Sugar Shack — Restaurant in Zephyrhills

We have family in the area, and came to eat here in May 2022 - at that time it was legitimately one of the best breakfast biscuits I’d ever had out, and overall was an amazing experience. This was #1 on our list for our visit this weekend…we are quite disappointed and truly hoping the issues we experienced today are as a result of staffing issues. Leaving three stars because last time was 5, this time was a 1 - will potentially give them another try in the fall and update accordingly.

We placed a takeout order, and the woman on the phone was super friendly. Order was ready in the timeframe specified. While I am standing in line, the phone rang and they took an order (no biggie, I understand that), so I step one step back from the counter to not be hovering. Meanwhile, one of the servers walks up and slides right in front of me to have the woman at the counter ring up 2 or 3 card orders. No excuse me, no smile, no acknowledgement. I understand it’s busy and she’s working hard, but it was just plain rude. After those orders are paid for, the woman at the counter apologizes for the wait, and I’m out the door in no time with a cash payment (they do charge extra for card payments - we normally try to pay local businesses in cash, so we carry it regularly, but just FYI).

Our order was two biscuit sandwiches - bacon egg and cheese and bacon/cheese and an order of hashbrowns each - it was $20. I was a bit shocked at the price, but quickly remembered how good it was last time, and the times we are in economically. The biscuits still had a good flavor, but were doughy in the middle - the tops were barely brown at all, so it was obvious they were taken out too early. The bacon was a mixture of floppy and overcooked - some of it downright chewy. The American cheese on the sandwiches was one of the cheaper versions you can find - it melted oily in the middle and was hard on the edges - don’t expect Kraft brand, but for the pricing would expect at least a brand that melts halfway decently. On the sandwich with the egg, it was maybe one egg “killed” - super thin, almost burnt on the edges and rubbery overall. The hash brown portion was relatively small, but enough - both were cooked on one side, with mushy uncooked potatoes in the middle (not all supposed to be crunchy like the outside, but like them at least cooked). Nothing was inedible, but it was overall lackluster, especially compared to our previous experience. We wouldn’t mind the $20 for what it was before, but the quality of cooking should at least match with...

1/8 Wednesday, 3 of us had breakfast . 1st time for us. Food was hot , simplistic but good. Young waitress attentive . A basic local eatery , no frills …serving breakfast and lunch . One of us in our group did not care for the coffee so the waitress took it off the bill.

We were sitting directly under this handmade wooden sign (see photo) that welcomes all military and says “Thank you for your service” My husband served 25 years in the army/special forces/ Ranger. . I asked the waitress , “do you honor military discount with ID? “ She responded, NO! I said, “honestly that’s very strange because we are sitting directly under this sign that welcomes military & thanks them for their service” when I mentioned it to her and told her to look up, it honestly held no meaning for her and she did not get it. She said we have a lot of military that comes in here that’s why we have the sign. So I asked again, “you don’t offer any form of small discount to honor military? “ She said , “absolutely no.

Just a suggestion, kindly remove the sign honoring military, or keep the sign and honor military with a small 10% discount . It appears you are using the military to sugar coat your sugar shack because you are doing nothing to honor these active or retired men and...

So, with so much talk about supporting the "mom and pop" shops and fighting back against the "big corporations," it's hard to feel bad for them when you show up to eat 15 minutes before they close and they are closing early. I've eaten at this place many times and never had any complaints about the food. I used to not like the service years ago, but with the new ownership it seemed to be getting better. But, when I show up to eat I expect them to be open during the times they say they will be open. It's all about professionalism. It's about people. I drove thirty minutes to specifically eat here. I walked in 15 minutes early and everyone looked at me strange. I asked if they were closed and the lady told me yes, and sent me away. I guess the pandemic hasn't hurt them all that much. There are plenty of places to eat breakfast. This won't be one of mine anymore. To me, It's all about professionalism, and it's about people. I don't appreciate when a business treats me as as if I...