Forage Market — Restaurant in Lewiston

As a Lewiston local it pains me to write a less than stellar review, for a local business but after today, well--it's gotta be done. Up front let me say that the food itself--especially the excellent bagels--is truly superior, which makes Forage the standout breakfast spot in the entire area, hands down. However, the food is only half of the experience. In short, the service absolutely sucks. If you want excellent bagels you may need to prepare yourself to wait close to 15 minutes to get them--that's not BEFORE you get to the counter, but AFTER your order is placed. That was my experience this morning: I was the second person in line at 8 am when Forage opened, and even then it took 15 (I timed it) minutes for my mocha coffee to appear. Now, lest you think I'm some sort of disgruntled urban type, who's used to New York speed in getting an order filled, this is not the case. In fact, I am writing this review because today was the proverbial last straw. I have on multiple previous occasions opened this website to write a review of the abysmal service, and have always relented--owing partly to the quality of the food, and partly to my loyalty to a local business. However, I am hoping that those at Forage will read this to help them improve their business. I have certainly spoken up to employees at the time of gaffes such as those this morning, but when you "complain" to someone who operates in permanent frazzled mode because they are surrounded by incompetent co-workers these comments get lost in the chaos of the moment. I would also like to state that I am not alone in this belief. While I was waiting near the counter for that 15 minutes I had no less than 3 other total strangers chat with me about the terrible service, and how it was just the tradeoff we had to face in order to get great food. Two of them even apologized to me because they ended up getting served before I did. Which was sweet. It's easy to see the crux of the problem. Every time I go to into Forage the counter is staffed by someone new--invariably a college-aged person who's either getting trained by the very few long-term employees (which of course takes up a decent percentage of time), or these new, untrained employees are left in charge while the only trained employees are putting out proverbial fires elsewhere. Honestly, every time I go into the store I see at least two new faces behind the counter. It's time that the management of Forage stops hiring local college students, who invariably quit when their coursework intervenes. This town is full of lovely locals who'd be much more reliable and committed. I'm not trying to badmouth college employees, but speaking as someone who knows a lot about the life of the average local college student I know the pressures they face on campus and why they are not a good fit for Forage. So, the bottom line is that I implore those who manage Forage to hire competent, RELIABLE, and LONG-TERM...

Despite the inspired bread, both the service and customer service can be extremely disappointing. I inquired on the whereabouts of my panini, well beyond the stated "10-minute preparation time" and was told by the person who had taken my order (only because I decided to ask, otherwise I might still be sitting there, a week later :-)), "The machine is broken today." I asked him, "Well, why didn't you tell me that when I ordered more than 10 minutes ago?" He looked confused by my question, and another person came and said, "Your order was the first panini of the day, so the machine had to be fired up." Oh? When I asked how much longer it would take, the first person then said, "There's another order before yours." (There was indeed one other occupied table in the place.) At this point, completely confused, I asked, "So will I be able to get my sandwich or not? You've given me 3 different stories." I was told, "A few more minutes." While continuing to wait for the long-awaited sandwich, I suggested to the people behind the counter that communication was "part of the job", that if a machine was broken or if there was going to be an extra delay, they needed to actively tell customers at the time of order, rather than allow them to sit there indefinitely, confused and wondering. One of the young men working there repeated loudly and sarcastically, "Yes-you're-right-yes-you're-right-yes-you're-right," completely belittling a completely legitimate complaint. A woman who called herself the manager came over and, rather than trying to understand what the actual complaint was (waiting for a very long time, and only after asking, being told 3 different stories about the continuing delay) and responding professionally, ordered me to stop "harassing" her employees. Really? Expressing displeasure with unapologetically unprofessional service has come to mean "harassment"? I guess, if you think your job is all about you, rather than your customers. (Note: Assuming that the owner would care if he knew about this episode as it actually happened, I tried to follow up privately, and was told that the he was completely "aligned" with the manager and employees. I guess alternative...

As a Brit I have very high standards for such establishments. And this exceeds them.

Staff are really friendly, especially Alyse. All put up with the customers some of whom seem rather mean and impatient. One customer got angry because they had run out of bagels close to closing time, and did not understand that they could not "just bake more" because the food is made and cooked from scratch - the whole process takes hours. If you want a poor tasting bagel microwaved from frozen then go to a fast food restaurant.Their bagels have won awards! If it was my establishment such complaining would have me taking out my slap glove for a firm backhand to the cheek and dismissing the uncultured swine. Though I understand that the American custom is to smile with gritted teeth.

Despite the occasional crowds food is still served at a good pace and to a high quality.

The atmosphere is also very inviting, and is a great place to study and read. Music choice is usually good but a background ambience so a conversation without shouting is possible.

10 out of 10. Would emigrate to make...