Benny Marzano's — Restaurant in Blacksburg

A terrible, upsetting experience at Benny Marzano's.

I was visiting Blacksburg to tour Virginia Tech. Late on Saturday evening, I tagged along with a few of my friends to Benny's, which, according to them, is supposed to be Blacksburg's best pizza spot. We waited patiently in line for 30+ minutes (it gets rowdy and busy on Saturday nights, so I both expected and understood the wait). I was more than happy to wait for a slice. But, as soon as I got up to the counter, I was immediately taken aback by the behavior of the employees. They were outwardly hostile and angry. I put in the order for my friend and I, and paid without issue. My other friend was paying separately, so we stood slightly to the side while he took out his wallet. Unfortunately, his card declined. I looked up from our conversation, and looked at the cashiers. They glanced at each other (a young man and woman, college-aged) and began laughing. Yeah, LAUGHING. Loudly and blatantly, right in his face. Horrified, I immediately apologized to them (for some reason), and paid for my friend's order. Look, I was in the service industry for a long time. In fact, I even worked at a similar pizza joint in my hometown. I can say that I have never seen cashiers be so rude and belligerent. I immediately took my friends to wait for our orders elsewhere, far from the counter. I was shocked. None of us were inebriated, we were all polite and prompt. We hadn't said or done anything that would warrant that reaction.

I picked up the order from the counter myself. They forgot the sauces that we ordered, but I did not want them enough to talk to those employees again. We left without the sauces, three big slices (and six paper plates) in hand. The pizza, unlike the service, was warm and welcoming. They serve slices hot out of the oven, as advertised: perfectly baked with a crackly, chewy crust. The slices were huge, but the thin crust gives you a good excuse to eat one (or two). In other words, the food was great. My only gripe food-wise was the lack of seasoning. Some dried herbs and garlic salt would have bumped the flavor up another notch.

To management, I need you to understand that this is a serious problem. Your service is just as important as your food. And really, the food was great! I just don't think I can ever go back after the shocking...

If I could give them zero stars I would. Worst customer service I've ever received. As I walked into the almost empty restaurant the girl at the counter looked at me and then turned around around to chat with the other two employees. As I went from looking at the tattoo on the back of her neck to looking the other two employees in eyes with amazement, I listened to them talk to one another. I wondered to myself "do they actually worked there or were there hanging out". The first minute of standing at the counter wasn't to bad, as I was listening to their whiney conversation. It was slightly entertaining. After that first minute I decided to see how long the employees would just look at me like I was a annoying statue and go about their conversation. Around the 4 minute mark she turned around for the tenth time and finally asked me "are you waiting on something". I used to work in the service industry for six years and have seen my fair share of bad service. But this beats it all. I'll never eat at...

One slice is definitely enough! If you've never eaten here before, you will be shocked to discover how BIG the pizzas are. A whole pizza would practically feed an entire army! We usually just get individual slices as one slice is plenty, and quite a site to see! The pizza is great and you can't beat the atmosphere. If you're familiar with Blacksburg at all then you'll recognize the location as the old photo/camera shop, the one that always had newspapers right outside.Well now it's a pizzeria. They have drinks, sodas, water, teas, etc. and also a small selection of desserts too. There are a handful of picnic tables outside for you to eat at if you so choose or you can sit inside at the counter if space is available. And inside the bathroom sits the old Backstreets Pizza sign, or what's left of it anyway. There's a few parking spots right on site but there's also lots of metered parking on the adjacent streets and at the...