The Parkway Tavern — Restaurant in Cary

I have celiac disease and brought in my own food to eat after 1. Examining the menu online and in person, 2. Witnessing the food coming out of the kitchen 3. Using my gluten-free restaurant app to see where it ranked. 4. Using my own intuition and personal knowledge of having over a decade of living gluten-free after being diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition recognized by the ADA.

Upon bringing in my own food, the waitress/bartender was kind and gave me silverware. The bar manager came out and said that I cannot eat that here. I replied with “Actually, I can. I have celiac disease and I am allowed, by law, to bring my own food in if a restaurant cannot provide safe and a reasonable accommodation.” The bar manager replied, “Well I can refuse service to anyone.” After some condescending and ignorant back and forth and me refuting his uneducated statements, a friend - who is a regular there, tried to offer solutions (I put my food on a plate so it doesn’t look as “off-putting”, I eat outside.” I said, “No I’ll just leave but know you’re in violation of the ADA” (J.D. v. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

“This is a bad look for our business.” - bar manager I told him I understand but I have a disability and you cannot guarantee food free of cross-contamination. I have brought my own food into several establishments and they do not have a problem because they understand the law. “I don’t like your tone and how you answered when I told you that you couldn’t bring in your own food.” - bar manager I expressed that I don’t care, my tone is calm, but I know my rights.

The bar manager then asked to see the law and proceeded to tell me, “I have a friend who comes into here and she has celiac and eats here and is fine.” I told him that he does realize no two persons with a disease are the same and that there is a wide spectrum of people and there’s varying signs, symptoms, and reactions to celiac. (Would you ever tell a person with cancer their reactions and treatment should be exactly the same as someone else you know?)

By this time I was emotionally overwhelmed by the invalidation, gaslighting, ignorance and frank rudeness of the manager that I left along with one other person.

So while I can’t rate the food, I can say that the manager creates an ableist, egotistical and unwelcoming environment and that this establishment is not safe for celiacs.

My ginger ale was good and the waitresses and bartenders were friendly. One even rolled her eyes and said, “is he seriously throwing a fit about this?” Other patrons seemed to be having a good time and the guy next to me said, “That korma looks delicious!”

Safe to say I will not...

UPDATE: over one year later and this place is still amazing. I can’t speak for dining in as I always get take out but the place is always busy and the patrons always happy. The customer service is always top notch and friendly and the wings are the best in the triangle as well as the hand cut fries and house made sauces. They’ve updated their menu recently and added some new stuff. Can’t say enough good stuff about this place. Glad it’s nearby. Highly recommended !!!!! Just devoured some wings, try the Alabama white sauce. It’s delicious!

This place is amazing. Consistently amazing. I’m so fortunate to live so close. The staff is always welcoming, the service is fast, and the food is amazing. My regular order are the wings and I have to say they have some of the best wings in the triangle. You can’t go wrong with any of the flavors. I love when they do wing flavors of the week. Also the ranch and blue cheese are amazing. I’ve tried all the side items and they are all awesome but their hand cut fries are divine and they always give great portions. The lunch wraps are good, the burgers are good and being someone who has lived in New York and tried all the cheesecake slices there, I have to say Parkway Tavern might have them beat. This review was actually prompted by how delicious the pumpkin cheesecake is which I’m currently eating. The original cheesecake is also amazing. I once called the number and it was listed wrong and actually was the owner’s number. He was in the grocery store and let me know the number listed was wrong and exhibited great customer service and was super friendly. I hope Parkway Tavern stays around for a long time. I also love the little messages and smiley faces on the to go containers :). Y’all are...

Finally ate here last night. The menu in the tavern had more items than the one on the website, which was good. I ordered the Jalapeno Burger with the Fried Potato Salad, which sounded delicious, and at the recommendation of the server. The burger was very good, but the fried potato salad was a salt bomb. I exchanged it for the pesto pasta salad. The pasta salad looked to be well-seasoned with lots of flavor, but that, too, was disappointing, although I managed to eat it all (I was really hungry by that point); it seemed to lack the robust Parmesan and pesto taste I was expecting, and, shocker, I think it needed more salt! LOL

Service was a little slow, and after getting the menus, it was at least 15 minutes before the server came back to take our order, and I think that was only because I caught her eye while she was behind the bar. signaling we were ready to order.

I'll be back, because the burger was pretty darn tasty and they have a trivia night. It was also a very comfortable environment, a neighborhood bar where folks all seemed to know...