The Joint @ 1710 Main — Restaurant in Columbia

This place is not bad, but not good either. The place and decor is very nice and upscale. I enjoyed the look and layout of the building (although it is quite small), but the atmosphere itself is border line..... hate to say it but ghetto. I went for brunch on a Saturday. Although it was no jazz music playing, the RnB through the speakers set up a nice vibe. There was no hostess seated at the door, but 3 people sitting at the bar and one person did come to us and told us we could sit anywhere. She then proceeded to go back to sitting at the bar and playing on her phone. After about a 15 minute wait I then went and asked how do we order and she stated she would come to the table and take our order, but as I turned away she went back to playing on her phone then we waited another 5 or so minutes before she came back. Her attitude was very pleasant and she was very nice, but customer service experience needs some work as far as checking in with the customer, especially when all you're doing is playing on your phone. We arrived at 1230 and finally received our food around 2pm. The food was ok, not worth the wait, but nothing bad to say about it. The atmosphere is where it took a huge turn for the worse for me and is why I will not go back. If you are looking for a lowkey nice jazz or music and brunch spot this is NOT the place. My party of 2 arrive which made a total of 5 people in the building at first. It started really nice with the music, we were able to talk quietly at our table and enjoy the setting. After more people started to arrive, the louder it became. You could no longer here the good music playing because people were soooooo loud and we began shouting to one another at our table. It didn't help that a worker with a plate of food came to a birthday table and screamed "happy birthday" REALLY LOUD to the guest and then proceeded to twerk at their table. I am sure the birthday person had a great time, but I thought it was an upscale establishment. That tells me that the guest will act a certain way because the employees are acting a certain way. The bar area became so crowded it was hard to tell who worked there and who didn't, nothing identified an employee from a guest. It truly reminded me a day time club scene only with RnB music. Again, it's not to put the place down because if you are looking for a place like this... then go, you will probably have alot of fun. Maybe if that type of place was advertised and I knew what I was walking into maybe I would've been able to have a better time by being prepared. But if you are looking for a nice lowkey jazz spot that you can relax and have some drinks with in a nice quiet lounge, this is NOT the place. It's almost like an upscale "kicking it spot" which is not bad, just not what...

I have always been a supporter of The Joint. Their food and service has always been great! However, be very leery of using their downstairs venue area. I inquired about their venue space downstairs for a birthday brunch. I called the location numerous of times providing my name and contact information about using the venue space. I was always given the same script that the owner will contact you. In addition to calling, I went by The Joint numerous times regarding the space but it was always leave your name and number and someone will reach you. On a whim while at The Grand on Main, I stopped by the Joint and was finally able to see and speak with the owner by the name of George. I was told that I could use the space for free but to ensure that the server is paid and tips provided. The owner told me to send a message to their Fb and someone would reply with details. I did that on the spot before I left. Yet, I only received one reply and was never given a price for the server. I sent several messages via Facebook and even stopped by the venue to speak with team members there. They assured me that I could use the space but they could not give me a fee for the server as it had to come from the owner George. I even left a voicemail for "George" the owner on his personal cell phone after one of his employees tried to call him but got no answer. I was never contacted and I had to cancel my event. I am unsure as to why I got the run around on the venue space from the owner. Maybe the situation would have been different if I was a white woman inquiring to have an event there. I guess we will never know since the owner is too busy. I will not be a customer at all...

If I could give it 0 stars for the bartender pictured I would. I’ve been here numerous times and never had this experience. Every other experience was very pleasant but tonight was unacceptable. We sat on the bar for at least 10 mins while this bartender ignored us. To be clear, there was only one woman standing in front of her who she served and then walked away. We sat exactly where she was standing, which means we were directly in front of the bartender and watched her serve 2 people while never being acknowledged. We were sitting in the middle of the bar, how did you not see us!!! I tried to get her attention and she still ignored us, until finally she looked over and I asked her if she saw us. She said she didn’t see and then said “and I’m not serving you, you can leave”. So I asked her where is her manager and she said “I am the manager”. To even avoid any further disturbances to the great vibe and music in the establishment, we left. I will never return because of the bartender pictured. And please roll the cameras back to see exactly what took place. Took place on 03/22, approx 11:30p-11:55p!!!!!!!! Totally disgusting. While we were walking out she yelled “BYE”. If she is the manager, this is a disgrace to such a beautiful establishment with...