Walery's Premium Pizza — Restaurant in Salem

Been in Salem for 50 years, so I've got plenty of experience eating at Walery's as a teen, young adult, and dad with a family. Back in the '90's, it was a pretty cool place--very hospitable and food was always fantastic. Back in the day, the "rubber bands" around the pepperoni did pose a choking hazard (on more than one occasion...the last time when my youngest was about 7 years old and happened myself a several years ago. The pepperoni pizza has always been zesty with a good tasty sauce and a decent amount of cheese. Exactly like the 'ol Dr Munchies Pizzaria used to have in South Salem (same building where Roadhouse Grill is located) and, literally, the same as Paddington Pizza way out south and JC's Pizzaria in Keizer. Just fantastic tasting pizza. Walery's has always employed plenty of teens and young adults, however, the problem with this (plus the fact that it's somewhat closer to decently upscale neighborhoods of West Salem) is that the majority of employees hired feel and act as if, magically, their immature logic and reasoning skills always make them correct and that customers are idiots. The staff at Walery's act as if Salem should be bowing at their feet, perhaps because they've been in business for a long time, and it's reflected in the fact that employee/customer interaction has gone downhill in terms of politeness, helpfulness, and appreciative attitudes. They are no better than Taco Bell or any other mediocre fast-food establishment in the Salem area...possibly even worse than many of those places, because Walery's staff often lack personal accountability for mistakes made and the poor communication skills needed to remain neutral and kind. Customers should be appreciated for being customers, plain and simple. We still visit Walery's for great tasting food, but the service and professionalism of the employees still leaves much to be desired. Pizza is still an 'A' while customer service ranges from a 'B' to a 'D' (depending on who's working). Walerys--you are not God's gift to Salem, but we thank you for your STILL yummy pizza. We just wish the attitudes of employees and their ability to fairly reason and hold themselves accountable for mistakes...

Would be 5 stars if it weren’t for the service.

Hands down the best pizza I’ve ever had. I live in Portland now and sometimes drive down there just for their pizza. The salad bar they used to have was amazing, but they stopped doing it during lockdown. Wish they’d bring it back.

In the past year, their service has really gone downhill. I’ve been there when there’s barely any people, and wait times are just as long as when it’s super busy.

I called in an order on Saturday 6/8/24 for 2 large pizzas, a basket of fries, and two sides of ranch. When we got there, we waited at the counter for 5 minutes before one of the 6 teenagers behind the counter finally helped us. They didn’t have the basket of fries on the order. We paid and were told the fries would be done in 4-5 minutes. We were not given a receipt or an order number. We sat at the table closest to the counter and waited. After about 15 minutes, I went back up to check on the fries. They told us they weren’t ready, and went to check with the cooks. He came back out and it turns out our fries had been ready and instead of calling the name or telling us, they put them in the warmer and let them sit there. The whole time there were 5-7 employees just standing behind the counter talking to each other. What’s the point of calling in an order if we’re still gonna wait? And why couldn’t one of them tell us the rest of our food was ready instead of just putting it in the warmer and letting us sit there for 15 minutes?? We were sitting maybe 5 feet away from the counter.

Similar problems with service in the past year. It’s a shame, their food is really good and their service used to...

Edit: May 2024. (original review 2023)

Well, I we decided to try Walery's again. We ordered pizzas for our granddaughter's birthday party. I pre-ordered and showed up early. I stood there and watched the orders go by. I was assured that my order would be done soon by the teenage female employee. I watched as they placed pizzas in the warmer. I waited for 40 minutes after the pickup time that I was given. I asked about my order to two female teenage staff. Then I asked another teenage employee about my order. Initially he said that my order still wasn't done, but then he went to the pizza warmer. Low and behold my pizzas were the ones sitting at the bottom of the warmer the entire time I stood there and watched. They sat there for over 40 minutes...

I waited 40 minutes for nothing, while the people at the party were waiting for food.

Oh yeah. It might seem that I am bashing teenage employees, but I have a reason to do so. The entire time on this visit, just like all of my previous visits, the teenage staff are socializing. They don't appear to be focused on the task at hand. It feels like prom night. It seems that a manager type of person, perhaps an adult might want to keep an eye on things from time to time. It is hard to even get help, as the staff avoids eye contact and /or too busy talking with each other.

So, once again, I cannot recommend Walery's. I live right up the hill from them. I'd rather drive across the bridge where I can get better service. Or any service...

This is too bad as we've been Walery's...