Pizza Inn — Restaurant in Pickens

I've eaten at this restaurant since I was a small child, even shadowed one of the waitresses when I was in middle school for career day. I remember the nostalgia this restaurant used to bring me.

That said, I ate here for the first time in about 4 years and it's nowhere near as good as it used to be. The new owner has really cheapened the experience this restaurant has to offer(yes, I know the owner likes to argue with reviews, so ya know, @ me bro. Reviews should be seen as a critique, not an attack on your personal character, grow, be better!)

I'm not going to comment on how dirty the restaurant was, because it was a Saturday, I get it. There were a ton of pizzas out on the buffet which was nice to see, but they taste nothing like they used to. The wait staff are incredibly friendly, I can't comment on the kitchen staff because I didn't talk to them, but I did watch one female walk out of the kitchen pull apart and grab a slice of pizza off the buffet with her bare hands.

The walls are now covered with very generic things about pizza and the arcade looks like it's seen better days. They also sold ad space on the table itself... so you really get the essence of eatting at the pizza equivalent of the $4.99 Hulu experience. I know nostalgia can play a part in how you see things, but this just felt extremely cheap. Cici's pizza feels better in comparison, and they cost about half as much.

To the owner, I'm not against change, that restaurant was well overdue for one years ago. But it feels like this change gave the restaurant an extremely generic feel. There used to be people who would drive down from places in NC just to eat here because it was so iconic, now it's just white walls and ads everywhere. We get enough ads on our phones, tvs, and internet, the least I ask is not to get ads while I'm...

The food was good and tonight they kept the bar stocked which is sometimes hit and miss. Our waitress was friendly and kept the drinks filled. After all that happened at checkout I feel guilty, I didn’t leave a tip because I forgot to go back to the table with cash. I plan to bring money by this week. I used a 2 adult buffet coupon and was told I could not use another coupon for my kids. That was completely fine (after I went to the table and read fine print) it says only one coupon per transaction. The issue, the problem, the absolute power trip manager. My parents were trying to use a free buffet for one of their grandchildren along with the senior discount. He would not allow this because in his words “we were trying to beat the system” (5$) . The child in question was an almost 5 year old that weighs 29 lbs with a lime sized brain tumor and a genetic hormone disorder who ate one pack of crackers and one slice of pizza. He also said he is responsible for printing all coupons for pizza inn which I find unbelievable. I keep reading all of his responses to these reviews and instead of apologizing and just moving forward he does exactly what he did tonight. Just wouldn’t stop and could never be in the wrong. Going as far and saying he’s trying to train his staff better. (His staff was patient and kind) Also to note a senior discount is a discount...

Was visiting from out of town and have always had good food at other pizza inns. I should have left and called the health dept when the server swept the food from under our table to next to the buffet. ANYONE in ANY kind of food service knows you DON'T do that, you get a dustpan and clean it up!!! The cardboard they slapped the toppings on was old and cold which probably meant it was out for longer than it should have been according to proper health guidelines. Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY!! If I could give ZERO stars, that's where this rating would be!!!! to clarify a point I made* THEY WEREN'T SWEEPING IT UP!!!!!!! The server MOVED the food from one part of the floor to next to the buffet.....NEVER picked it up!!!! And when a slice of pizza was dropped on the floor a server promptly kicked it closer to the buffet. My advice is to let your servers know that sweeping up requires a broom and dustpan and not moving from point A to B. Very unhealthy and unsanitary. I have been in the food service industry and know people would get fired for doing what I saw in front of your customers. I am happy to say that I won't be back and will make sure that people I know don't waste their money there. If that is pride in your business, I'm sorry to say it isn't very...