The Peoples Drug — Restaurant in Alexandria

My wife and I went to Peoples Drug for the first time last night to meet an old friend from out of town. He had a party of four previously with him. Collectively we totaled six. I’ll also say I’ve never written a review in my life until now. I feel this must be shared.

As we walked in, we met our friend and were immediately approached by the staff (Courtney) who seemed frustrated that we walked in the joint. The staff member sternly told my buddy that no other guests were welcome due to their policy of having no more than six members in a party.... she was convinced we were a party of twelve. We were shocked at the misunderstanding. Apparently because my friend had made friends with another table, the bartender associated that party as our own. But to be sternly talked to for showing up...STRIKE ONE.

With the bad vibes in the air, I was hesitant to order a drink. I decided a quick old fashioned would pass the time and ease the tension before we were able to leave. They asked if I wanted to open a tab, but I pulled out cash. Courtney informed me that The People’s Drug didn’t accept cash....you gotta be kidding me?! At this point I’ve just given up at any attempt to have a good time here. What kind of bar doesn’t take cash?! STRIKE TWO!

Lastly, my buddy and another guy set their drink down and walked to the outdoor seating to have a quick discussion. Upon the bartender’s discovery of their movement, he made a bit of a scene including a comment, “these guys are aholes!” He stormed out and told the guys they can’t have their drinks outside... they were on the table inside. He then told them the establishment isn’t one that people move around like that. That was an ironic comment because inside, Courtney was asking the girls to move tables three different times. Courtney then approached the ladies in our group and told them we were all being asked to close our tabs and leave. My reaction was almost one of relief. Finally we could leave and go to a real bar. BUT let me briefly explain why they wanted us to leave. They claimed my buddy called that table from earlier, aholes???? (Atleast the name calling was consistent.) My buddy doesn’t cuss and he is one of the most friendly southern hospitality type dude ever. We were just flat out shocked... STRIKES THREE AND FOUR... we paid, left no tip, and proceeded to a better location.

I’ll never go back despite...

Truly disgusted by the rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional experience my friends and I encountered at The People’s Drug on Sunday, 9/13/2020.

My party and I were looking for somewhere to eat after leaving the Alexandria Art Festival and notice this place had outside seating. I called and was told by the employee that outside seating was on a first come first serve basis. Once arriving there we my friend was told that there would be a 20min wait to sit down, opposite, of what was told to me on the phone. After being told we would have to wait, we then attempted to wait inside and were loudly reprimanded by the waiter, a tall slender white man, to not stand next to a couple who were eating. We were not close and we had masks on. He further said we were not allowed to wait inside the restaurant at all, even though there were other customers inside the establishment.

After going outside to secure a table for our group, we were then loudly reprimanded again for attempting to move chairs from the adjacent table. We were told that they would bring chairs out for us and that we could actually wait inside, which we declined. Once my friends approached a waitress came to bring out menus but did not give confirmation on where the extra chairs were or how long we would have to wait for everyone to be seated. After receiving no direction we attempted to combine the two tables next to us to fit our party but was immediately aggressively yelled at us like children and said, “can you please not move the tables. Please wait and we will take care of you.” This is after already waiting 5 minutes with no acknowledgement from the waitress.

We were NOT treated like patrons who were attempting to spend their money at this establishment, we were NOT shown a level of customer service that should be granted to everyone who visits the restaurant, and quite frankly it left my group of Black friends feeling discriminated against and belittled. I promise to never visit this...

I absolutely love this place! Bring cash to tip your servers so they get paid (explanation below).

Drinks Unique cocktails that are rotating every season or so. A little on the pricey side ranging from $15-18ish but still worth going to try.

Food I’ve only tried a couple of things, but what I have tried, I really enjoyed. Hamburger, fried mushrooms, fried chicken skin, meat and cheese board, and fries were all amazing.

Space/Atmosphere Small elongated space that isn’t really meant for large groups. Two large tables inside and two outside that fit a (6) top but the rest are (2) people tables or counter space. Vibes are always great, although music is a little loud for me.

Bartenders/Servers I’m beyond happy they got rid of their former manager who was so nasty to customers and refused to accept tables of 3-4 on the weekends because they “wouldn’t be able to keep up.” I don’t see the current manager any, but I will say I notice the staff is always changing now, which is concerning that it might have something to do with management/ownership? I know a former bartender had told me that staff gets cashed out on their tips on a very very odd biweekly schedule, and it never added up to what they were tracking the cash out to be. I was a server in high school and college, and I never had to wait more than 24 hours to get cashed out on my credit card tips. Hopefully management sees this and change their policy because that’s unreasonable and lazy on their part, esp when servers/bartenders rely on that day to day money. As patrons, bring...