Freebirds World Burrito — Restaurant in Allen

Man, this one hurts to write.

I was 15 years old when this Freebirds opened and it was a staple for me through my teen years. Being one of the only (if not the only) vegetarian punk kids in Allen TX, it was one of few places I felt at home. The vibe was like Austin: weird and fun! Plus, they had the best burritos I'd ever had at a better price and more options than Chipotle but without the pretentious pretext.

I moved to Colorado in 2016 and moved back here last year. One of the first things I did is have some Freebirds. It was still great! Pre-packaged chips, higher prices and the absence of the spinach tortilla was a damper but it didn't ruin it. They also had vegan chorizo which was great!

I went back today on my lunch break and man, I am really bummed. Upon walking in there were several people in line and the employees seemed to be going at half-speed (maybe they had a lot of delivery orders, who knows) so I had time to observe my surroundings. I noticed the glass in front of the grill where they have "Please don't feed our grillerz" stickered was absolutely filthy. Not the kind of filth that accumulates after a week of being slammed and being unable to clean, this looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months. My eyes then drifted past that and I noticed a huge pile of empty boxes in the back. Not a health concern but indicative of how much care is given to cleaning up around the restaurant. Then I looked behind me and noticed how greasy the table they have the drink machine on was. Looked like it was wiped down with a water soaked rag because nothing was cleaned, just smeared.

Normally I'm not this critical, I've worked in food service for nearly a collective decade and know how it goes, especially when you're an underpaid kid who really doesn't care but all this combined made me walk out. If they can't be bothered to clean customer-facing surfaces or throw away boxes, I know there is a significant likelihood food safety is handled in a flippant manner as well.

I feel like I've lost a genuine connection to my youth and what's more, my favorite burrito place. I read some other reviews from the past few months and I see someone saying this place failed a health inspection which adds up with what I saw and additionally that they were apparently sold to another company. This all makes sense but I'm still pretty gutted over this one.

Glad Qdoba is opening locations around the DFW metro because this Freebirds is out for me and most Chipotle locations have gone downhill in a similar fashion.

This is...

As a former employee of freebies for 4 years, (204-2018) I am soooo disappointed. From both this location as a whole and the company. For starters, I asked for nachos with chips on the side. The employee began making my nachos with chips in it. Chopped it up to he didn’t hear me, I repeated myself. Then another gentleman let me know “we don’t do that anymore” I explained my confusion and he said “idk , something the company decided”. So obviously he was not given the “why” or was not trained on the subject, OR didn’t care to explain. He then says “I’ll do it for you one last time” My first issue with this is, it seemed like a burden, so that was really disheartening. Second, from a company complaint that I have, what about people who have sensory issues and don’t want soggy nachos. Do you do that for DoorDash orders as well? I would absolutely ask for a refund if I received it like that. When I worked for freebies, that was the expectation, that the chips be placed on the side for to go orders. You know, to please the customer? Going forward, items were being placed on, and I noticed the corn isn’t roasted. It’s already incredibly disappointing that hardly any of these products are being made by hand in the mornings anymore, and instead coming from distributors. But to take away from all taste and quality of the products you’re charging an arm and a leg for is absolutely insane. We get to the counter to pay and I grab a cookie to make it a meal, and ask for it to be made a meal, the same gentleman gives me the same lazy excuse of “corporate took that away too”. I’m so sorry but at least show concern or empathy to your customers toward their frustration and not just say “yup cooperate did that”. Give something more than the bare minimum man. My husband ordered chips and dip as a meal combo. And all of the chips were absolutely crushed. I don’t mean that some were just broken a little. I mean a bag LITTERALLY full of chip crums. From the poor service, my husband felt reluctant to even go and ask for a new bag because of the put out behavior of what I’m assuming to have been the MOD. Freebirds, as a company, I truly hope you’re hearing this coming from someone who loved every minute of working here from high school and through college. Please consider brining SOME of the atmosphere that people came for back, starting with your customers privilege of deciding how they...

Disappointed with the APP and lack of service in the restaurant at the Allen location.

First thing that made me mad was once I ordered on the app and clicked pay it automatically charged me over $4 for a tip when I did not see this option and I did not get prompted for this option it simply charged me 20% on a take out order that I have to go into the store and pick up. This is really a crappy automatic feature that should not be in the app as it feels like a scam to get more money out of you. Shame on Freebirds!

What put me over the top is when I went into the restaurant to get my too go order there was no designated shelf or place to pick up my order. There were 4 people in line and I just stood at the register while the 2 line workers helped people in line and the to go girl had her back to the restaurant the entire time. After the first couple rang up and paid I had to interrupt and ask if there is an area to pick up my order. She asked what the name was I told her and she turned around grabbed my bag and handed it to me. What is the point of ordering ahead of time if I have to stand in line and wait for everyone else to complete their order? Ridiculous system and should have a shelf or table by the register where people can grab it and go not have to wait 5 plus minutes and in line to pick up their food that is already ready!

Freebirds need to reevaluate their order a head of time system and their app. I feel cheated with the $4 plus automatic tip that I did not agree to and then to wait 5 plus min to get my food that was just sitting on the counter behind the register is not efficient and very inconvenient for the paying customer! I will not be...