Flock Shop — Restaurant in Spartanburg

The food was good. Service (beyond just the server) was horrendous. I understand this restaurant is still relatively new, so I hope it's just growing pains.

Some specifics for those that care.

Because there's a lot to say, I'll break the review into 2 parts, atmosphere, service and food.

My wife and I are foodies and drive a bit out of our way to try out new "hot" restaurants. We love Nashville hot chicken, so we made the venture for this spot.

Atmosphere:

The building and atmosphere are fantastic. Certainly a hip spot that exceeds any expectations. I didn't use it, but the semi-outdoor seating looked really nice, and the wall paintings, tool box decor are all very cool.

Service: (More than just the server, but also overall time til served food, etc)

Upon being seated, it took a little while to even be acknowledged and place our drink orders (no sweat, it happens), the server acknowledged our long wait and apologized without prompting. So we place our drinks, then later our food orders (with an appetizer due to the later than normal lunch due to the drive, and my infant son is becoming hangry).

However, more than 30 minutes after ordering, we still haven't gotten our appetizer (french fries). Eventually, the food comes... all at once... our app and meal at the same time 😞.

Despite the unusually long wait, my side item (hush puppies) still weren't ready and would "be right out".

However, they didn't, and nor did we see our server again until we finished our food and we were at the plate clearing stage.

At this point my wife mentioned I still needed my side to our server, to which I insisted I did not any longer, as I had eaten all of my other food and that I was finished. The server took the initiative to place them in a to-go box. Although a nice enough gesture, I'm good.

Despite having multiple issues, and not even being served all of the food I ordered at the time of eating, the server didn't even comp the hush puppies, the fries, nothing whatsoever.

I appreciate what appears to be the owner trying to reactively address problems in the comments, but some effort to proactively identify tables with issues in the moment would be better received.

Food:

Overall the food was very good. The flavors are pretty unique, especially for Spartanburg, but even for other hot chicken spots I've been to.

Subjective opinions I'll share: I was surprised the chicken was served on a super plain piece of white bread. This could be significantly elevated by placing it on a thicker piece of buttered toast (Zaxby's does this for a $5 combo). Also, if the fries were fresh cut and not frozen krinkle cut, you'd be elevated again in my book. But just my opinion...

In conclusion, I may eventually come back, but I'll give it a while for things to work...

Two things I hate about this review. The first, is that I even have to write it, as we are big fans of Will Cribb and his restaurants. The second, is that there isn’t an option for zero stars. My husband and two children put their names down to eat this past Saturday night. Once seated, they waited for their server to greet them. They waited and then waited some more. After 20 minutes had passed, with no recognition from anyone on the floor, my husband went to the host stand to clarify that they had a server. My son then came up to my husband to let him know a server had arrived. Once back at the table, they gave a drink order as well as placed a food order at that time. 30 minutes passed and with no sign of their food or their server, and watching other tables seated after them receive their food, my husband decided it was time to leave. Upon exiting, their server told my husband their food should be out soon, he explained that the kids were hungry and it was time to go. He left money for the drinks and began to leave. She replied “ok have a great night” and walked away. My husband asked to speak to a manager. The manager appeared from the kitchen. My husband explained the situation and the manager responded with “that’s not good”. So out the door they went. I want to mention that my husband and I are both 25 plus year veterans of the food and beverage industry, and we completely understand and feel for the businesses taking a hit with being busy and understaffed. We aren’t the people who get up and leave. We aren’t the people to write bad reviews. We are the people who over tip your servers and patiently wait when we know good things are to come. However, as prominent of a local restaurateur that Will Cribb is, we felt it necessary to share our experience. The Cribb restaurants are funky, fun and have great food and ambiance, however, at most of the locations, the service ranges from hit or miss, to just plain non existent. Wether it’s the servers being difficult to differentiate from customers, because they’re dressed in street clothes, or the fact that you rarely have a manager presence on the floor. Perhaps it’s time to put some of the financial resources you invest into your restaurants atmosphere, into training your staff and more importantly,...

Quick read- delicious food, super friendly staff, clean restaurant. Lilly our server was fantastic. Must haves: grits, southern egg rolls, Alabama white sauce, hush puppies!

Long read - We heard about this place from friends in VA. They saw a tick tock video and drove over an hour out of their way to try it out. They have told us for over a year to go try the Flock Shop. We finally went after church this past Sunday and the reviews from our friends were spot on!

First, the appetizers, so much to choose from. Our friends said we had to get the Southern rolls, so we did, WOW!! So much flavor packed in this wonton, not sure who came up with this idea, but kudos! We also had the buffalo dip, it was good. I really want to try the catfish bites next trip.

We went on Sunday so they had brunch. I had the breakfast bowl. Eggs, grits, honey, chicken fingers and gravy. I really enjoyed it, but next time I would see if I could leave the honey off. Again, it was great, but for me the honey made it just a little too sweet. I love grits, and some places disappoint with their grits while others just know how to do it. I'm glad to say the Flock Shop knows how to do it!! Some of the best grits I've ever tasted. I believe they have them available as a side, so try them out!!

My wife got the chicken fingers with Mac and cheese and hush puppies. The hush puppies, OH MY!!! I've never had a hush puppy like that. Mac and cheese was good as well. You can add sauce to the chicken fingers and my wife decided to try the Korean BBQ, not my favorite, but again still very good.

My son got some type of chicken sandwich with pimento cheese on it, that thing was HUGE and he enjoyed it. He had his chicken coated in the hottest sauce they have, so I didn't try it, but he said it was good. The fries were really good as well.

Oh, we did get some Alabama white sauce to try, and YES!!!! It was sooo good!

Lilly our server was outstanding! Very friendly, prompt, knowledgeable of the menu and gave great recommendations.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back to try...