Monterrey Restaurant — Restaurant in Evans

Today, we were denied access with our service dogs even after speaking with the manager until I straight up asked him if we were being denied access. The hostess said no. He told us that we needed to have vests and service dog ID badges. No, we don't.

The ADA laws are very clear. Ada dot gov (I can't link links in here) states that service dogs do not have to be identified in any way, shape, or form, nor do they have to wear identifying vests or any other type of identification. This is US law and it protects the disabled. In the US, there are no registeries. There are no presiding groups over service dogs. There is no certification and there is no paperwork that can be requested. There are two questions that can be asked by any business and they are listed on the page I mentioned above.

I honestly believe this was more of a pushback against fake service dogs than anything. I get it. I understand. There are a ton of them out there and having two pop up at once raises eyebrows around here. I'm all for the pushback because fake service dogs are often poorly mannered, sometimes even aggressive, and put actual service dogs at risk (like my very, very good partner).

That said, once it became clear that I was going to maintain being polite and I actually knew the law and I actually had my service dog with me, not a pet, the manager (Andres) said hey, okay, come on in but we'll seat you in the back. Which, hey, that's fine. Some people wouldn't be great with that, but we were fine with it.

So, heads up SD handlers. You're going to run into access issues here. The food? Totally worth it. Great service, great people, great all around. There's plenty of room for your dog to tuck and plenty of room to maneuver in between the booths. My SD is around 65 pounds and 23" or so at the shoulder, for those of you looking for exact measurements. He uses a 42" crate. And he fits just fine under their tables in their booth area. It was 109F heat index outside and he has a double coat, hence why he was wearing a leash wrap rather than a vest (same for dog 2 with human 2). He was indeed marked as a service dog. I showed the hostess. She didn't care lol.

Still five stars because I think the manager has likely run into a really bad situation with a fake recently and is just nervous of it happening again. I don't blame him. But the management here also needs to review what businesses can and can't do, how to approach service dogs per the law, and how to spot fakes.

And if y'all at the restaurant read this and want a primer, I'd be happy to give you a print-out or direct you to websites or even come in and give a class on service dogs. It's hard stuff. We'd love to help make it easier to keep your business safe and legitimate service dog handlers, like us, safe and...

2023-01: Went out to dinner with my son recently and was looking forward to finally using a gift card I had for a while. Just to make sure, I asked if the gift card was still good and our waitress said it was. Don't get me wrong. My son and I were looking forward to some yummy Mexican food, so either way, once the salsa was in front of us, we weren't worried about much else. 😁 Our server was pleasant and did a good job. Then, when it came time to pay, I handed her the gift card along with my bank card to cover the difference. She started to walk off but turned around and apologized, saying the card was only good at the Evans location. (Evans, Martinez, and N. Augusta locations are all listed on the back). I was a bit taken back. She tells me the little, blue colored dot sticker on the back indicates it came from Evans. Well, that's all fine and good, but that should be a question to ask a customer when they flash a gift card asking specifically if it was valid. Also, just my thoughts, but if several locations are listed on the back, it would make logical sense that it be honored at any of those locations given. Luckily, my budget wasn't so tight that changing my payment arrangements had any ill effect on plans with my son afterwards. Again, food was good, she was a pleasant server, and I don't think anything was done intentionally. Just a puzzling process with the...

Extremely disappointed. After being seated on the patio, waited 45 minutes and finally stopped someone to get drinks. Another 30 and had to go find a waitress to order food. There were at least 6 of them hanging around the bar inside. Food finally arrived an hour and 45 minutes into being seated. The patio was full at first and then just dirty tables. Inside was not busy at all. I asked about the problem and was told food was delivered 17 minutes after the ticket went in. Maybe so, but why did it take that long to place the order? When I asked to see the manager he was curt and unapologetic, saying the kitchen switches over, and we had food in 17 minutes repeatedly. I didn't touch my meal, my boyfriend did eat his. The managers solution was to take the plate and then take it off the bill. I would have been happy with I'm sorry and an effort to make it better, take a drink off the ticket or something. Nope. Not at all interested in customer service or making it right. There are plenty of other places to eat that care about the service they provide. We will not return. The kicker was the Columbia County Deputy that came to the table and asked the waitress if everything was ok. Our conversation was not elevated nor assertive in any way. What kind of a restaurant requires an...