Need Pizza — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

On December 26th we had the worst service we've ever received in our lives when our server, Katey, spent the ENTIRE night berating us, belittling us, & harassing us from the moment we sat down. When we first sat down we asked her if she had a beer still on tap. Instead of a simple yes or no, she replied: “If it’s not on the beer menu, we don’t have it.” The service only got worse from there. We had ordered the Breadstick Bites, which we know by name since we’ve ordered it repeatedly every time we visit. When the appetizer came out, we got 2 orders of cheese bread. We told the staff that this was not what we had ordered, so the kitchen staff said they'd let our server know. Katey came by & was immediately defensive, saying she always confirms what is ordered & clearly it was OUR fault for not hearing her confirm. Instead of apologizing & putting in a correct order for Breadstick Bites, we were appalled when Katey said “What do you want me to do with these, have them boxed up for you to take home or what?” implying that we’d be paying for it. At no time was there an apology. Katey repeated multiple times that she always verifies the order, so this was clearly our fault and not hers. She would not drop it and continued to berate us. At one point we realized we needed an extra plate. When we asked Katey for an additional plate, her response was: "I brought you plenty of plates already, so I don't understand where the other plate went.” When we asked for another fork, she once again told us that she already brought us plenty. We again asked for some forks, & she said: “I just brought you a plate. What else would you like me to do?” We were absolutely SHOCKED at her behavior, and it left us utterly speechless. I have never been met with such open hostility and condescension from a server, and it continued from the moment we sat down until we left. At one point Katey came to the table and asked if we wanted another beer, & when my husband replied that no he didn’t, her response was “I was asking your wife, not you.” It only got worse from there, w/her making snide comments throughout the night such as “You don't have to worry about apologizing, because the other table apologized for you.” No matter what was going on in her personal life over the holidays, this is no reason for taking it out on my family. Her behavior was absolutely inexcusable, & we have never been treated so horribly before. It was clear that she was taking her personal issues out on us. She proceeded to loudly demean us to all of her other tables and would not stop. Katey utterly embarrassed us. The food was definitely not worth the abhorrent service and constant harassment, humiliation, & berating by this awful server. Neither the server nor the acting night manager apologized for the mistakes or the harassment we received. When we tried explaining the disgusting behavior by her server, after a very short minute of us trying to explain what happened, the manager’s response was to tell us that Katey was one of their best servers so clearly it wasn’t Katey’s fault. When we tried reiterating all of the snide comments we received, the acting manager’s response was to tell us "I don't have time to waste by standing here talking to you.” Absolutely disgusting that this "acting manager" would support this server's actions and not atone for any of the horrible behavior we received. It's obvious that Need Pizza doesn't care one bit about customer service. We will never come back here and will never again recommend them to the hundreds of business associates either local or from out of town. The food here is no where near worth the awful harassment, belittling, and berating we received that the establishment clearly stands behind, according to the acting manager that night. I am shocked that the owners of Need Pizza employ such rude and condescending people. We were absolutely humiliated at Need Pizza, & there was NO reason for it. Never once did anyone apologize to us. The behavior of the server and the acting manager was utterly...

So good we JUST HAD TO stop for lunch the next day AFTER JUST imbibing the night before...and worse yet...EVEN AFTER I had leftover pizza for BREAKFAST this morning! Doh!

A) That Greek Salad, folks! Just say YES and don't think twice about it. Thank me later, alright? It is a HUGE portion of FRESH GREENS, topped PLENTIOUSLY with cucumbers, halved grape tomatoes, FETA, red onions, kalamatas (if watching sodium, well, don't just watch em show up...don't say I didn't warn ya...we asked for half the kalamatas and twice the red onions and cukes, and Rich got what we were throwin' down, and happily obliged despite having just experienced the ultimate sadness: losing man's best friend).

B) Don't be too chicken or too cheep (pun intended, ya'all, dont send out the grammar PO-LEASE!) to add that chicken to the salad! If you do or are, don't come peckin' on my coop singin' da blues!

C) The Pizza...man, oh, man, just sayin: that Cauliflower Crust beats anything glutinous! Ask for it crispy and tell em' NOT to be afraid o' cookin' it too long! That crunch beats anything I've had as a g/f connoisseur from St. Louis all the way to Iowa ...and beyond...just like Buzz Lightyear, I get around to some pizza places!

D) The music is just plain groovy. Not too loud for us older folks who become crochety when that happens, and not too quiet for the other whipper snappers who...

I don't even know where to begin! I'm a Cedar Rapids transplant, moved here from Connecticut about 5 years ago. Connecticut has some ridiculously good pizza, Seriously! Pepe's, Sally's Apizza, etc. I've been seriously longing for the New Haven style pizza! The thin, light, flavorful - crisp in all the right places - crust, the sauce, the topping options (big fan of the Clam & Bacon) had to all be reserved for our family trips back out east. UNTIL NEED Pizza! This place not only makes an amazing New Haven style pie for "Cedar Rapids" these guys could hold their own on Wooster street in New Haven! Need Pizza took a classic style, made it their own and mastered it! The dough is perfect, the ingredients are fresh and the portions are HUGE! Your gonna leave with leftovers! If these guys start making Chicken Cutlet Grinders, I may eat every meal there! Atmosphere's cool with Chalk board booths, growler chandeliers and even an aquarium, but honestly, you wont even care the pizza's so good! Service was exceptional! Staff had a strong menu knowledge and were extremely polite and just plain old fashioned friendly! My old sales manager is a "New Haven style Pizza connoisseur" (Still lives in CT) and I'd bring him here! Thank yoU Need Pizza, Connecticut...