Cogans Pizza Ghent — Restaurant in Norfolk

Usually this place is great. I go weekly when I am active to sing karaoke and eat. I am not a drinker. Tonight about 9 pm there was a terrible jerk of a security guard who escalated a harmless situation with his rude, bullying behaviour. I took a cab there and walked inside holding a Mason jar. I had finished drinking my juice in the cab. I sat down at a table then went to the bathroom to use it and to rinse out the jar.

When I returned to the table, I put the jar in my bag. He aggressively approached and demanded to know if I had been drinking alcohol from the jar. I said no. He asked what had been in the jar. I said water, and started to explain that I finished the water in the cab and to say more, but before I could finish what I was saying he cut me right off. "I know what those jars are for; I 'm from the South.". ...

I tried to explain that all the jar had had was some watery juice, but he would not listen and ordered me to leave. As we started walking out, I said, "I am from the South too, and lots of things can be drunk from a Mason jar, including tea, lemonade, etc." He took exception to my contradicting him and stated, "You are now banned from here for 30 days."

I said, "For what? For confronting you with a fact? You made an assumptions about me and a statement about me. Now I can't make a statement to defend myself to you?"

He consulted the bartender and she came out. When he would allow me to get a word in edgewise in front of her, I told her, "I do not appreciate the way he jumped on me. I am from the South also. A Mason jar can be used to can fruit also."

They both lied and said they saw me drinking from the jar! But I finished the drink in the cab before I walked in, I remember on purpose doing so. He began loudly announcing that he was "trespassing" me. I said "what in the world is that? I will keep the jar in my purse. I just want to sing!"

The bartender would not listen. "You can't have that in here.". And she walked away.

This guard was a young white man with a gingerish handlebar mustache. He refused to give me his name. I said, "Unable/afraid to take responsibility for your actions? You will make a terrible cop. You are a bully coward."

He said he doesn't want to be a cop because there are enough bullies there already.

So I am "trespassed" by this amateur for 30 days for daring to disagree with this petty tyrant without a gun.

That's okay. I'll stay away longer than 30 days. I bring positive music and vibes, and I don't need their aggravation. I can no longer recommend anyone eat or sing there.

Of course I understand rules are rules. However I was not at all drunk and I just wanted to sing. I have seen plenty of EXTREMELY intoxicated people in there starting about 10:30 and on up to closing time, and never have I seen any of them "trespassed" or told to leave. On the contrary they are sold and resold as much as and more alcohol than they can hold.

WHY was sober me hassled at the beginning of the night coming through the door? PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE! AND NEVER TALK OVER AND THREATEN A GOOD CUSTOMER.

UPDATE 03/12/25

Anyone who enters this establishment is risking their good name. I just finished a follow-up Convo with a second manager, "Kyle." The one I spoke to last week said he would talk to the GM, and that is why I called back today. Kyle told me his "co-workers" told him I was "bothering someone at a table or something" and then he hung up on me when I said, no, some of your employees must be covering their a** because I was sitting alone at my own table.

THUS THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS COMPLETELY DYSFUNCTIONAL, NOT WORTH YOUR TIME AND/OR MONEY UNLESS YOU ARE A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT by ignorant people who care neither about their customers nor their...

A couple years ago I loved this place. The last year or so the quality has been abysmal and the prices has skyrocketed. On grubhub their menu has the large pizza I'm ordering for about 20$, but when they ring it up over the phone the pizza is 35$, for a pizza. One of my pizzas didn't even come with marinara sauce, it was just cheese on bread! The description on the grubhub menu said it had marinara. It was so greasy and salty it was practically inedible. We threw it away. Every time I order something it comes slightly wrong and more expensive than I thought. This would be fine if the quality matched the price, which it doesn't. This depends on who's making the pizzas that day. Some days the crust is small and almost tears at the crust, other days the crust is like 60% of the pizza and all the sauce is in the middle. Imperfect pizza is good pizza, but you have to walk that line. Everyone likes a good bubble and oblong shaped pizza, but at the bare minimum have some level of consistency in the product. I was a sous chef in a Italain restaurant in New York, the pizzas I've paid 35$ for I wouldn't allow off my line. For some reason I kept giving cogans another chance every couple months, but this is no more. I'm done. This place blows. The pizza hasn't been good in years. Firstly, update your grubhub menu. Don't make the pizza custom and upcharge your customer 15$ for an old menu item. Secondly, you need to have a training day with all your pizza staff and dictate a level of...

Maybe if I had regular food things would have been different but I only went here to explore the vegan options and they were horrible! Seriously, I always thought that Gordon Ramsey was always being a jerk when I saw him on tv but if the food he was tasting was this bad it would only make sense. I didn't know food could be this horrible! Maybe it's because it was vegan but I ordered a pizza and it tasted like it was not done and extremely doughy still. I've never had a vegan pizza before so maybe that's just how they are. I also ordered a vegan Philly Cheesesteak which tasted like it was cooked in a vinegar bleach oil blend. If you told me the "meat" was spoiled I wouldn't have been surprised. The food was so horrible I am making myself go back tomorrow because I can't believe it. They had to be having a bad day or something so I will give them a second chance and try the other location also and review again. Also the cashier told me 15 minutes and I went back after 15 and they pizza was not even made yet which honestly wasn't a big deal to me, just thought I should mention to help explain why I'm so disappointed. They said they didn't have vegan cheese for the pizza but then as I was standing there the chef happened to find it... Maybe that had something to do with my meal. But like I said, I have heard people rave about the regular food so normal people shouldn't have anything to...