Hopscotch Brick Oven & Taproom — Restaurant in East Bay Township

In Traverse City for a hockey tournament and visited this establishment Friday evening. We had several families but made it clear that we understood we would need to be separated and likely just sit with our individual families. They had a policy they would need to put everyone on one bill over 8 which we also understood. What we didn’t understand was that the employees including the manager clearly did not want to accommodate us in any fashion. In fact I was appalled by the way the manager behind the bar spoke about us openly to her staff and others at the bar. We had one family that had 3 and the last 2x 2 tops available next to one another we could not put together so that this family could sit together. When the father became frustrated and asked if they even wanted our business they responded sharply they didn’t care if we just left. That’s roughly 30 people across a few different tables with a minimum ticket of $500 that walked out the door after that because in todays world- why would you want to spend your money with a business that openly says in front of our kids they don’t want it? I grew up in the restaurant industry from front lines server, cook, management and operations to corporate purchasing and marketing. I get the inconvenience of a group walking in at once 100%, but we came in so apologetic and open to whatever we needed to do to make it work. We weren’t welcomed or accommodated even in the smallest way. Perhaps if we were just one family or locals it would have been a better experience, but I will never revisit to find out when I am in TC. We found another place down the street that welcomed us open arms which made up for the night and restore our faith in good...

As a group of 7, we showed up at the same time. 4 of us sat at 1 table. The other 3 sat at another. I specifically told the server that I was with the girl wearing the pink shirt at the other table. The 4 of us eventually got our food. The other 3 had to wait at least 45 minutes to get their food. A gentleman that was with us at our table noticed plates were just stacking up...not being delivered to the customers. We all ordered at the same time. When a lady I was sitting with got her bill, my meal was included on her bill. After the people I was sitting with left, I had to wait around for my daughter who was at the other table. The one lady ordered an appetizer and kale slaw. Her appetizer ended up on another woman's bill. Two of us ordered sandwiches, another ordered like a quesadilla. We got chips with our order. I gave my chips to another person because they were sea salt, pepper, and onion flavored. My daughter and another lady got the same flavored chips. We asked if they had any other flavors. The server said they had original flavored. Why we didn't get the flavor chips that most people like with our order, I'll never know. The server ended up bringing us the original flavor, after our meal was done. The one lady needed change and another paid with a debit card. The one with the card, had to actually ask to get her card back. The server apologized and said she was busy finding change for our companion. We will never darken their doorstep again and advise you to not go...

Parking is pretty tight here, or quite the walk due to Don’s next door. When we arrived with our party of 5 for outside the host replied “we don’t have room for you” ...followed by an awkward pause that we had to fill with “we’re willing to wait” seeing as there’s a pandemic going on and advantages for sitting outside. So we put our name in. The outside area is super cute, similar to little fleet vibes. I was not feeling the country music, though. Host and server had masks on. Our server acted like she was sprinting through the whole service, everything was aggressive and off putting but she was attentive otherwise. Would’ve loved waters right off the bat, though. The food/drinks were not terribly impressive. My gf had the plum cider which tasted diluted. I had the whiskey lemonade which wasn’t bad but probably would’ve gotten a mule instead. You can't taste the charcoal which I appreciated! My gf had the lobster mac which was bland. I had the ribs which were dry and the bbq sauce was too spicy for me. The asparagus was good though! I had a bite of the corn soufflé which was sweet and yummy but cold. It was all pretty pricey for the quality in my opinion. You'll get much better quality at restaurants downtown while paying the same price. However, the cocktails were cheap! But also not worth it. Things just seemed a little off the whole night, but had a good time with...