CJ's Big Dipper — Restaurant in Bar Harbor

Food allergies beware! This establishment advertises dairy-free ice cream. However, the staff knowledge and procedures are not in place - nor is there an interest from the store management - to ensure a safe environment for food allergies.

Like most restaurants we visit, we thoroughly inquire about the ingredients and preparation process for dairy free items prior to purchasing since our child has a food allergy. We decided to give this place a try. Unfortunately, our child reacted to the dairy-free ice cream.

We returned to the store to inform them of the situation and request a refund for the uneaten order. Rather than thanking us for bringing the incident to their attention so they could look into the source of the problem and prevent further issues, they told us that the reaction was our problem, not theirs. The owner told us that they "serve many customers and don't get other complaints" and "our child must have gotten sick from somewhere else". The owner than walked away and hid in the back. We continued to discuss the situation with the store manager, but our concerns fell on deaf ears.

It was clear that they are only interested in the bottom line and not the quality of the products they serve nor the safety of...

CASH ONLY. This place is OKAY.

The ice cream was tasty but the overall texture was the worst ive had in Bar Harbor and the experience was not great. While the staff was friendly enough, this was the first time in Bar Harbor that I felt as though I had fallen into a tourist trap.

The shop also takes advantage of people by not clearly stating they are "cash only" until after they have made you the ice cream. They do have a sign, but it is small and easy to miss. ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

They then take advantage of you not wanting to waste the ice cream, pointing you to the ATM. They make additional money by placing an atm with a $2 fee in the shop so that they can avoid fees from credit card companies. I cant fault them for that, but it seems sketchy the way they are going about it, and many others have had this experience.

Im mostly upset that I fell for it and that I didnt simply go to Mount Desert for ice cream.

SHOUT OUT MT. DESERT ISLAND ICE CREAM! The blueberry flavor at Mount Desert Island is much more natural tasting, and you wont feel like you just got swindled for 20 bucks plus the 2 dollar fee.

This place is a skip unless you want to feel like a mosquito that falls for one of those bug zapper...

We and other customers were very shocked by the behavior of the very tall, obnoxious kid working behind the counter tonight. To a customer behind us in line, he loudly declared “sir, you have crap on your shirt”, (exact quote) and he then explained to the unfortunate customer that he was referring to the Buffalo Bills logo on his shirt.

As this poor customer stood there looking both shocked and confused, another customer in a completely separate party called out “young man, you shouldn’t use that kind of language”, which the tall doofus ignored as he then continued to badger the poor customer he had abused.

Our party, also shocked and confused, was reeling from this same beanpole of a kid’s unhelpful butting into our transaction that was being effectively managed by a separate, wonderful member of your team. In hindsight, we too should have said something in the moment. From the context we gathered from other employees this kid’s boorish behavior is not a one-off.

While we will continue to return to Bar Harbor, we will not return to...