BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Live Oak

Today my 4 year old and I went to the Live Oak location around 2:30pm to have my husband's growler filled with Nutty Brunette. One of his favorites. I purchased this growler for him last fathers day. Its a very nice carbonated Growlerwerks uKeg 64 ounces. Before I purchased it I specifically called this BJs and another brewery that my husband likes to make sure outside growlers could be filled. I was told no problem. Since last June I have had it filled almost weekly. In fact, the last time was 1/6/24, 6 days ago. Fast forward to today. When the bartender was done talking to some other guests he came over to get our order. I told him I just wanted it filled with Nutty Brunette. He gave me a very weird look and said that they dont fill growlers that they don't sell. I said that's not true and that I have it filled here all the time. He told me he would have to get "special permission" from a manager. He went and got the manager who was also giving a very strange look and wasn't even going to come and talk to me. So I asked from across the bar "what's the problem?" He came a little closer and said they couldn't fill it and could only fill BJs growlers. I again explained I have been coming here for quite some time and this has never been a problem. He again argued with me. I told him that that was NOT what the website said. He argued some more. So i said well give me my growler back then. As I was getting my daughter down from the chair he said "Ma'am what i was going to say is that i would fill it one more time for you." I said "No. I am not going to spend any more money here." I was really irritated at how I was being treated. Like I was a nuisance and/or just plain dumb. I turned back again and asked for his name. First he just ignored me and stared at me. Then I asked again, "what's your name?" He (the manager) said "What do you want that for?" I said that I would be leaving a review on this. The bartender at this point pips in with his name. I said "I don't need your name , I want the managers" Which he finally replied rudely with something like WIlliam Alexander Something. He had trailed off. I said thanks and left. I called my husband to give him the unfortunate news from the car. He called another location as we know Live Oak cant be trusted now. Spoke with the manager who was very friendly and apologetic even though it didn't happen at his store. He had not heard anything about not being able to fill outside growlers. So he said "Before I give you the wrong info, let me call my GM and see because things change here all the time." He called back and sure enough this is a new policy change. Very very very poor business decision since you kind of pride yourself on your beer and togo beer. People are not going to buy your growlers that are not even carbonated just for a few beers at home. Had the Live Oak manager not been so condescending and rude and just even stated it was a change in policy I would not have gotten so irritated. Mr William Alexander Something (if that is even his real name at all) could use some refresher course on how to treat customers. You just lost one that has been patronizing your establishments...

This review is for BJ's location #628. Date we went : 02-22-2024 Server : Megan, B Table : 401 Total Charges : $86 This is the second and last time we will be coming to #628. Me and my wife were very disappointed on our last visit, and if anything, it was worse this time. To start I ordered an espresso martini. Normally when you do this, the drink is made with espresso. This was absolutely NOT made with espresso. This was an absolute robbery on BJ's to charge $11.95 for that garbage drink. The drink tasted like Maxwell House coffee, with milk, and had some espresso powder on the top. Really? We ordered garlic parmesan knots and Tri Tip sliders for apps. The knots were not terrible, but absolutely nothing special. They also give you less than 1 oz of marinara sauce for 4 sticks, which is enough for one. You can get these, and they probably did, from HEB or Walmart. The Sliders truly sucked. Meat tasted as if it was old, the slider buns were toasted without butter, so basically they just burned them. The best part to the sliders, were the pickles. For entrees we ordered the Jambalaya and the BJ's Bacon Cheeseburger. The shrimp in the Jambalaya was so overcooked, it was in the fetal position. There was spice powder all over the plate, which made sense because the food didn't taste like it was cooked with the spices. Simply poured into the plate and the spices added to the top. The Bacon Cheeseburger did not taste fresh, and tasted like the preformed patties you can, once again, buy in Walmart. French fries had no salt on them, and were bland. High point to this place was the hand crafted root beer which was pretty good. on a scale from 0-10. Apps get a 1. (Terrible, low quality). Drinks-0 (Absolute trash and not was is advertised.) Entrees-1 (Again, overcooked and just really bad ingredients and execution in the kitchen.) For what BJ's charges, you would expect to get some high quality ingredients, a competent kitchen staff, and excellent service. Service-5 (Not bad, but not great either.) This place is absolutely robbing their customers with sub par, mid food at high prices. You can get much better quality of the same type food from Red Robins at a better price. This place gets a "F". Low quality ingredients. Mid service. No love for or care for the food or its preperation. Absolutely terrible on the espresso martini....

I used to go to the BJ’s location at the Rim pretty consistently. This place had great food, atmosphere, and service. This is not the case for the area here in Live Oak. I live close to the restaurant. I was a waiter for five years and was in management for 20 years. This place has a lot of problems that have not improved since opening. The number one issue has been the customer service. It’s abysmal. We have been to this restaurant about ten times. It just hasn’t gotten any better. Since other restaurants in the area have better service, it’s not a local issue but a management issue. Training and leadership are the keys to success in customer service, and this establishment has neither. When there are issues in a business, you need to always look to the leadership first and foremost, especially given how long this place has been around. If you need a place to have a beer at the bar and watch some sports, go for it. There are better options to have a nice meal with your family and friends. You will get cool food, and you will have empty drinks. You may even get a waiter or waitress with an attitude. (One young man with long dreadlocks just today talked back to my 75-year-old mother because she asked for her change when she gave him $40 on a $31 ticket. This is after having to get the manager to help her get her change.) The most common experience is the wait staff ghosting the table and leaving it to someone else to take care of until it’s time for the bill. Seeing such a consistently poor example of this chain is truly sad. No amount of “I’m sorry,” or gift cards make up for not fixing the glaring issues…. Unless you’re not in the mood, please go to Olive Garden or Longhorn. Their staff work for their tips and don’t have this weird attitude of 20% or more entitlement for being below average and just standing around on their phones like the BJ staff. UPDATE: We went again. The service was a little bit better, but I believe they are also way understaffed. It also looks like they have quality control issues and may not even have expos that check the food before it leaves. As seen in my picture, we ordered the spinach dip and it was good but the chips, if you can call them that, were burnt crumbs and tasted like old oil,...