one of the patrons took it upon themselves to confront me, getting in my face and throwing down such gems as "you know this is a bar, right?" and "why don't you go to the back of the line where you're wanted?" (my fave being when he tried to puff out his chest and intimidate me when I told him where he could shove his opinion.)

The staff, far from trying to deal with any of this, just seemed miserable and resigned to their fates, ignoring any attempts to get information or rectify anything until I finally got to the front of the line (about half an hour on a Saturday afternoon.) I was only able to complete my purchase because of a kind patron who took pity on me, and flagged down the bartender who had been serving them. Do yourselves a favour, order their excellent beer on their online bottle shop and avoid this hipster...