The Burger Local — Restaurant in Geneva Township

partial update: James (Director of Ops) reached out and we had a great conversation. He listened first and shared how my concerns were going to be addressed. I look forward to going back and updating my review accordingly.

**UPDATE visited 10/18/24. I wanted to let you know that I visited the Geneva Burger Local today. What a night and day difference. The moment we walked in we were greeted with a smile and taken to our table. Our server, Jill, greeted us in under two minutes (she was very pleasant and attentive), checked on us multiple times, made sure our drinks were refilled and that needs were met.

We ordered Jalapeño poppers, the Melt w/ salad and Hatch Burger w/fries. Poppers were delicious as well as both of our burgers. If I had to choose a negative, the fries could have been fresh and hot. Just seemed as they sat for a few minutes. I did not bring this up to Jill so it could be fixed. Like I said, "if I had to find a negative". The vibe in the restaurant was great as well. It seemed as all staff on today were vibing well and enjoyed being there. Everyone was helping where they could and it made for a great experience all the way around. Great Job!*

I would have emailed directly, but there is no way to contact the business, outside of calling. Nor was a manager present (no, we didn't ask) So, the review will go here.

We did enjoy coming B.L., however service sucks. I'm not sure why Jocelyn is working in the service industry, especially when it is obvious she doesn't want to be there. She was barley present for taking the order. No checking to see if the food was ok, no asking for a refill of drinks... I asked for salt and pepper but no follow up to see if we needed anything else. Complete disconnect and lack of personality unless she was chatting with the bartender, who seems to enjoy being there.

Not surprised there were only 5-6 tables besides us. There are plenty of other places in the area that we could spend $50 on lunch (without cocktails), that offer better service.

Does anyone actually read...

It’s funny. Before I decided to go here for my 2 year anniversary, I heard nothing but good things about the staff and food. The food was good but the hostess last night ruined the experience for me.

We arrived to a wall of about 20 people waiting to be seated. I had made a reservation two days prior so I moved to the hostess station to check in. I was ignored as two other parties came in after us and were seated. Finally checked in and was told a table was being cleared.

After being seated, our server came and asked if a third was joining us. I confirmed it was just the two of us. As he was taking our drink order, the hostess barged up to the table and asked if I had been placed on the waitlist for a table and had taken someone else’s reservation. I said no, told her my name and said that I had a reservation. She stormed back to the station (right next to our table) and stormed back. The manager showed up. The hostess snotily asked if I received a confirmation for that. I said I did and she asked to see the text message on my phone. I pulled it up and showed it to her. Reservations for 6pm for two confirmed. A follow up text asking me to text confirm. My text stating I confirmed. She says nothing and walks off. The manager makes some bad excuse for all the rigamarole. The server apologizes for the hostesses’ “strong behavior”. I turn to my partner and ask “did she think I stole someone’s reservation and lied to her and then didn’t apologize when she was wrong?”

Lol. The waiter was great and the food was okay. But we won’t be back due to the hypersensitive hostess and weird manager. Definitely not the type of treatment I expect from a place that cost us 120 bucks for two people (1 split app, two entrees, two drinks, a split shake, and a good tip for the excellent...

Party of 3 we had cocktails, entrées and then were handed the check but they didn't ask us if we wanted more drinks or dessert. So I told her we want milkshakes. Server took back the checks and brought us our milkshakes and was nice as can be until after we paid our bills and tipped. Then she came back and told us we've been there for 2 hours and people are only allotted 1.5 hour time slots per table and we needed to leave. This restaurant offers appetizers, entrées, cocktails and dessert milkshakes but you're only allowed to be there for 1 hour 15 minutes according to the website. If I had known this policy and how two-faced this server would be, I'm sorry I tipped her 20%. The server did not make the policy and servers should be paid a living wage and tipping should be abolished but this bugged me. Back in the 90s my family used to have 3+ hour dinners where they'd have 2-3 cocktails before they even ordered their appetizers then several cocktails with the entrée and then coffee and dessert. Then the sever would ho home with a huge tip. These days of dinning are gone. This high turnover style dinning is so rushed and rude. This isn't a Mcdonald's where you get your order in 2 minutes. The time it takes to get your food is included in your precious time slot. God forbid some friends get together to catch up over dinner drinks and dessert. I would have ordered another round of drinks if the server hadn't slapped the bill down on the table the first time. Great place to feel unwelcome. The overall volume in this restaurant is really loud. Next time we'll go...