Cafe Rio Fresh Modern Mexican — Restaurant in Saint George

This place is an absolute joke. They are always out of everything no matter what time of day. They do not tell you they are out of everything until you are in line trying to build your order. The last time I ordered a salad they were out of everything except rice so it was a rice, lettuce and tortilla strip salad. They don’t even offer any substitutions. They were also promoting Pollo Asado chicken and I was never able to try it because every single time I went in they were “out” even out shortly after they open. They are also always out of ice in the soda machine. The speciality drinks are always empty. They are also always out of their desserts. The napkins are almost always out as well. So basically they never make enough food and never stock anything. and if you have an online order, you have to check your bag before you leave because they are notorious for missing items like chips and desserts and they don’t even tell you they don’t offer to substitute it and they definitely don’t ask if you would like a refund, you are supposed to accept the fact that you paid for something you did not get. My daughter ordered chips and queso and they gave her queso with no chips. The bathrooms are disgusting. Always have toilet paper and garbage all over the floor, always out of hand soap and always out of paper towels. If you’re lucky, you can use a toilet that was actually flushed before you walked in. The absolute worst about this place definitely has to be the employees I have never been to any restaurant or business where the employees are so bitter and rude. every single one of them acts like they hate their job and that they are completely miserable. I saw an employee throw a customers tray down because they asked for chips instead of rice and then she walked off and couldn’t even give the customer their chips. I saw employee flat out scream at a customer who was waiting for an online order because the customer thought that the employee called her name and she didn’t so the employee freaked out. When you are waiting in line, ordering your food all of the employees give you dirty looks. It is so uncomfortable. There is an employee, I think he is some sort of “trainer” and is not always at the store, but I have seen him multiple times. I have never met someone who is as unprofessional as this man is. I went to pick up an online order and of course there were no employees around because they’re always hiding somewhere and there were several orders on the counter. I walked up, looked at one receipt on the outside of the bag and this man starts screaming at me saying that I am contaminating the food. Every person in the restaurant was staring at me. I have also seen him yell at other customers. In fact, one time I thought he was going to get in a fight with a customer because he was being so belligerent. They don’t put any napkins or utensils in any of the to go orders so you have to go stick your hands in the pile of utensils and napkins to add to the bag and that’s not contaminating the orders In their mind but a person looking at the receipt is. I am also pretty sure that it goes against DoorDash policy because I know that the employees are supposed to bag everything and then seal the bag closed. They don’t even tape the bag closed let alone make sure everything is in the bag. I don’t know what they employees have against to go orders, but they are seriously so rude to the customers and DoorDashers who are picking up the food. In fact, I know several people who DoorDash and they have told me that they won’t even pick up orders from Café Rio because it is such a nightmare always waiting for the orders for extended periods of time and because of the way they are treated there. In my opinion, this location needs to have a complete employee overhaul and find some workers who want to work And who understand the without the customer they won’t have a job. I like the food at Café Rio when it is available, but I cannot support this location any longer. It is an...

WTH happened to Cafe Rio?!! I had heard about them from a lot of friends but there were none in my home state at the time so I didn't get to try them until a family trip to UT. I wasn't hungry but I fed my kids and my elderly parents and I grabbed a burrito to go for later when I was hungry again. I decided to try a nibble while I waited for them to eat so I could have the fresh experience. It was so delicious that I ended up eating most of it on the spot. My wife wasn't along with us on this trip but a few months later, we were in Wenatchee, WA and there was a location there at the time so I took her. She was skeptical but ended up loving it. This was all more than a decade ago now and since then, the quality has gone way down hill.

I learned in college about how cost accounting degrades the quality of food offerings in franchised or chain restaurants. Basically, they start off with something great that people love and this allows them to become successful enough to franchise or become a chain. Then, they become a corporate entity and the accountants start looking at ways to save money. This eventually makes it to the food. They realize that if they decrease or change a certain ingredient by some small percentage, they can save $X number of dollars annually. As the years go by and this keeps happening, eventually that product you used to love is like a copy of a copy of a copy, etc and it's no longer very good. This has destroyed Cafe Rio for me. I imagine it has for a lot of other people as well. I hear the Wenatchee location is closed now and the crowds are a fraction of what they used to be on the rare occasion I visit. I honestly wouldn't visit at all if I didn't occasionally have friends with less refined palettes insist on meeting for meals there. I realize that those people keep the Jack-in-the-Box's and Burger Kings of the world in business but when was the last time you ever saw a big crowd at an average location for either of those spots? I remember seeing large crowds at Cafe Rio in the last decade so they could actually course correct, but they probably won't. To be clear, it's not just this location. It's every location I've been to the past few years. I was with someone within the last couple of weeks who insisted on eating there in my new home state of NV. I didn't want it but they insisted so I grabbed some nachos to munch on and even they sucked. How do you...

Saturday, May 9th, 7:30pm

Had a curbside to go order. There was a large rush or a large back order happening. I’m not exactly sure. There were about 30 people waiting in line outside. Cafe Rios part of the parking lot was full and there was a line of cars trying to get in to park. Called in to check in for curbside pickup, was informed that an employee would come out and grab my name. Waited 30 min no employee came. Decided to go wait in the line outside the store. Waited another 30 min still no employee interaction.

I’m not really upset about the long wait times, I’m upset how the manager handled the whole situation. The only employees that were coming out of the restaurant were two teenage boys that were being put through the ringer of customer complaints. There was no real understanding of what customers were to do in order to pick up their orders. There was no update on wait time or why things were back ordered. Multiple lines were forming in different directions.

I called in and got their call center, where I was hoping to fill out a customer survey, to my surprise they forwarded me to the actual store where I was able to talk to the manager. He answered “If you are calling to complain about the long wait there is nothing I can do about it.” He then later told me that he was cooking the food and every time something came up he has to leave cooking the food. I took it as a stab towards me to not to call him to complain during a such a crazy time. Hey I was hoping to fill out a survey, not talk to the manager.

I get it. There are rushes. I worked as a cook in the restaurant business. I’ve had the parties of people come in at closing time. I’ve messed up on orders. Had equipment go down. I know things can get intense and frustrating when things are going south. I don’t know what happened today at Cafe Rio. I don’t know if someone decided to walk out and quit. I just know the whole entire situation could have been managed better...