The Winston Social Club — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I sent the following email a week ago and received no response. Good afternoon,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m writing to share an experience that I had at The Winston on Thursday, Nov 3rd.

My friends and I work across the street at the 444 building and have been excited to visit the establishment and see what it was like inside, having been familiar with Johnny Utah’s previously. We arrived at approximately 7:25 and our friend put her name in for a table reservation which we were told we would receive. In the interim, we were told we could wait at the bar. We stood in the corner of the bar for the next two hours. At one point (roughly 8:15), we were approached and told a table was ready for our reservation, but we could “look at it first” to determine if we wanted to move. We were shown the stadium seating area that has one television, no tables, and had multiple other folks sitting at it, meaning we would have had to sit separately. After confirming with the staff member that we could stay at our space at the bar, we decided to not use our reservation because we were not given a table, as we were told we would be- we were offered 3 square feet of stadium seating space.

Approximately 1 hour later, we were told that our corner of the bar had been purchased and we would have to relocate. At no time were we told that this was an option- in fact, we were reassured 3 separate times that we could stay at the bar. Otherwise, we would have very likely considered purchasing this ourselves. Instead, we were unceremoniously kicked out by staff members and heckled by the folks who had purchased the literal floor out from under us, after we had stood there for 2.5 hours.

We were even told that we couldn’t close out our tab at the bar- we’d have to move quickly and we could close out at ANY bar in the establishment. We were once again shown the stadium seating as an option for us to relocate (now overcrowded with no sitting space) and we ended up standing in the back room. When talking to the staff member about our frustration, we were told “You gotta find what you gotta find”, which, beyond being unhelpful, was actually exactly what we had done.

After another 15 minutes of watching a TV that kept glitching in the back room, we decided to leave because we were embarrassed, frustrated, and angry. When we tried to close out, we were told you can’t close out at any bar- in fact, you MUST close out at the bar the purchase was made at.

We ended up going to Yards which had ample seating and made us feel much more comfortable with their responsive staff.

I’m writing to share the frustration I had- I have never in my life encountered a staff on such WILDLY different pages. Nor, have I ever encountered a situation where every square foot of space is available to the highest bidder, at the expense of the folks already there. I had looked forward to coming to this establishment, but after my first experience, I highly doubt I’ll be back, and I’ll tell others to be wary of this establishment. As it sits, this is not a successful “Sports bar”, nor is it a successful “club”. It has whispers of each that directly contradict the other. More vision and staff training is a non-negotiable in order to achieve any realm of long-term success.

I will say that the front-door hostess was fantastic. She was a delight and...

Heyyy, so me and few of my co workers came out for brunch this Saturday! When we got there, we parked on the street but once we entered we was told that the parking lot was available for us! Once i asked , i really Wish it was a sign out there to let us know but anyways! We didn’t have a reservation but was seated fast!!! Which was great! As we was seated, we was told about the 90min policy which was fine . We was told about the specials and was handed an menu! The Menu was plain and simple . I got the stuffed omelette and hash browns. The Food was very bland and the mimosas could have been prepared a little better ! The atmosphere was fun . We had a good crowd that dance. The only complaint and concern I had was that we requested songs and the dj pretty much ignored us. And when another customer asked him why he wouldn’t play the songs he told her that policy states there’s no rap music allowed. I was a bit confused because there’s clean version of rap songs nowadays. So that really made me mad and disappointed to hear that . Because in this world today . All music is welcome. So by him saying this … will be my first and last time coming here ! What bar doesn’t play all types of music ! If it’s on the radio, a bar and grille can definitely support too. Diversity is key ! It’s giving discrimination. And mind you , I was with my Caucasian coworkers so it’s not that with me ! I will never throw the race card without evidence just wanted to be...

Horrible and fraudulent businesses practices! I made a reservation for this restaurant for a 9:30 reservation thru OpenTable. By 9:15, I realized I was running late and reached out to the restaurant. They had no working phone, should have been my sign of what was to come. There was only a automated message saying you have to text them instead of call, which I did. I arrived at the restaurant at 9:45 and had to walk around to find a hostess to check in with. By this point the restaurant had not responded to my text. Once I found a host she told me I was late. I stated I understood and that I had called them multiple times as well as text them. She tells me that due to arriving late, OpenTable canceled my reservation and someone else reserved it thru OpenTable. I reached out to OpenTable to file a complaint and they let me know they never canceled my reservation. So apparently lying to consumers is part of their business practices. She rudely tells me there’s nothing they can do but wait until someone leaves. Mind you the Eagles are playing Monday night football…..no one is leaving. After waiting a half hour for a table I reserved that the restaurant gave away, because they don’t have working phones to reach them…..I left. Have filled a complaint with OpenTable and have no interest in returning. Would have also reported them to the Better Bussiness Bureau but they’re not even a certified...