Taylor Grocery — Restaurant in Taylor

Taylor Grocery, MS I have NEVER been treated so RUDELY in my 52 years of life. My Parents (both over 70 years of age) and I met my Sister and her family in MS to attend my Nieces graduation from Ole Miss. We all live at least a 4 hours’ drive away from each other. This was a family gathering and Celebration. My Niece was excited to take us to this "Grocery" she had heard about. We arrived at 5:50pm, signed in as a party of 11. We were told we would have a 2 hour wait. My niece was told ahead of time that we could "tailgate" in the parking lot as we waited. We brought chairs, cooler etc.

We had a nice time visiting and meeting the friends she had invited to come with us. I had gone in twice to use the ONE restroom available (another VERY long wait) and was pleasantly surprised to see many large tables of guest. We are accustomed to waiting for long periods when eating out together as a large family, so I was pleased to see they had accommodated other large parties. The following is only a BRIEF description of what followed....it was actually MUCH WORSE than can be translated on page, as TONE is difficult to denote! The problem began when we were finally called to be seated about 2.5 hours later. We walked in and were told we would have to be seated at separate tables. When we asked if there was any way we could sit together, we were told with the most "UNCIVIL TONE" I have ever heard, "you can sit here, or continue to sit outside!" When someone in my party said (with a raised brow) "Excuse me?” the discourteous response was, "We told you when you walked in, we could not sit you together".... When we ask if there “was any reason we could not push the tables together so we could chat while we enjoyed diner?” we were told in the same malcontent tone "you can eat now and talk later, or go back outside!" At this point I got up from my chair and went to the front to ask for the owner. I wanted him to know about the unacceptable treatment we were receiving from his "hostess". I received the same impolite responses from the owner. He never once looked at me during our encounter. I was SHOCKED, AMAZED and SPEECHLESS! When I responded "I guess you just have all the business you need" He excuse was "we’re busy...you can continue to wait, or leave." WOW! Is what I was thinking…….when...... of all things......the "hostess" interrupted...and.....about 10 inches from my face said, "are you saying I was being rude to you?”. I responded, "Yes ma'am, just like now....that is exactly what I am saying". She continued in the same nasty tone, "all I said to you was, we cannot seat you together!” I then stated, “there is no misunderstanding as to WHAT you are saying, the inquiry is, HOW you ARE SAYING it". The encounter did not get any better from that point on. My last statement to the owner was "I wouldn’t eat here if it was the only choice for my last meal on this earth!" Neither the OWNER nor THE HOST understood that their ILL-MANNERED PERSONALITIES are EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE. The fruit did not fall far from the tree there at Taylor Grocery! I and the others in the party that decided they would rather starve.....did just that.....sat outside and waited HOURS for the others in our party that felt they had NOWHERE ELSE to go. I would have been ashamed to support such a DISSOLUTE ESTABLISHMENT....therefore; I DID NOT and NEVER WILL! Please take the time to read the many other negative reviews of this place before wasting 4 hours of your time, or taking the risk of spoiling your precious time with your family and friends. My Niece and my Mother were tearful, and heartbroken! Shame on Taylor, MS for enabling this “Grocery”; therefore, supporting this type of treatment of others! FYI - we are from Texas, eat at amazing “hole in the wall” places on a regular basis... such restaurants are plentiful in our neck of the woods.... however, said such...

I’ve been coming to Taylor grocery for over two decades now. I’ve lived, worked, graduated and owned a store in Oxford, been bringing friends and family to this establishment for so long. Used to hang out with Lynn on the front porch in my earlier years. We had Taylor Grocery cater my daughters graduation party couple of years ago. I have a black and white framed photo by Adam Smith of Taylor Grocery in my home. I say all of this bc I am no stranger to this place. It holds dear to me!

We drove over tonight from Sardis bc my husband was playing music there. I have lived in Savannah, Ga for 16 years so I was so excited to come back! I have never in my life been treated so poorly and degrading from a hostess. Sarah (Lynn’s daughter) is the hostess that is the most rude, patronizing person I have ever interacted with. I have worked for years in the restaurant industry, and I can not imagine treating a customer the way she did. I also tend to not post negative reviews bc I know how difficult this industry is. But this is about the personality and attitude of a staff which happens to be the owner. Which brings in so many questions about not giving a care of being polite to customers because why? Taylor grocery will always have business no matter the reviews or complaints or how rude you are. Tonight, I waited my turn and simply, with a soft voice, kindly asked if I could sit at the table in the back that was empty and faced a brick wall in a corner (we were there when they opened) so I could eat and watch my husband. There was no one waiting. And Sarah lost her mind, came at me verbally aggressive. It will make this review too long to share everything she said to me. After I not once even got to say anything to her during her berating of me, she threw her hands up and said you have to go and talk to “him” (Lynn) like I was some huge problem to her! I don’t care if she owns it, she needs to be removed from hospitality. I think she enjoys bullying people. I realize it is a high traffic and turnover place, but never was I planning on sitting and holding that lil table all night long. I was so excited about eating catfish in my old fave spot, and watching my husband for a set. Quite honestly she might be the meanest boned human being I have ever encountered. My husband proceeded to go in and ask what happened. And she says “well she chose to get upset”. Needless to say, I left in tears/disbelief/abused and went to to my friends place St Leo to eat. I did not deserve that Taylor Grocery. Will not be back with that verbal aggressive women, Sarah. She’s horrific. Taylor Grocery is cool and all, but when Sarah is there the black cloud that hangs above her of bad energy and bad vibes just ruins it all.

Ps. They don’t pay a dime for their musicians, they only get paid with tips. My husband is from Australia and he did it for the experience. And they get free entertainment, and treat us like that? Lynn was great as usual. But his daughter is absolutely...

We finally got over to Taylor Grocery for dinner. The day before our visit, I was chatting with an elderly lady who grew up in, and still lives in Taylor who advised me “if you want to eat on a Friday night, you better be on the bench at 4:30 or you won’t get in the door.” Well, we took her advice and arrived at 4:30 pm sharp – the bench was already full! But…they have a lot of tables and we were able to get in on the first wave. And yes, they do strictly enforce the requirement that your entire party must be present to get a table. We were promptly waited on by Melissa who was a wonderful waitress, hostess, and a bit of a “trail guide” as we explored the menu. If you have never been to Taylor Grocery, my suggestion is to do what we did and that was to order a couple of appetizers, especially the sampler plate. This plate includes catfish fillets, boneless “wings”, hush puppies, and shrimp, all of which provides a sneak peak into what a person might want to order for dinner. The catfish was awesome! It was perfectly cooked and its light and tender texture resulted in two of us ordering a catfish entrée. The others at the table ordered the grilled double pork loin chops served over brown rice and smothered in gumbo. ALL OF THE FOOD WAS TOP NOTCH AND EXACTLY WHAT I WAS EXPECTING AND WANTING from Taylor Grocery. There is clearly something’s going on back in the kitchen that makes the food so great. I’m not sure what it is but they, whoever it is that’s back there, needs to keep on doing whatever it is that they are doing that is so good. Green beans – absolutely delicious, just like my mom used to make. Turnip Greens – better than the green beans especially when doused with a bit of the “pepper vinegar” that is made in-house and comes to the table in an old tequila bottle. Gumbo – Terrific – nothing is spared in the gumbo, by itself, a bowl of this and a handful of the hushpuppies is about all a person might need. I’m pretty sure I could take a bath in a tub of that gumbo and enjoy every minute of it. The fried okra, almost a good as the catfish fillets! My advice for folks who might be considering making the short drive from Oxford down to Taylor Grocery: Do as the Romans do. Get on the bench and get on it at least ½ hour before they open. Cash is welcome, credit cards are also accepted. No beer, wine or other alcohol, but they do serve soft drinks and tea in humongous sized glasses and to boot, refill them about every 74 seconds! I was not able to find the bottom of my glass no matter how...