Forgotten Road Ales — Restaurant in Graham

5 star atmosphere, 5 star location, 5 star outdoor setup, 1 star customer service.

I was excited to drop in and visit my parents at Forgotten Road Ales earlier tonight. My husband and I just moved close by and we were excited to find a such treasure.

However, 20 minutes before closing, one of the owners stopped by and informed my dad that, "he could not consume the can beer on-site". We were all confused, and asked several questions because my dad had just purchased the drink inside. What do you mean that he can't drink something "onsite" that he just purchased? The owner responded by saying that the canned beers were "to go only", and in a very condescending manner, she informed my dad that she had already told him about the rule "several times" that evening.

My parents are very respectful, and they are honest, almost to a fault. If my dad had understood this rule, he would have had no issue purchasing a draft beer versus a can. The "explanation" that he received when he purchased the drink was that the cans were "to go" and that is why he could not have a glass to pour it in... That explanation was far from clear. Customers should be told directly that they can only consume draft beers at their business, and that the can beers can only be enjoyed at home.

Again, my parents are very respectful. To hear this owner speak to my dad with such disrespect was appalling. It was 20 minutes before closing, why even say anything? Or better yet, she could have dropped by and asked how our visit was going, and slid the advice in for future visits with a smile. Instead, she asked my dad to hand over the can because he couldn't drink it there.

This experience was very disappointing. The owner was more concerned about enforcing policy rather than retaining regular customers. The problematic $5 can of beer that my dad purchased was a drop in the bucket compared to the $30-$50 he spent at the establishment that afternoon (and during multiple visits before today). When the owner spouted that the cans cost more than the draft beers, it felt like she cares more about profits than her customers. The problem isn't the policy, it is the manner in which the miscommunication was handled. I thought that my husband and I found a new date night location, but at this point, I do not plan to go back and visit....

I had an awful experience here that really showed me why Graham has a reputation for not being welcoming to African-American people. The business doesn’t even open until 2 p.m., yet the owner (or worker) came outside to yell at me and my twin sister and my child because we parked in their EMPTY parking lot for a 2 mins to go inside of a temp service agency that is beside his building remind you we never been to Graham. This was our first time we got lost three times before we found the temp service agency. So we didn’t think it would be any harm in parking right here on the side of the agency building and in his parking lot which was a empty parking lot. we just assumed the business was closed or ran down. That was never the case🙄

Instead of speaking respectfully or even asking nicely, he came out with an attitude, telling me “This ain’t no parking spot, you need to park somewhere else.” It felt targeted.

What really got me was that he waited until we had already backed up, everybody had got out of the car, to walk towards the temp service agency he came out and confronted us. There was no reason to treat us like that especially when his parking lot/building look run down and close. We was confused.

This place don’t even open up till 2 o’clock pm Remind you all of this happen at 9:00 AM so why is you that mad about us parking in your parking lot when your business don’t even open up till 2...

On our rainy drive home from the mountains, we spotted Forgotten Roads Ales on my Google Maps “want to go” list. I’d read on their website that Mondays were customer appreciation day with smoked wings, so we skipped the bigger breweries and gave it a shot.. glad we did!

Steve behind the bar welcomed us, shared the story of the Marine brewer (thank you for your service) who just welcomed their first child (congratulations!), and pointed out the thoughtful military-themed touches. Out back, Steve was smoking wings that were incredible, alongside cowboy caviar, cocktail meatballs, and classic fork-hashed peanut butter cookies all part of a potluck the locals warmly invited us to join before we’d even ordered a beer.

The beer was excellent.. “Chaos” IPA and “Echo 2” coconut stout were standouts. Great atmosphere, great people, and true hospitality. We’ll definitely be back on a Monday to...