Mama's Pizza — Restaurant in Windham

They racially profiled me for being Latino at Mama's Pizza.

A few days ago, I walked inside the restaurant and I asked the older lady if they sold pizzas by the slice, she said no. I politely said ok thank you, and I walked out.

I was wearing transparent plastic gloves on my hands because I was concerned to touch public door knobs and chairs with bacteria and viruses that could get me sick.

It was almost closing time. I was in the parking lot texting on my cellphone because I don't like to drive and text.

I was leaning on the back of my pickup truck when suddenly 3 cop cars surrounded me and a cop said said "what's the problem here, why are you refusing to leave?" I didn't know what they were talking about, nobody asked me to leave the parking lot.

He didn't believe me so he asked the female cop to go inside and ask witnesses. She came back and said that I was telling the truth. I asked them why I was being trespassed and ordered to leave and never return.

The male officer said it's probably because of my gloves, that it looks "suspicious". I then said that wearing gloves is not a crime. I also mentioned that "suspicion" is not a crime either.

A lot of people nowadays wear masks that cover their entire face, I wear gloves for the exact reason, to protect me from germs and covid variants.

If I did something wrong, illegal, or yelled or I disrespected someone inside then I would understand why they wanted me away from their restaurant. But nothing like that happened.

I also didn't understand why Mama's Pizza lied to the police when calling 911 that I was "refusing" to leave?

A simple friendly word would had sufficed, "We're about to close sir, and you can't stay here in the parking lot."

But they didn't do that. Instead they treated me like a criminal for no reason.

Worse of all, lying to cops that I was refusing to leave made the cops feel angry and nervous when seeing me (especially at night in the dark) it could had easily ended in tragedy if they mistake my cellphone with a gun or a knife; you hear those mistakes all the time in the news.

After the cops cleared me that I didn't do anything wrong nor made any trouble whatsoever, Mama's Pizza instead of apologizing for treating me like a thief or a criminal, they still decided to ban me forever. Make that make sense.

It was my first time visiting the restaurant and all I asked was if they sold pizza by the slice. It took less than 15 seconds to say that before I stepped out.

I worked as a waiter for 8 years in 2 different restaurants in CT, so writing this bad review pains me because I understand the hard work that goes into managing a restaurant. But treating me like a criminal for doing nothing wrong and they putting my life in danger is not right.

The main reason that I'm posting this review is because I don't want anyone else (nor other Latinos) to be mistreated that way.

Maybe I'm wrong, but to me it looked like I was being racially profiled for being Latino. I'm willing to remove this review if I'm assured that this type of treatment will NEVER happen to anyone else.

Imagine if this happened to your mother, cousin, or brother or sister... would you...

Awesomely delicious and high quality food. Very reasonable prices, for the area. I've never gotten sick off their food in over 15 years. Staff is at least courteous, but never rude. They could do with some formal customer service training, probably, but it's not a big deal. The food is really what keeps this place afloat. Absolutely the best pizza in town, even better than Tony's, better than wings and pies. The grinders are perfect. The pasta dishes are delectable. You can also call ahead for orders, which is nice. Drawbacks: • They don't deliver. If they did, they'd probably get more business. • The parking lot is tiny. If they had more parking, they'd probably get more business. • The sign is dated. If they had something more contemporary, it'd probably improve their presentation and increase sales. • The place needs a major remodeling. It feels like it's still 1993 in there. Not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, it's 1993 in a bad way, as the atmosphere feels dilapidated more than it feels vintage. Needs new carpets and upholstery. Needs to get rid of the TV set in the dining room. Needs to get more updated decorations. If the drawbacks were fixed, the food alone could carry this place beyond a 5 star, in my opinion. I hope they take this advice...

I lived near here over 40 years ago and when I visit the area I always have to get my grinder fix. I have to say the turkey grinder, fresh out of the oven tastes just as good as it did back then! Sometimes, as time passes, reality does not keep up with our memories, but Mama's is still the best pizza and grinders in Wilimantic and beyoooond! I wish I could order something this good in Florida. None compare! Hats...