Grounder Café — Restaurant in Medford

I've been a regular at Grounder’s, often ordering lunch daily for years. However, a recent experience has unfortunately marred my view of this establishment. The online ordering system sometimes fails to register specific notes, like my need for gluten-free options. This particular day, my gluten-free note was missed. I noticed this only minutes after placing the order and promptly informed one of the kind employees, who reacted professionally.

However, the owner’s response was disappointing. She aggressively pointed out that they don’t offer gluten-free paninis, only toast, despite my frequent orders of the same in the past. Her tone was unnecessarily rude, and she questioned if I expected her to remake the sandwich.

As a gluten-free customer, I’ve overlooked the smaller portions and even the fact that many items seem to be pre-bought from Costco. But what I cannot overlook is the lack of respect and kindness from the owner, especially towards a loyal customer. Her attitude not only undermines the hard work of her employees but also shows a disregard for customer loyalty.

To the owners, if she isn't the owner herself, I would suggest taking note of the behavior of the Brazilian woman with lighter-colored hair with faded micro-bladed eyebrows. It's a shame to see years of patronage end this way, but customer service, especially from the top, matters significantly.

Pictures attached is from a previous day showcases the size difference between a regular and gluten free panini, which are...

TBH, I’ve ordered twice from Grounders through Grubhub so I can’t speak on the atmosphere, since I have yet to go there physically, but the food was so fantastic I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t hop online and give them a shoutout. The two times I’ve ordered I’ve gotten the grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, which is incredible! I also got a cafe mocha, which was also very good with an additional espresso shot. My son had the Red Dream waffle and he LOVED it! He was so happy they served it with FRESH strawberries and NOT frozen or compote the way some other establishments do. I ordered a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant for my husband as well, he’s still in bed, so he hasn’t had it yet…but it looks good and smells fabulous! Even though we ordered Grubhub and didn’t experience the service in person, I HAD to give five stars for the little messages they put on the packaging! ‘Good Morning,’ ‘Thank You’ and smiley faces go a long way with me, because I know how busy the staff is on weekend mornings, and for someone to take the time to do that shows a great respect for your customers. Next, we’ll try to go in person some morning, I’d love to stop in and let the owner/manager/staff know they’re now our favorite go-to...

I'm writing this review as I'm eating my fiesta omelet during my lunch break because it's that important.

I ordered Doordash and was pleasantly surprised to see a handwritten "Thank you! :)" on the bag, even more so when I pulled out the smoothie with my name and another smiley face on the lid, "Enjoy!" and "Good morning!" on the two boxes of food. I've ordered a lot of food through work, but no place has added the personal touch that whoever assembled my order at Grounder did.

Onto the food - the fiesta omelet was far tastier than I expected. The salsa was very good - no watery tomato business here. The onions still had crunch, which I really like. There was definitely at least half an avocado in there. My partner said the chicken Florentine panini was really good, but the star for her was the banana chai smoothie, which had flavorful chai balanced with banana.

I've never been to Grounder, my partner just happened to find them this morning, but we will be swinging by in person this weekend because we're...