Newk's Eatery — Restaurant in Flowood

I can’t rate the the food because Asst Manager Terrell would not sell me chicken salad or pimento cheese …. I went into the Flowood /Lakeland location Tuesday 8.7.23 and checked the dates on the takeout chicken salad and pimento cheese before ordering … chicken salad had - Best By 8.10.23 pimento cheese had - Best by 8.8.23

Explained to cashier I was leaving for a week going to the beach tomorrow (8.8.23) and wanted quart size chicken salad and pint size pimento cheese to go, Asst Manager Terrell interrupted my conversation saying both were on the take out. I began to tell him I just checked the dates and was going to the beach etc…. Then Asst Manager Terrell proceeded to tell me that the food was good for 4 more days after the expiration date and I said but I’d prefer to get fresher because my family would eat on it til we’d return on 8.15.23 …… Well what do you know he would not sell it to me like I requested!!! I was shocked 😳 and just turned around started walking out the door and just thought I’d make sure I heard him and I asked again ‘you will not sell me the chicken salad or pimento cheese’ and Terrell said ‘it’s all from the same batch .. I just walked out and drove over to chicken salad chick and given exact what I ordered….

Now if the chicken salad he was serving tonight to customers is the same chicken salad on the take out shelf with the best by date 8.10.23 on it, my question will he serve that same chicken salad for 4 more days after the best by date ? Possible upset tummy I’m seeing….

Same with pimento cheese with best by date 8.8.23, is he going to continue to serve it to his customers for 4 more days ?

If it’s ‘best by’ for 4 more days then why isn’t that date on it ???? No one in their right mind would believe what Terrell said to me was true, he was just trying to get me to buy outdated food or soon to...

Went to Newks today and let me just say- this place has gone down hill. Drink station was a mess (spills everywhere, no lids, trash bin full, ice snow coned in the drink refill station), all the teas were low, barely any ice left. Restaurant as a whole was dirty. Trash on floor, condiments low. Every empty table had dirty dishes and/or trash on it from previous customers. Spills and sticky stuff all on the floor.

Sat down at the only open table we could find that wasn’t dirty and noticed there was about five employees all sitting down (in the same area where customers are supposed to eat) joking around laughing having a grand time… meanwhile, there’s hardly any tables open for paying customers to sit at let alone employees to be chilling at.

Considering there was tables that needed cleaning off, cleaning up that could be done; there was a whole lot of employees not doing anything. Saw one employee actually spill his drink and ice on the floor and just pick it back up without mopping the floor up. Several customers had to remind their kids to watch their step so they didn’t slip…. I mean seriously??

For soup (that’s pre made) and a half sandwich for two people took almost 30 minutes. Seemed like there was only a few workers actually doing work while other employees weren’t doing anything..

Step your game up Newks. Covid can’t be an excuse...

I have done a lot of curbside pickup orders over the last year and this experience at the Flowood Newk's was the worst ever. I placed my order online and was informed that my order would be ready at 3:59. That is the exact time that I arrived. I pressed the "I have arrived" button on the order confirmation page. After waiting a reasonable amount of time, I called the restaurant and told them that I was there for my curbside order. They said that it would be right out. An employee came out and handed an order to a lady in a car parked next to me. The employee was also carrying a salad bag, so I assumed that it was my order and she would come to my car next. However, she went back in the restaurant with the bag. I waited some more and finally called the restaurant again at 4:15 to inquire about my order that was supposed to be ready at 3:59. The employee asked if I was parked by the red tent. I said no and that I was parked in front of the Carry Out door. She said that I would have to drive over to the red tent. That was the first that I had heard about that. Any business with any sense of customer service would have told me that my order would be right out. I won't be returning to the Flowood Newk's. I can get better service...