Cotton Patch Cafe — Restaurant in Tyler

I am a now former employee of cotton patch. I worked for the company for over 2 years. I recently decided to leave a very abusive relationship. My abuser also works at cotton patch. When I let management know what was going on, my hours were cut drastically. Along with my coworker’s who was helping me through everything. The staff was told that if they got involved or tried to help me, they would be fired on the spot. When I asked why my hours were being cut I was told “he is more necessary than you. There are plenty of servers.” I was granted a protection order for me and my children where he was not allowed within 200yds of my job, myself and my home. That morning i had left before my shift even started and let the MOD know i was not able to work my shift. I had an emergency court hearing to go to. When I notified management of the protection order going into effect, they said that I no longer work there. They said that I abandoned my job when I left that morning. The company did its own investigation and deemed that I abandoned my job because the MOD lied and said I didn’t tell her I was leaving. Which multiple employees were witness. It is absolutely disgusting the lengths that this company is going to to protect my abuser because he is “more necessary”. I am blown away that I lost my job because I decided to leave my abuser and protect myself. I have 3 children to care for, a house to pay for by myself now, and they care more about keeping an abuser, not to mention he has stolen thousands of dollars from the company. I am disgusted with this company and do not recommend supporting this business.

Edit to add: they fired him as well. But the way they have gone about this entire situation is still sad and disgusting. *they rehired him after everything settled lmao.

*another edit to add: I am no longer allowed inside the restaurant because I posted...

I have been to this location NUMEROUS times, and have not had a problem like we had tonight. My daughter, who is a minor, kept noticing one of the workers staying at her and it was making her feel uncomfortable. He is younger, but we asked our server how old he was and he guessed 18-19. Because my daughter was feeling uncomfortable, I informed our server of the situation. He informed us that this individual was in fact a good person and upstanding. We said NOTHING about the situation again. 20 minutes later, we are approached by the joke of a manager. She did not proceed to ask us if there was an issue but to tell us that none of the servers were stating it was her responsibility to protect her worker, who is also a minor. I was appalled and more than pissed. There was NOTHING to protect the worker from, because we didn’t even speak directly to this person. I could understand the position IF I had addressed this concern with said worker, but that did not happen. My child felt uncomfortable because this PERSON, I don’t care the age, was staring at her. Many times I witnessed myself. She is in desperate need of instruction and coaching on how to handle situations like this. Great job Cotton Patch on the horrible experiences that this joke of a manger, Lara, offers your customers.

The food had been on the decline for a bit but it WAS my daughter’s favorite restaurant. I could deal with the food and MOST of the people there are amazing. Joe is an amazing server (looks a little like Quentin Tarantino), Emily is always a doll and Kendall was amazing, but I see...

I have gone to this location several times and am a former server, so I try to be as fair as possible. In the past I could tell they are understaffed by the slow or overwhelmed service, but I have general had a fine time.

I went tonight to have dinner and was seated immediately, that is when problems started. While waiting for the server, about 5 or 6 minutes passed. In that time, a man walked in off the street and began going table to table trying to sell bread and tell people about his ministry. I politely said no thank you, and had to tell him several times I wasn't interested. He approached at least 7 tables before anyone did anything about it. The server that spoke with him was a young man and very timid. The seller ignored the server three times as he was asked to leave. I then noticed the manager, Ashley, standing to the side laughing about the situation as the man continued to try and sell to a table of older folks.

My server final arrived and I tried to order but the manager approached still laughing about the situation despite her server being ignored and the man still selling and schilling his ministry to people trying to eat. I told my server I didn't want to eat here anymore and left. I then called their District Manager, a man named Justin Marshall, and left a voicemail.

Honestly, Ashley should be ashamed of how she handled it. Leaving a poor kid to be ignore and her customers to fend for themselves while she laughed and never apologized about the man. It will be a long time before I go back there. Treat your staff and...