Village Inn — Restaurant in Aurora

Update. I rarely rip on a place, I’d rather not review them but this only got worse (note we have a Wednesday night weekly get together of 4 to 10 folks) After VI reached out based on the first review (read below) things changed, the first revisit was great and the food was excellent (see photo). The next two times were terrible. Both time I ordered an item and asked for bacon on the side (I don’t eat it for religious reasons). The first visit back the omelet was served with the bacon so I asked for it to be fixed. The food was served again but they simply took the bacon out and reheated it. When I asked it to be remade the cook was noticeably upset (I walked it back to explain why taking it off wasn’t acceptable for me). The next time the sandwich was served with the bacon on a separate plate, awesome. Sadly, after a couple of bites I realized the sandwich was prepared with the bacon on it and having never eaten bacon ever (perhaps coupled with a psychosomatic response) sent me to the sink and ultimately toilet. When I got back to my chair and my friend saw me sick realized he had heard the waitress tell the cook the bacon was supposed to be on the side. Obviously the cook made it contrary to the order and instead of doing the right thing pulled the bacon off and put it on the side. The manager felt “terrible” and gave me a $5.00 coupon to come back, lol. Not only is this incredibly unethical, it was a violation of my trust and beliefs which is unacceptable by any business. As I said, I don’t write bad reviews but I feel after two events it’s necessary to let VI know there is a problem. And it’s not just this restaurant, I’ve had similar incidents at other VI’s I simply let go. Since I’ve moved my group to a different chain I hope they’ll figure out how to train their staff better.

Original unedited review: (intro)The cheese “omelet” was actually a joke, it’s was a folded egg with cheese sprinkled on top, I thought the definition of omelet was the egg around the filling (considering that’s what it’s called on the menu). The waitress was great and even cooked the toast last so everything was warm when it arrived… I’d say hot but I think that’s reserved for...

At least half of the times we've been to this location over the years, the service has been ABSOLUTELY atrocious, and we've finally decided that they've had their chance, and we won't be going back to this one.

Most recently, we arrived at the restaurant at maybe 8pm or so on a Friday night. It was clear that the front area was a bit busy; we were greeted and assured that they'd be with us in just a moment, so we waited near the door while the host checked out a few parties at the register, then seated the two groups ahead of us. By this time, it had probably been about ten minutes since we arrived. That's no problem at all, since we were at the back of the line. THAT, I can understand. But when he came back to the front, another large group of parties arrived at the register. Instead of asking them to wait and taking five seconds to show us to a table, he ignored us and started checking people out... one party would have been fine (albeit annoying), but there were probably at least five standing there. By this time, maybe 15 minutes in, we were starting to get frustrated. Another waitress stopped by the host podium, grabbed something, and walked away as we waited, without a word to us. About the time another big group of people showed up at the register and we were still waiting to be seated - about 20 minutes since we had arrived - we'd had it, and we left.

There is a serious lack of management at this restaurant. It would have been easy for the host to simply keep track of who had been waiting the longest, but he seemed intent on getting his money immediately. Even then, he could have called over one of the couple of other servers to have them bring us to a table so that he could attend to the register.

And again, keep in mind that this isn't the first time that their staff's complete lack of competence or general neglectful "service" has ruined what would have otherwise been a decent meal. Drive10 minutes in any direction (Parker, Southlands, Iliff and Chambers, or Arapahoe and Holly), and you'll hit another Village Inn and probably save yourself some time, in the long run. Avoid this one if you actually want service before you...

UPDATE: I followed the link the owner placed below in response to my original review (see below) and guess what? NOTHING HAPPENED. No response from anyone!

I've now dropped my rating from 2 stars down to 1. If I could give zero stars I would!

It's clear Village Inn doesn't care what happens in their establishment to their customers! And this tells me they condone and support this kind of treatment!

Buyer beware of you're a person of color. You will not be welcomed. I'll never set foot in this place again!

ORIGINAL REVIEW: It was a Friday morning at 8am and there was only about 2 other tables sat/ eating. Me and my children came in and sat down at the host stand waiting to be seated. I noticed a heavy set, short haired older woman wiping down tables that looked at me and my kids but kept wiping down tables. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I stood up to see if anyone could seat us and saw that same woman who looked right at me didn't say a word to me then walked away and went into the back. We waited another 5 minutes when another woman (younger brunette woman) ask me "have we been helped" told her no and what happened with the older lady. The younger woman sat us only to find out that older woman was our waitress! She came to get our order when we had barely sat down and picked up the menu! She said she'd be back when we were ready and then PROMPTLY went to greet a young white man at the host stand! We waited for 15 minutes even though she knew me and my family were there! She came back to take our order and stated they had no host...SHE was the host! After that brought us the most bitter coffee with dirty dishes to boot! My family and I love Village Inn but won't ever come back to this location ever again because of this treatment! And yes the woman is white and we are aa black family... I'll never contribute to an establishment where we're not welcomed. I did tip her (at least 10%) because I understand the service industry but she honestly deserved nothing after how she treated...