Perkins American Food Co. — Restaurant in North Port

Great Service, Horrible Wait Time

I don’t usually leave reviews, but I felt like I had to after our experience last week. We came in during what seemed like a calm shift — maybe 10 tables seated, max — and the place didn’t look overwhelmed at first. But the wait time for food was over an hour, which was a huge letdown.

People around us were clearly frustrated. One table next to us even got up and left, and honestly, we thought about doing the same. But the only reason we stayed was because of our waitress, Heather.

Heather was the one holding it all together. She was taking orders, running food, bussing tables, refilling drinks, cashing people out, and keeping the front of the house afloat completely alone. And she did it with a great attitude and a sense of humor, even as more and more customers started getting irritated.

She made us laugh, and even though she was clearly stretched thin, she never lost her professionalism or warmth. She was a total powerhouse and somehow made the experience feel personal and human even in the chaos.

We felt bad for her — it was obvious she was doing the job of three people and trying so hard to accommodate everyone. It didn’t seem like there was any actual manager around. There was another woman who occasionally came up front, but she wasn’t involved at all. Most of the time, she was either sitting off in a corner or outside smoking, which didn’t help the situation.

At one point when we asked about our food, the other employee told us it was delayed because the kitchen had a lot of DoorDash and to-go orders, and those were being prioritized over dine-in. That didn’t really make sense to us, but it’s what we were told.

Still, Heather kept it together — never rude, never short, and clearly doing her absolute best. If not for her, we definitely would’ve left.

Great service. Horrible wait time. Management needs to recognize who’s really carrying the weight. Food could of been better but we aren't complaining after it...

We went in this evening around 5 in the afternoon, there was only one table in there. No waitress or anyone in sight. Waited about 2 minutes and she finally shows up (her name was Tara). The last two times I’ve gone in we have to just stand around up front because the place feels like a ghost town but whatever. We get our food (which was great!) and we’re not even halfway through our food and Tara is coming talking about to go boxes. Since she was clearly so busy we said sure and boxed them up. She was within eye sight of our table too, so I figured she’d see us get up to go to the counter and get up so we can pay but I guess her food or whatever she was doing was more important so I had to go fetch her. Seemed bizarre to rush us out when there’s no one in there but whatever, guess we just won’t be back. A shame, the service here used to be awesome! No refills for my boyfriend’s soda which would have been okay if the place was busy but again, cricket noises in there. The only other employee working there seemed to be a manager (only saw a couple times before we got our food) who definitely didn’t seem friendly to say the least. Again, you’d think during a slow time at least the manager would want to at least smile at the customers. Weird experience, hope they get some training or have a better...

My family had went to North Port to visit my mother, however the first day we were there her AC system died. We all ended up in a hotel for three days before the problem was fixed and during that time we ate at this Perkins at least twice a day. We all were very happy with the food and service, which is why we kept returning. Our hotel was 10 miles away and there were plenty of other places that were closer, but it was worth the trip.

During that time, I didn't order the same thing more then once, which is very unusual for me since I tend to be very picky and normally stick with simple burgers at restaurants. Every meal was excellent. I was so impressed with the food that one night I even ordered the Salmon, which shocked my family since I never order seafood outside of seafood-specific restaurants. It was so good, my daughter had it the next day.

The waitresses would remember us and waive whenever we came in... very friendly place. Very reasonable prices for the quality and quantity you receive. Our drinks were always refilled before asking and the food arrived in a reasonable amount of time.

In the end, I miss this Perkins since we don't have any in our home state. The next time we visit, we'll definitely be stopping in. Highly...