Palermo Pizza — Restaurant in Alpine Township

I am a senior citizen, legally blind and new to GR. I have never left a negative review online, ever, but after the very unprofessional behavior on the part of ownership, management and staff of Palermo’s Pizza, I feel this review is warranted to let others know about their lousy business practices. I placed an order by phone for a pizza to be delivered. The pie was supposed to be a 14” thin crust pie with tomatoes, mushrooms and black olives. What I got was a 14” pie with very few tomatoes, no mushrooms whatsoever, and so many black olives the pizza was inedible. The overly intense flavor and saltiness from the excessive amount of black olive slices completely ruined my dinner. I paid $28 for the pizza and delivery driver tip for a completely inedible pie but I did not panic. I went to the Palermo Pizza website and completed the form on their “contact us” page. I was not rude; I even complimented the courtesy and professionalism of the order taker and delivery driver. I also detailed the problem with my order and stated that I had placed the pizza in my refrigerator in case management wanted to inspect it. I wasn’t playing, I wasn’t lying, I wasn’t trying to get over on them, and I wanted them to know if there was any question at all I was willing to provide the evidence. I have retained a copy of my message and can produce it to further prove my point. So, what was the response? Crickets. Nothing, nada, zilch. Thinking that perhaps I didn’t properly send the message, I placed a call to Palermo’s and asked to speak with the manager. That person refused to speak with me. Keep in mind that I was a new customer. I had never ordered from Palermo’s Pizza before, and I was respectful in my dealings with them. Whether it be a new customer or a regular, no one should be treated with such disrespect. No one should have to pay for a dinner that is inedible. No one should ever support any business that shows such calloused disregard for a fellow human being as was demonstrated by Palermo’s Pizza.. I did not want to do this. The fact that I feel it necessary to provide a public negative review does not change that sentiment; I believe in and support local businesses that provide quality products and service. However, after several attempts to speak with management in an effort to seek a solution to a very unfortunate and expensive interaction with Palermo’s Pizza that left me with an inedible pizza, I am left with no other option. Shame on Palermo’s Pizza.

UPDATE 1/21/25: The owner of Palermo Pizza is not being forthright. I basically told him to quit with the extended "apology" (which was really just making excuses). He was trying to get me to accept a free pizza, which I didn't want, instead of a refund. Finally, after speaking with him on the phone for 20 minutes, he agreed to refund my money. I thanked him and we ended the conversation. I waited a week and when no refund was issued I sent him as email. His response was to lash out at me and tell me that I didn't know what kind of week he had. That was a true statement, but he didn't know what my week was like or how much I may have needed the refund. After my email, he finally did issue my refund. Here's one of the things I do not understand; he owns a pizza restaurant and delivery, so why didn't he just take the amount of the refund from the cash register or his pocket, hand it to the delivery driver and instruct that employee to take it to me? Why did he insist on a certified check? Why did he wait so long to issue the refund? I am retired, but in my career in the restaurant industry as manager, trainer and consultant, I never handled legitimate criticism in such a classless way, nor have I ever experienced such a lack of the most basic management skills. I wish the owner of Palermo Pizza the best of luck in this new year because he is going to need...

Update After speaking with the owner we decided to give this Palermo's another shot. Ordered the small cheese bread, a pizza, and a sub. It was indeed better this time around. The cheese bread did have flavor and the pizza was definitely better. We went with a pepperoni, sausage, and green peppers for toppings. My daughter had no complaints about her sub. (It was a great portion, lasted her two meals).

First time customers. Decided to try a new pizza place as we usually use Domino's. We ordered a pizza, the cheese bread, and some cinnamon bites for pick up. The food was ready in the time window provided and the person who gave us our order was polite. There is no eating area so it's takeout or delivery.

We did not enjoy the food though. The cheese bread was tasteless, the pizza seemed undercooked, and the cinnamon bites had little to no icing. Stomach felt uneasy after the initial meal and when eating the leftovers the day after.

The portions were good. I wish there was a better description on the website in regards to the cheese bread, a large ended up being way to much food for us. Also the pricing was fair. No complaints there.

All in all, we likely will not be choosing Palermo's Pizza again due to...

I placed an order at 8:15. I even got a confirmation text that they were working on my order. When my delivery time kept getting pushed back (from 8:55 to 9:35) I checked on Google and it said they closed at 9. I tried to call and there was no answer, there also wasn't a respond to the text that I sent. 45 minutes from the time they got my order to closing time was more than enough time to complete my small order. Don't accept orders/send confirmation texts if you're not going to fulfill the order.

In response to the reply: I believe a better attempt at contacting the person who made the order could have been made. I could have been contacted and told the situation as opposed to just waiting for the unknown. My order was not cancelled until I reached out to the help line, and when I tried to cancel my order after being late it said Palermo's was still expecting payment and I refuse to pay for items I did not get. Personally I believe a different delivery option should have taken over at that point as opposed to just nothing at all and placing blame. Perhaps don't use a third party delivery service if they aren't reliable because then this just looks bad overall. Hopefully this doesn't happen to...