Gloria's Latin Cuisine — Restaurant in McKinney

Dear Gloria’s Latin Cuisine Corporate Leadership,

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding a deeply upsetting and unacceptable experience my mother and I had at your McKinney, TX location (3635 W. University Drive) on Friday, July 12th, shortly before 6:00 PM.

From the moment we arrived, we were met with clear hostility and dismissiveness from our server, Alejandra. She rolled her eyes, responded to our questions with short, unhelpful answers, and showed no enthusiasm to serve or engage. When my mother politely asked about menu items, Alejandra seemed bothered and provided little detail, as if we were an inconvenience rather than valued guests. At one point, she sarcastically said, “What’s wrong? You both look very alarmed,” further adding to the uncomfortable and unwelcome tone of our visit.

We are Caucasian and not of Mexican descent, and it became increasingly clear to us that the way we were being treated may have been due to our race. We felt discriminated against. There was a strong sense that, because we were not Mexican, we were not welcomed or respected as other guests might be.

When I asked to speak with a manager, Alejandra again rolled her eyes and began talking with other staff members instead of taking any initiative. When Manager Hilda, who is also of Mexican descent, came to our table, we expected an apology or at least professional concern. Instead, she dismissed our experience by saying, “She’s young and still learning.” No accountability. No attempt at resolution. Just more justification of unprofessional behavior.

Due to the way we were treated, we chose to leave without placing an order or paying, as we no longer felt safe or comfortable having staff members handle our food. This was especially difficult because this outing was my first opportunity to dine out in a long time due to leg injuries. What should have been a relaxing, joyful moment became deeply stressful and upsetting.

We also observed that all the staff appeared to be of Mexican descent. While we absolutely respect cultural heritage—especially in a Latin cuisine restaurant—there appears to be a concerning lack of diversity and representation. I would like to formally request disclosure on the number of Black and Caucasian employees at this location. If it is found that staff diversity is being overlooked, I believe this could raise concerns for OSHA and EEOC compliance, and I will not hesitate to bring this situation to their attention if necessary.

We are requesting the following:

A formal apology for the treatment we received. An internal review of the incident and of staffing practices at the McKinney location. Appropriate disciplinary action for both Alejandra and Manager Hilda.

If this complaint is not acknowledged and addressed appropriately, we are prepared to publicly share this experience across social media, business review platforms, and with relevant agencies to ensure other potential customers are aware of how this location is being managed.

We hope to hear from someone promptly with a...

Allow me to rave in the order I absorbed this experience!

Ambiance: The entire restaurant was more than beautiful it gave a clean crisp breathable feeling. The greenery was eloquent. The water fountain and patio misters were elegant. The breeze it created was needed. The menus were clean trust me it’s important. The seats were contemporary and comfortable. The many fan on the table to keep the flies away was the icing on the cake for me. 😍

Service:

Everyone served me with a smile. The manager even came to check on me. The cook brought my food and at this point I’m feeling like royalty. I make decent money and this alone makes me want to leave my weeks earnings with them. I had questions about the menu items and sure enough the waiter was able to explain it to me. I don’t want to go home at this point 🥰

Food:

I had the trio ceviche it was more than fresh it was flavorful. The black bean dip is my favorite no matter what location I go to. The chips and salsa was a hit especially because I really enjoyed the kick. I had the prickly pear cocktail which is to die for here.. i also tried the spicy cucumber margarita, it was sweeter than I like but nonetheless perfect. I ordered the combination enchiladas which I had to take to go but they were so good. I only ate some out of greed but I was stuffed.

I’ve been to 6 other Gloria restaurant locations and this one topped the charts. I have one 2 minutes from my house and prefer this location. This location should definitely be the standard for all of the other locations. Hats off to management because I’ll be back with my husband, then with my friends, then with my teen daughters. Hell I think I’ve found a new location to do my remote work 🥳

Sorry no images I left home...

Food was great. Love the location ambiance. Very warm on the patio during the winter was a delightful surprise. We were challenged by our server El**. I am actually wondering if she was intoxicated. She spills our waters while bringing them to our table. We urgently made sure she was ok as did other tables. No big deal about the spill, we don't care until... Another server cleaned this up, she makes a big deal about having spilled, and as she's apologizing, she was slurring her words. She then carries the tray soaked with water to two other tables to deliver stuff to them. She curtseyed to our table as she brought us new waters. We have no idea why she curtseyed. She was very absent in attending to us, so the amazing Lorena stepped in multiple times with helping us, offering to-go containers before we asked, bagged our containers for us without asking, and when our server appeared at our table with the paper bill without the bill holder (I guess it's a policy you have to have one), Lorena handed her one. We wish Lorena had been our server. The night would have been better. Lorena was polished, on top of our needs and we weren't even her table, friendly, and most of all she anticipated what was needed. As our server was collecting our plates, I was munching on the remaining chips. With a chip in my hand, she then took away the chip basket without asking if I was done, which I was not, but just let it go. But the server left the salsa on the table, with our waters, and no chips. At the end our server said "hopefully you can come back and be graced by my presence". Our server was always smiling, and certainly was friendly, and we got our food delivered which was delicious, but her behavior was...