Washington Perk & Provisions — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

This review is long overdue. I moved downtown 2 years ago and have been to Washington Perk (affectionately referred to by locals as “Perk”) hundreds of times. Last Saturday night, I rushed in 10 minutes before closing time only to discover that they were crowded with a lengthy line due to a local dance competition (their patrons are inevitably a colorful lot). Given the line and my late arrival, I expected to be told that I had arrived too late to order. Wrong! The employee warmly greeted me and shared her ideas for enhancing a grilled cheese sandwich. The result was so magnificent as was my entire experience that I felt compelled to write this review.

Five Things I Love About Washington Perk

Remember the theme from Cheers? “Sometimes you wanna go, Where everybody knows your name, And they're always glad you came.” Walk into Perk, and I guarantee that you will hear one greeting after another, from staff to patrons as well as patrons to staff. Perk is W-S’s very own version of Cheers.

Their food is delicious. I particularly recommend their grilled cheese sandwiches. Also, they make a Lemon Sorbet milkshake that tastes EXACTLY like a Chic Filet Frozen Lemonade!

When the owner Crystal discovered my great affection for grape Laffy Taffies, she made sure to always have them stocked. These individuals dedicate time and effort to understanding their customers and ensure that all their needs are thoroughly addressed.

I was a high school sophomore when Michael Jackson released Thriller. One of the Perk’s staff members is a man by the name of Michael Jackson. It makes me unreasonably happy to walk into Perk and call out “Hello, Michael Jackson,” and have him warmly reciprocate with “Hello, Deborah.”

When I received the unfortunate news that my cancer has returned, a staff member hand delivered a beautiful Washington Perk canvas tote bag to me. filled with goodies that I frequently buy there. The staff clearly cares about their customers. If you become a regular at Perk, you too will leave...

I was excited to come in and try some of there sandwiches; their menu looked pretty descent and i just wanted to check them out to put on my food page. As I walk in I wasn't sure where to go ( Being my first time there) to order and so one guy in the front counter really didn't greet me, just asked me what I wanted and i responded that i was excited to try a sandwich or bagel, all he said was " Go to the back" ( like if i knew where i had to go) so i was like " Okaaay", so i start making my way towards the back, and another older guy looked at me with a confused frown like why I'm walking back here, asked " can i help you?" I told him " Yeah, I wanted a Bagel with ..and didn't let me finish talking just said " fill out that little sheet on the desk with what you want, (like if i new what i had to do) So i handed him my sheet, but at this point i didn't even want to be a bother or eat there anymore, I mean no good customer service at all, I just told him to cancel my order and to have a great day I wasn't about to spend my money there, no good vibes at all, I know we are human and we have bad days, but I was having a great day and their vibes were just so ugh! Not going back there...

Beware if you have food allergies! Cute place but the service and food are a total disappointment. I went in this morning with my boyfriend who has a severe peanut allergy to order breakfast sandwiches, both of us left a note about the allergy on our order slips as we often share food. While waiting for the sandwiches to be ready we clearly overheard the kitchen staff making light of the allergy saying things like "Oooh I wonder if there's peanuts in here". We also did not see the staff change gloves or take any other allergen precautions. It is completely fine to let us know politely that you cannot or will not be able to make food that is safe for someone with an allergy to eat but to make light of a life threatening allergy - especially within earshot of the customer- is just disrespectful. I don't normally leave reviews but felt inclined to share so that others with allergies don't make the mistake of eating here. In addition to the rude service, the bagels themselves were pretty lackluster and the...