Grow|Fresh Local Food — Restaurant in Macon

I reached out to inquire about placing an order from their casserole menu for an event later this month. I did not need catering services for my event, I just wanted to be able to provide a nice veggie option for my vegetarian and vegan friends. I intended to pick up the order the day before my event.

The email response I got was a very terse, single-sentence response stating that they were already booked. A little confusing, given that I had been asking about placing an order from their casserole menu. Regardless, I replied that I would be happy to arrange to pick up the order earlier in the week if that would work, noting that their website says to allow 24 hours for orders from the casserole menu and I was providing well over 24 hours' notice.

The response was that (1) they are not open on the day of my event and (2) it is not their policy to send food if another caterer is hired. First of all, I did not ask them to do anything the day of my event. I clearly stated that I would like to place an order to be picked up earlier in the week, on days when they (presumably) are open. Second of all, why should it matter what I intend to do with the food after I pick it up? I am absolutely baffled. I cannot think of a single other restaurant that would object to a simple (and small - it was only two casseroles from their menu) to go order like this.

In sum, the customer service in their email responses was severely lacking and their policy is to reject orders if they disagree with how you intend to consume their food, even with plenty of notice.

EDIT TO ADD: I do not appreciate the characterization of my honest review of my interactions with the company as an attempt to "force" the company to make my order. It was not. I had no expectation that the company would agree to make my order because I left a negative review, nor would I give them my business now if they did.

I would have appreciated a thoughtful and polite response to my initial email inquiry. Instead, I received a six word email that did not address my question and repeated replies (including in the response to my review) that they are closed on the date of my event, despite the fact that I was inquiring about dates earlier in the week and did not at any point ask them to perform any services on the date of my event. Even in the response to my review, the company again conflates the date of my event (a Saturday, a date that they are closed) with the date I requested the order (I inquired about picking up the order on the Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday preceding my event, all of which are days that they are open).

I think it is entirely fair to express in a review that a company has poor communication with...

I've been wanting to go to Grow for a while now, and finally made the trip yesterday. We got there at 2 when they close at 3, so I gave them a bit of wiggle room there. But..

When we walked in, it took a few minutes for anyone to notice we were there. We could see into the kotchen fron the door; it was a bit of a mess with several containers and scraps on the floor. Some of the tables seemed scattered with crumbs, ill-kempt, and dishevled. We were seated and given a small helping of boiled peanuts. These were delicious, some of the best I've had in a while. We weren't given a seperate container for the hulls though, which made the process a bit messy.

We ordered baba ganouj as an appetizer. The vegetables were fresh and delicious, but the dip itself lacked any seasoning.

For entrees: Summer chicken, Tomato pasta, and the Tomato "sammich" (add bacon and lettuce of course).

The flavor of the summer chicken was great, the peaches were grilled nicely. The chicken itself was very dry and chewy. The attached salad arrived without any dressing and the chosen side, squash casserole, was very tasty (though it almost felt more like a squash cobbler than a traditional casserole but no complaint there.)

The tomato pasta was misplace for a grilled peach and feta salad. After making our waiter aware, the mistake was quickly and easily corrected.

The tomato "sammich" came out with tomatoes and untoasted bread, fresh lettuce, and what seemed to be hurriedly deep-fried bacon... no mayo as was mentioned on the menu.

All-in-all, the ideas and planning behind the dishes are well-thought tempting, but the delivery this time was weak. I'll be giving them another shot, as I want the locavore concept to work, and I'd recommend going on a good day, just hopefully there are more good...

Our waitress Brittany was amazing. There was a question about allergies and the owner was super rude and condescending. When questions were asked, she seemed bothered and angry. This is the secondencounter with the owner where she was rude. I assumed the first time she may have had a bad day and was busy. Twice is too much. The way she spoke to staff and us was entirely unacceptable. Its disappointing bc the allergy is severe and can cause life threatening complications. You don't have to understand or be super cheerful but acting like customers are stupid is ridiculous.

Edited to respond. Majority of what you responded is NOT true. Admitting that you are an angry, condescending human is probably asking too much but telling the truth should a regular part of your day to day. There was absolutely no one at the window and our waitress was busy when our food was brought out so passing the blame to her isn't ok. Asking for clarification shouldn't be an inconvenience to you. And why did you check on other tables and not ours? Did you want us to flag you down and continue with someone who is rude and disrespectful? That wouldn't have gone well for anyone, I assure you. Constructive criticism is something that all owners should appreciate. You clearly cant acknowledge that you messed up. But its ok, you won't have to deal with any of us ever again. And why do you have your staff working in 120° temps. Im obviously local and I guarantee you its not 120 anywhere around macon. If it is that temp inside, you should have closed your restaurant for the day. Please stop lying AND...