Rose Foods — Restaurant in Portland

This lunch was not good at all... two people sharing two sandwiches and a side of potato salad... one Pastrami on rye, the other Corned Beef on rye... served on stale, dry bread no less!!

I knew something was WRONG when asked if I wanted the bread toasted... an old trick to disguise old dry bread... Ha!! The meats were just OK... sliced way too thin, not outstanding as advertised... there went another star... 🌟💣💥

I'm a New Yorker, living in Portland a long time, but one does NOT forget NYC fantastic deli food... this is not it! THEY should not make claim for being in that category... they can't cut it, reputation or otherwise... ick!! 🌟💣💥

The potato salad was awful... the potatoes were NOT firm yet tender... they were hard and chewy. Then, it was at least one quarter celery... a bit too much. The dressing was watery and tasteless. Instead of classic style pickle spears, they served chunks of rolled cut dill pickles, three small chunks per sandwich... totally stingy... I was embarrassed to ask for more...🌟💣💥

I had a can of Dr Browns Cream soda...a NY classic drink with this type of sandwich for $3.50... ridiculously expensive and warm. The celery seltzer was a good brand, but for $3... Noooo waaaay.

Oh, one OTHER THING... at the register, there were refrigerator magnets, I thought they were gratis, like most businesses do... they wanted $2 each. I mentioned they need a sign stating the price... the cashier caught an attitude for questioning the matter... then showed me a tiny price sticker, like you find on canned foods, barely visible on the display, but not on the said magnets... not obvious in the least... she and her demeanor need to go.

As a Native New Yorker... I could have READ HER THE RIOT ACT AND LET HER KNOW HOW SHE WAS PISSING ME OFF... but I remained a gentleman... THIS PLACE ISN'T SO UPSCALE, THAT ONE WOULD EXPECT BS ATTITUDE FROM A CASHIER!! 🌟💣💥

Lastly, the ambiance and attractive decore are nonexistent... it looks like a dump!! It wasn't very clean and neat... looks like furnishings from Mardens clearance basement.

INITIALLY, I was so excited to go there, we talked about coming back for the fish platter, bagels and cream cheese...At $32.... but it's not going to happen after today's Fiasco. The nice woman that brought us our lunch was the only enjoyable part... she smiled, was friendly, a very nice touch.

This was NOT WORTH THE $40 WE SPENT....

I had a comically painful experience there, worthy of a Portlandia sketch. Enjoy.

After arriving right at 7am on a Monday morning on my way to work, I asked the employee opening up the shop about ordering.

She told me I’d have to call my order in. I said, “I can’t just order with you?” “No, you have to call it in” “Okay, to place the order with someone inside?” “No to place the order with me.” ….We were standing 5 feet apart on the sidewalk, mind you.

“That’s kind of weird but okay.” I looked up the number on my phone and called. She stepped inside behind the booth and answered “Rose Foods” and looked right at me. I said, “It’s still me. I’d like to order a bagel.” And she said, “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. The reception is bad where you’re standing.”

“Well that shouldn’t matter,” I said. “I’m standing right here in front of you and can hear you perfectly well without the phone.”

She answered, “Try standing back out on the sidewalk. The reception is better there.” …I was meanwhile AT the pick up window, behind the divider counter and still outside in the door alcove where a patron is supposed to be… this wasn’t a mask thing.

“Is this some kind of joke?!” I asked, getting agitated. “No. It’s how we do things” she said matter of factly.

“Well I’m not playing this game.” I hung up. “I’ll just have an everything bagel with herb cream cheese. Toasted please.”

The phone rang again. She picked it up: “Hello Rose foods”, looked me dead in the eye and said “I have to take this order.” I then told her that was psychotic antisocial behavior, before marching off to go to Mr Bagel.

This is a true story and some utterly bizarre, entitled, and bratty service… I don’t know this person working there and never said anything cross to her.

Frankly Im curious how the owner gets away with conjuring such a completely disfunction system and empowering their employees to behave this way… I guess it’s just a crazy world and getting crazier...

I just went to Rose Foods to drop off a tax form for a former employee, as it came to my address, though tenant had moved out last October and hadn't left a forwarding address. I went to one of the counters where a woman was boxing something up, and she said that if I was there to order food, the counter was just to my left. I said I wasn't there to order food. I asked if the person was or used to be an employee, and I had some papers in my hands. She said there was no one there by that name and threw the papers back across the counter at me. She didn't ask me what my concern was, or why I was handing her paperwork. I said the papers were tax documents that Rose Foods had sent to the former employee's last known (to them) address, but she no longer lived with me, and the papers needed to go to their office. It was the manner in which she threw the papers back to me, and the brusqueness with which she talked to me. I actually told her she was rude. She said "I'm not being rude." But she was--dismissive, brusque, and actually surly. Why someone has to act this way in a place of business ... I don't know. I did then go back to ask for her name, which she refused to give me. She asked me what my name was, and I gave it to her. She was...