Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Alabaster

SERIOUS LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM. I know that the Alabaster location has changed how they do things and it's not exactly table service like it used to be. That's a little disappointing given they kept the prices the same. This is just a minor irritation compared to what happened during my visit. There were 2 female employees that seemed to enjoy chatting with each other. They chatted in between occasional tasks. That's really irritating to see the place kinda busy and my husband needing a refill of tea and we needed napkins... But they have time to chat and gossip. The other part of their chatting that ear annoying is despite the noise of the kitchen, patrons and other employees, their conversation was loud enough to be heard. I was able to gather that at least one of them must have been a shift leader... Which, imho, "leaders" should lead by example... not chatting. Apparently, they were talking about other employees. Whether or not both or one or neither were managers, they shouldn't have even had time for chatting AND they shouldn't have done it where others could hear AND that's seriously irresponsible behavior talking bad about people they work with there. Especially if one or both were managers, that's a horrible example to set and if I could hear them, other patrons and employees could too. Managers should NEVER discuss any thing other than fact or strategy on the dining floor/ open work areas. Talking badly about anyone isn't nice and even if it's factual that they need to improve, that's a conversation that needs to happen with the employee that needs improvement, not others. That's extremely unprofessional. I've worked retail and food service all my life and been everything from a busser to a shift manager. If I had been their manager and caught the talking they were doing, I'd certainly have written them up at the very least. Clearly, asking with the "format" change they have dropped their standards for management, not just employees. I saw new faces today. Not sure what happened to the old ones, but I'm betting they left for greener pastures. A store manager/ FOH BOH mgr/ shift lead should be able to bestow a sense of integrity, good work ethic, ability to be flexible and adaptive , support other team members, be kind, offer constructive criticism, not be sarcastic, not complain, and most of all NOT GOSSIP. These girls need to learn these things. I certainly didn’t pay for gossip with a side of food. The food was great, it's always great... I have to give that to them. That's why I...

Update: Thursday, January 27, 2022. I went through the drive through and order the 2 pound rib dinner with small end ribs, collard greens, and Mac and cheese. I also got banana pudding. My ribs were seasoned very good but I receive center cut and not small end like I requested.

But, I still will give the ribs 4 stars ⭐️. But my banana pudding I give it 1 ⭐️ because they had more cream on the outside of the container and my portion inside was smaller than normal. In fact there is no banana pudding ☹️! I’ m very disappointed that they rushed and gave me with this mess.. ( See the pictures).

I called and talked to the manager Kaylyn and she apologized for my order being incorrect. She reimbursed me and only charged me $6.75 for my order. I give her 5 Stars ⭐️ for her making me feel important and valuable. She asked me to come back and I replied I will.

7 months ago Review:

I placed an order inside the Restaurant because the line was way too long. I order the Spare Rib 1 pound dinner. I got the lean end Rib bones with Bake Beans and Macaroni and cheese. Now, I was skeptical at first because I’ve only purchased from the one on Oxmoor Road in Homewood, Alabama.

However, the ribs were seasoned down to the BONES. I was so surprised 😮 and very happy. They were delicious and I wished I had more. But, I give them 4 stars ⭐️ only because they didn’t give me as many bones as the other location.

Next, the baked beans were the best I’ve had in a long time. They were seasoned perfectly and they were very good. 4 Stars ⭐️

My Macaroni cheese was okay. I’ve had better. I give it 3 stars ⭐️.

The service could have been better. But, will give her the benefit of the doubt, because she was in training. I had to wait for someone else to place my order and print me out a receipt with the survey on it because she didn’t know how. However I still gave them both a $5.00 Seed (Tip).

Next, I love doing my Surveys especially when I get $5.00 off my next meal at Jim’s Nicks of $20.00 or more that’s why it’s important to do your survey’s . Because not only do you save money but you can get more...

So long Jim 'n Nicks. Been a big fan for 20 years but the new serve yourself model is awful. Here begins a terrible review of the new service model.

When we walked into the Alabaster location, there is nothing to let you know that the normal, welcoming service model has changed. No host or hostess, just a girl happens to walk by (if you're lucky) that asks you if you didn't know you order at the counter now, who then rolls her eyes at you because you didn't already know that J&N's is now closer to McDonald's than a relatively nice BBQ spot.

If you want more than one beer be prepared to get up and walk to the bar to get it for yourself. If you order something besides beer be prepared to look at an empty glass for long stretches of time. We sat at the table, six of us, and the four who ordered soft drinks mostly sat with empty glasses, and this after they'd filled up their own cups themselves initially, just like at Five Guys. Five guys service model vibes at J&N's these days.

There are no dedicated waiters. There are just floaters who do more floating than serving. I sat in the corner and watched about half the customers get up to get things themselves. We debated getting to-go boxes ourselves for about 10 minutes before I flagged someone down to get us one. No one was coming to save us.

I'm sure there is some consultancy firm that told them that this was a good idea, but the fact that the place was mostly empty and that people were consistently getting up to get things themselves tells me that it probably will not end up being that. When the service goes back to normal I'll go back because the food is consistently good.

Unfortunately there are good barbeque restaurants all over Shelby County that are just as close and feel less like a Five Guys experience. We just dropped $100 at a place where the service felt like fast food. Been nice knowing you. Hurts less now that there's a Saw's in Riverchase, but the relationship is...