The Winkin' Rooster — Restaurant in Shoreview

Today I went into the Winkin Rooster for my lunch break from work. I normally come about once a week and enjoy my food. Today, I was in the restaurant and ordered my food, sat down, and then talked on the phone. My phone was on speaker phone. The manager or owner (not sure who it was) asked me to turn my speaker phone off. I immediately turned my speaker phone off like he asked. I then talked on the phone expressing my feelings to the person on the other side of the phone. The manager or owner (a male) then started talking to me again and told me if I was gonna be disrespectful then he can cancel my order and have it refunded. He said I was intentionally trying to get him to hear my conversation on phone. I talked exactly the same as I did before and after he asked me to turn my speaker phone off. He then proceeded to stand up and continue to tell me what I was doing was wrong. He asked me “If I was in your house would you want me to have the speaker phone on.” First, I’m in a restaurant, not using a profanity, not yelling, and sitting patiently waiting for my food. There were other people in the store eating and TALKING INCLUDING A STATE TROOPER. Nothing about my voice changed at all. He said I won’t have to cancel your order. I asked him to cancel it after and I want a receipt showing it was canceled due to him threatening to cancel my order for simply talking on the phone! During this, the state troopers head didn’t even turn up as I wasn’t causing a scene but this manager/Owner believed I was.

I am extremely upset and feel as though I did what he asked and there was no reason for him to proceed to talk to me after I did what he said. Then continue to threaten to cancel my order.

After he gave me a receipt of my canceled order, he apologized if I felt like he disrespected me. This was all in a matter of less than 5 minutes. I was in there for less than 5 minutes from the moment I walked in to the moment I left. Never have I ever experienced something so terrible at an establishment. It hurts even more because just yesterday I was in there talking and laughing with workers as they gave me suggestions on which treats to get with my lunch.

I hate to say this as well but, I was the ONLY black person in the restaurant at this...

You may want to pause ordering ahead of time because if something happens you won't be refunded. I ordered a salad and on my way to pick up my order on a rainy day I had major car problems My car was stalled and I injured my finger in the car door when I panicked. I had to deal with finding a tow, calling work, getting stitches in my finger... Needless to say I never picked up my order. After reviewing my bank statement about 10 days later, after dealing with all my car issues and not having one to drive,after I saw today it was charged so I called to ask about it. Maybe it was a bad day ..... the owner does have an attitude as others have reviewed. . I wouldn't of bothered if he didn't snap at me and accuse ME of being rude when I said "I guess I won't be ordering ahead of time", Take some responsibility, dude, and just move on. Accusing me of being rude when I was not rude is really crappy. You were 100% the one with the attitude. A friendly conversation and some compassion is all that was needed. Instead you made me out to be the bad guy. It was never about MONEY. I would of understood but at the same time you can't blame me for asking.

Edited: Make note of Snarky owner comments. Proves my point. The...

My wife and I visited for lunch during the week. It was a nice little place with decent sandwiches and wraps - nothing to write home about, but not bad either. With only 1 soup, I was left wanting for more options. One thing in particular that made an impression - after ordering, I remembered that I had forgotten my reusable water bottle in our car. I walked out to grab it and as I returned one of the workers cracked the front door open, stuck her head out (to prevent me from entering) and tapped the "No outside food or beverages" sign. I asked if that applied to reusable water bottles and she curtly replied that they would get shut down if they let people bring those in 🤷‍♂️. The beverage selection in the store requires one to pick between plastic water bottles (hooray for the environment!) or massive amounts of sugar, caffeine, or taurine (hooray for my health!), so I ended up just eating my meal without a beverage. Not the end of the world, but certainly left me feeling less...