Union Merchant — Restaurant in Georgetown

We attempted coming here for my birthday to get together with friends, and it turned out to be one of the most embarrassing evenings of my life. We have been residents of Georgetown for a while and have come to this place a couple of times with our children and thought it was an amazing and very laid back spot to relax and have a glass of wine; so my sweet husband thought it would be fun to ask my friends with their families (as we’ve seen families with kids there before) to meet us up there for a glass of wine, charcuterie boards, and snacks. We honestly didn’t think it was going to be a big deal getting together here as Downtown Georgetown is a super family friendly atmosphere and we’re in Downtown Georgetown almost every weekend.

We did not ask for any special services and knew tables were going to be on a first come first serve basis, and everyone was just going buy to buy their own drinks and snacks. Here was when it went so wrong…a lady (I’m guessing she was a part of the Union Merchant team) approached my friend who did not even have kids there, and scolded her in a very ugly, rude, and embarrassing way, then scolded at me saying something along the lines of “can you do something about these kids and get them under control this is not the VIBE we are going for" and walked away! I was in shock, that has never happened to me before. I think it would’ve been fine and we would’ve understood if the approach was nicer, but she was super ugly to us! All you had to do was let us know nicely that this environment wasn’t for children. We’ve been to many outdoor wine places that are kid friendly, so how would we have known. We were ready to give y’all a lot of business.

And I’m pretty sure it was the owner who then came up and talked to my husband and I… and honestly, what he said to us was fine, but I wished he had done it in a more private manner as I felt super embarrassed in front of everyone. No one deserves to feel belittled.

I’m just really disappointed in how it was handled professionally, but out of respect for their business, we left and felt the best VIBES at Sweet Lemon Kitchen and Kork. Go...

Communicated w the establishment prior to arrival about hosting a friends birthday party there this evening with multiple families in attendance.

Upon arrival, with the kids under adult supervision, the staff rudely informed our party that the kids being there wasn’t “the vibe” that they were going for. We firsthand understand well behave and poorly behaved children, as responsible adults and well aware parents. If you didn’t want families with children there, be upfront about it before the whole party arrives and we would have planned to host the event at an entirely different location.

Needless to say, the families who were there and treated with disrespect by the staff will surly not be returning or recommending this establishment to friends/family. Very unfortunate, bc as locals we picked this location, because we had prior positive experiences...

We all love this place, but NOBODY we know can ever remember the name of this place. Makes it hard to recommend to friends "that place with the yard". People informally refer to this as "The Foundry" because it used to be some type of foundry. Here goes the needed polish: Might consider a name change. Don't hide the beers or make people seek a menu. Put sample cans on a bar shelf. Advertise the goods. Been here 5 times and just found there's beer behind the bar. See number 2. Advertise the beer. Beer is king on the square with guys. Open up the yard. People have to work to find out what this place is. The yard could be filled on weekends if people didn't have to work to figure it out. With turf, the monotonous table and chairs need accents. A small water feature. Adirondack chairs, maybe corn hole. Needs to feel more "organic"...