Wayback Burgers — Restaurant in Virginia

Note: This review is from June 2020.

I am going to let these pictures speak for themselves. Rundown...

Access: Easy to get to from the I-95, right off Optiz Boulevard. Plenty of parking out front.

Inside: For this place to be brand new, I was shocked that the grout for the tiles were as filthy as they were. There was food on the floor behind the counter. Everything else looked good and clean.

Personnel: I think seeing someone's underwear who works at a restaurant is wrong. I didn't see any hair nets. However, everyone did have on visors. I guess visors satisfy the health department's minimum requirements for food safety. Everyone wore gloves, but only the cook changed his. His sous chef who prepped the burgers (the one with the exposed underwear) used her gloves to open boxes, prep food, etc. She never took them off and put on a new pair when she touched a different surface. No one did. Not even the owners. They went in the back, prepped salads, then prepped fries, then prepped shakes - all with the same pair of gloves. You could easily spot the owners - a middle aged middle eastern couple (likely Indian) that worked alongside their team. I respect their hard work, so I hope they "hear" this feedback and do something about it, because with a few minor changes, I think this place could be a gem.

Customer Service: Everyone was nice. Uber nice. When I arrived, I asked if they had a delivery or pre-ordering service. This guy who walked in, in front of me, whispered that pre-ordering is not worth it, because he called ahead and he still had to wait a long time like I did. There was no benefit in calling ahead for your order. They are slow. Snail slow. The sous chef, bless her heart, screwed up my order. I noticed it and whispered to the sweet guy bagging the food about the error. He whispered to her. I actually left wondering if the sous chef can read, because she struggled a lot with simple things. The bagger helped her out a lot. I actually think he'd make a good supervisor. I recommend they rethink their process, because I think they'd be faster with fewer bodies behind the counter. This would avoid everyone tripping over each other.

Food: Now to the most important thing.

French Fries - They used shredded cheese for their bacon and cheese french fries. Yes, folks. The french fries are not made to order. They pre-cook them and have them under this lamp. Yuck. So, they took pre-cooked french fries, sprinkled some stanky shredded cheese on top and returned them to the lamp. When I saw one of the owners sprinkle shredded cheese over them raggedy fries, I should have cancelled then. I should have really cancelled when the sous chef screwed up on my chicken sandwich. That's just the fries, folks. There's more.

Chicken Sandwich - The chicken sandwich has potential, but it was overcooked (see pics) and not seasoned. I could sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it, but why when I can just go to Chic-Fil-A or Popeyes for a properly seasoned and tasty chicken sandwich for less?

Salad - I was hungry when I arrived, so I ordered a salad, too. I totally threw my money away with this one. For this very large salad, they gave me 2 tablespoons worth of dressing. Literally. I didn't order a shake, but I watched them prepare them for the guy in front me and they looked yummy.

Price - I think I spent approximately $20 for a sandwich, fries and salad. These folks are a little pricier than your run-of-the-mill fast food restaurant.

Final Verdict: Will I return? Likely not. You only get one chance at a first impression. Between the safety issues (exposed underwear, food on the floor, missing hair nets, etc.) plus the poor taste, I just think there are too many other worthy options in the area to try this...

Omg!! How is this new restaurant surviving with employees that lack any type of customer service skills, hospitality, and cooking skills? Walked in, was not acknowledged for minutes-we're the only ones in the place. Restaurant smells like "epoxy" and no food. Big guy comes to register sweating and wiping his face on his shirt. Takes our order- 2 burgers only for $23.30. Note: he put 4 burgers on the grill before coming to the register. We Sat down. A couple came in approximately 7 mins later to pick u an order; they weren't recognized either. A guy sitting out in restaurant went to back and called a young lady up to take order, which couple were there to pick up an order; the guy on grill said said he was working on it. 5+ mins pass and couple get their order. Went up to counter, nothing on grill which was smoking & burning. Guy was off to side in back and girl on ph. Called out to girl - no response. Raised voice, and stated hello, crickets, kept saying hello, then guy comes to grill, and says "yeah". Stated calling out and no one answered. Girl gets off phone; I asked where our order was; no food on grill? Then stated want refund-too long of a wait, and there were many ph orders on counter. Guy then says he was working on order. Note; he had no gloves on, and then started putting gloves on. Told them not worth the wait, they had no customer skills, and not very friendly. The girl gets on register asking was order pd in cash or card? She had receipt in hand-husband stated with credit card as stated on receipt. Girl says need the card. I stated there is a better way to ask for the card. Told them they lacked customer skills and left. Don't waste your time and money at this place. Oh, there was a big spill of liquid in front of beverage machine, with yellow hazard sign. The 2 employees sitting at table beside spill had their nose in their phones, and just walked...

Tried it for the first time, and I was not impressed. Inside was somewhat clean, but you can see stains on some tables, and trash on the floor. The employees aren’t too attentive; I understand if it’s not busy, but at least take initiative to clean, check supplies, practice recipes, etc., instead of huddling and chatting with each other. Also, the aisle to bathroom was blocked off for some reason. I ordered the bourbon bacon burger meal, and was disappointed. The burger had no flavor, and the bacon wasn’t crispy enough. The bourbon sauce and onion ring carried the flavor, but they should really add to the burger, not have all the flavor. The fries were okay, but I’ve had better. Another thing: the food is way overpriced! Almost $13 for a burger alone is one thing, but adding fries and a drink for like $7 more is insane. I will say that my meal at least came out nice and hot, and cooked how I like it, so that was a plus. I also didn’t have to wait too long (maybe because I was the only customer, but still), which is also a plus. Overall, for the price I paid, I was disappointed with my meal. I mainly gave this place two stars for my meal being hot, and ready pretty quickly. Unfortunate, cause I’ve wanted to try this place out for a while, but I probably won’t be returning...