The Asbury — Restaurant in Charlotte

WE WERE RACIALLY PROFILED*

Please note that the rest of my review is in the pictures!

I really hate to write this type of review but I am utterly disappointed in the treatment that my friend and I received yesterday, September 19, 2021 at The Asbury. I have been to The Asbury on more than one occasion and everything was great until yesterday. My friend and I went to The Asbury for brunch. We arrived around 1:10 and once we were seated, we asked for a mimosa. Our server, Jenni, immediately asked for our ID’s and stated that they scan ID’s. We both gave her our very REAL driver’s license. Please keep in mind that Jenni told us before we even took our ID’s out that the ID’s would have to be scanned. Jenni took our ID’s inside and it took her about 10-15 minutes to come back to our table. When she came back she brought the manager, Ruby, with her. Jenni then told us that they cannot accept our ID’s because ID’s aren’t supposed to be able to bend or peel and that ours were bent/peeling. She also said that the ID’s couldn’t scan due to the fact that they were bent/peeling. We said “okay” and we asked to get our ID’s back. Jenni then stated that she can’t legally give us our ID’s back. Involving law enforcement was mentioned and my friend and I stated that they (The Asbury) could call the police. Ruby and Jenni said that they were going to examine the ID’s further. I then asked about ordering food and they said that they would come back. They never came back.

Shortly after this, I called the police myself. We stopped Jenni after she catered to a nearby table. We then asked about food and we were told that the kitchen was closed. My friend and I told them that we got there way before closing time and that they failed to take our order even after we asked on several occasions. She said that she would check with the kitchen. At this point it was almost 2:00pm. Jenni again came outside to cater to the other table and we stopped her again. We still had not gotten our ID’s back and my friend inquired about why they still were holding them. Jenni proceeded to make a smart remark and called our ID’s fake.

At one point in time, we spoke with Jenni (I can’t remember if Ruby was with her as well, but I believe she was). Jenni stated that the Asbury cards and scans everyone ordering alcoholic beverages. My friend then stated, “if I were to ask everyone in here if you carded and scanned their ID’s, they would say yes?” Jenni then exclaimed “yes.” Jenni went back into the restaurant. We asked the table near us which consisted of 4 older white men and women whom all had beers if their ID’s were scanned. There was a interracial family leaving the restaurant. We asked the son, who appeared to be in his late 20s early 30s, if he had an alcoholic beverage. He stated yes. I proceeded to ask if he was carded and if they scanned his ID. He then stated that he was only carded.

My friend ultimately went inside the restaurant, while I stayed outside to wait for law enforcement to arrive. While in the restaurant, my friend asked some of the customers the same questions. Some of them were not even carded. Which didn’t surprise me, because I’ve had mimosas at The Asbury twice before and I was never carded.

The police finally arrived and I spoke with the officer and told him about the situation. The officer then went inside to speak with The Asbury staff. Shortly after the officer returned with our ID’s and scanned them. The officer also stated that he didn’t see anything wrong with our ID’s and he returned them to us.

Once law enforcement left, we went into the building to file a formal complaint. Ruby tried to somewhat mend the situation but it was well past the time for mending. While writing our formal complaints, we asked both Ruby and a male bartender (I do not have his name) if they had the capability to scan and validate ID’s. They stated The Asbury did not have the capability to scan ID’s. They said the facility did not even have the...

I was hoping to have a delicious birthday brunch at the Asbury on Sept. 19th, 2021, but things did not go as planned. I arrived at the restaurant after going skydiving with a friend. We were seated outside, and the waitress Jenni asked if wanted something other than water to drink. We proceeded to order a mimosa. She then said she needed our IDs to take to them to the back to scan them. This was something very different to my friend and I but we proceeded to give her our ID’s because they are real and we are both very much of age to consume an alcoholic beverage. About 15 minutes goes by and Jenni and the manager Ruby return. Jenni proceeds to say that our IDs are “peeling on the edges and bent so legally they cannot give us our ID’s back”. My friend and I told them that we need our ID’s back before we leave the establishment. Jenni proceeds to call our IDs fake and my friend and I told her to call the police because we are not leaving without our driver’s licenses. We also call the police ourselves. Fifteen minutes pass again, and I go inside to check on the status of our ID’s and the police and to see if we are at least able to order something to eat. While trying to get Jenni’s attention inside the restaurant, I am rudely ignored and dismissed. When I finally get her attention, I ask her name and she ask me “why”. I then proceed to ask her what her managers name and she responds that “I legally cannot tell you her name”. I then ask about the status of our ID’s and the police and she said that she didn’t know the status of the police. I then asked to place an order since she never came back to take our order and she refused because the kitchen was now closed. I was curious and asked if she scanned everyone else’s ID in the restaurant and she replied yes. I think asked the other patron in the restaurant and some were not asked for identification and others said that she just looked at their ID’s. My friend has been to The Asbury twice and was never asked for an ID. Also, when talking to other (bartenders, and managers) we learned that the restaurant does not have the ability to scan IDs like my friend and I suspected. Eventually the police came and ran our ID’s and returned them to us. My overall experience at The Asbury was a 0 out of 5 stars. As as two 24-year-old African American females, this situation was very embarrassing, disappointing, stressful, and lastly, I felt discriminated against. We sent at least an hour and a half to resolve this situation without receiving a morse of food nor an apology. I truly understand requesting our IDS but to refuse to return them was crazy. I believe the waitress prejudge us based on our ethnicity. We ended up calling the police to get out IDs back. My friend and I did nothing for her to think that our IDs were fake or that we were underage. Additionally, not only did we not get our mimosa, but they would not take our orders. When the policeman arrived, he returned our IDs and was just as confused as we were as to why they would not return them to us. Also, he confirmed that the restaurant does not have the ability to scan IDs. Finally, the manager offered us a free meal if we come back on the day of our choice! I politely said, No Thanks! Wow! What an...

I was here last night for the Hamilton prix-fixe menu before our 7:30pm Hamilton show, total 3 of us. The very nice and enthusiastic hostess, didn't get her name, escorted us to our table by 5:50pm and then had pretty slow service and a subpar server, Julia. Our food was decent, very dry chicken on the chicken parm, but brussels sprouts, deviled eggs, and dessert were good. Throughout the dinner, Julia seemed overwhelmed, forgetful, and inattentive, we even had to reminder her of a side that we didn't get that should have come with our dinner, that then came 5 minutes after we finished our dinner. When dessert arrived, we asked for the checks and she picked up the cards and cash about 7pm. By 7:10pm she still had not returned the cash change and the parking validation. When we started to wait in the lobby because we are on an extreme time crunch, the host went to ask her about us and we overheard Julia yell "they decided to pay cash, they can wait". The host was very sweet and apologized for Julia's outburst. While we were waiting for Julia to return, another table was trying to get Julia to cash them out and they hadn't even gotten their dessert yet... at 7:10pm. Julia finally came a few minutes later and almost forgot to give me my parking validation that I had to request back from her.

My assumption would be if a restaurant is going to advertise a prix-fix menu before a show, they know what time the show starts and should anticipate getting everyone out in time for the show. While the Belk Theater is a block away, we had to rush out at 7:15pm and played it too close for comfort to be in our seat by 7:30pm.

I'd try The Asbury again if it was another themed dinner but this was nothing to write home about and I'd ask for another server if Julia...