Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom — Restaurant in Clarksville

First time here. I really thought Old Chicago was a prestigious place to go for pizza. Boy was I wrong. I picked this place for night out, coming 60 miles to get there. Arrived around 4:30 on Dec 29th. There were 5-6 other tables eating. Not busy at all. We ordered. Ordered the pizza that had pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushroom and roasted garlic. The waitress said oh my gosh have you ever had it? we said no. She said the garlic is so bad on it, it made someone gag. It's really really strong maybe you should go light or none at all.. Well this was weird. Afraid we couldn't eat it, we went for no garlic. We waited for 40 mins and it came out. Burnt to a crisp! We couldn't believe they even brought it to the table. We didn't say anything. She asked later how it was , I said its .. ok I guess. It was very hard dark brown crust. Pepperoni's just flaked into crumbles when touched from being so scorched. The mushrooms and sausage pieces were almost black and tasted burnt. Very little sauce and cheese. Husband asked for some marinara. she didn't bring it. when we flagged her down again she got testy said don't be getting mad at her because she forgot. We didn't now what it was like trying to wait on everyone, with people calling in sick.. So then we told her how bad the pizza was. and we had to pay for something like that. She kept saying well the manager is pulling pizzas out of the oven so he said well in that case let me talk to the manager. So a woman comes out who seemed scared to death, barely talking, clearly did not know how to address the public. She said I'm one of the managers. He told her the problem with the food. She didn't know what to say, looking down at the floor, scrambing for words, she finally said if you only knew what was going on in the back. Ill take care of this pizza for you today, I'll pay for it. So if we only knew what was going on in the back?? what's going on in the back? If its that bad close the door. If you only knew what I had going on tommorrow lady.. Cancer surgery. We were just going out for a dinner. If you cant treat your customers with respect and food that's eatable, close the door. Later the waitress came back and said you know its crazy another table sent their pizza back because it was burnt. Like we had made it all up! What a place. We will never be back. Ill also add , when we walked in to the building. 3 people standing at the podium that sits you. Would you believe I had to wait for the 2 girls and 1 boy standing behind the podium talking to finish talking and laughing a few minutes before that even asked me can I help you. Priorities. This...

(A note to the reader. The following is sincere and meant to be read with the forcefulness of epic poetry)

In the vast and often treacherous landscape of modern dining, where service can range from the abysmally indifferent to the merely tolerable, there emerges—on the rarest of occasions—a paragon of hospitality so radiant that it demands poetic exaltation. Such was the case with Jada.

To say that Jada was "amazing" would be akin to calling the Grand Canyon "a hole in the ground"—a woeful understatement of the magnitude of excellence she displayed. From the moment she arrived at our table, she brought forth an energy so infectious, so unwaveringly positive, that it single-handedly elevated the atmosphere from that of a mere meal to a veritable symphony of dining euphoria.

Her vigilance was unparalleled; glasses remained perpetually filled as if by the hand of a benevolent deity, silverware gleamed as though freshly forged by celestial artisans, and every plate arrived with the precision of a masterful conductor guiding an orchestra. Yet, it was not mere efficiency that set Jada apart—it was the undeniable warmth, the genuine engagement, the sense that our enjoyment was not just her duty but her mission.

Let it be known that I had long abandoned Old Chicago, having banished it from my roster of acceptable establishments due to the sins of subpar service past. I returned only out of social obligation, fully expecting to endure another mediocre experience. And yet—against all odds—Jada's unparalleled hospitality has made me reconsider my self-imposed exile.

In conclusion, should Old Chicago wish to ascend beyond the pedestrian realm of restaurant chains and into the pantheon of legendary dining establishments, they need only follow the example set forth by Jada. She is not just an exceptional server—she is...

Worst. Service. Ever. Equally disappointing food.

Let me start with the benefit of the doubt. Yes, it was a Friday night. Yes, it was a large party. However, it was arguably clear that the restaurant cannot accommodate more than one large party at a time.

While calling ahead sort of gets you in the door, you are literally hoping that no one else walks in two seconds before you with a party of equal or greater size. Well, that was not our case. Our person arrived at least 10 minutes prior to the time we gave the hostess (5:30 pm). Another party walked in that turned out be less than half our size (31 including children). And that's where the problem began...Not sure why management thought it was a good idea to only have ONE hostess assigned to a very large group of people (24 adults). We waited over 20 minutes after we were seated to get menus (which I had to ask for). For the size of our group, it was a hassle to get anything we asked for. Then the kitchen got backed...no surprise there. From the time we were asked to place our orders (again, we had to tell our waitress we were ready) and receive our food, it took an hour and a half. You read that right ONE AND A HALF HOURS!! Not to mention, we opted to close our checks to help expedite the poorly executed process of our overall dining experience. When I got my food, the fries were cold as if they were ready for quite some time. My bread looked as if they put it on the griddle for all of TWO SECONDS and sloppily thrown together. I asked for the peppercorn mayo on the side; got plain mayo. And the list just goes on. Everyone was unhappy and extremely disappointed with the overall visit and food itself. Needless to say, there are 26 adults who all have friends, who will tell their friends, just how atrocious our night was and we will not be...