It is sad to say that after many positive experiences in the past with this location that I am motivated to express my disappointment regarding my last two visits at Athenian Grill. I am very understanding when something goes slightly awry with my order; I've had 20+ years experience in the food service industry. As long as I get an apology and a resolution to the problem, I'm happy and will return. We're all human and humans make mistakes.
On my most recent visit, I had an exceptionally long wait time for my order (a burger, sandwich, salad and hummus to go). As I had nothing better else to do, I observed the operation. The young lady at the counter repeatedly touched her face (her lips, no less!) and hair and did not wash her hands. Her hair looked like it was unsecured. I felt like saying something, but the owner was there and I'm sure he saw the same things I saw. I don't think he said anything--in any case the young lady didn't wash her hands. There was a minimum of cooking sounds, so my impression was the cook (who seems relatively new--the guy with the Bob Marley-like beanie) was not a multi-tasker. The skinny manager guy took my order and wasn't friendly and didn't say "please" or "thank you". After 20+ minutes of waiting, I got no apology for the wait. Upon arriving home, the sandwich was not cut in half, and the pita for my hummus was hard and very browned--enough for me to taste burnt. The hummus itself was runny. This is "Greasy Spoon 101"--I'm not being extra picky, folks!
During my previous visit, about two weeks ago, I was served by the same young lady, who by the way, was also a new face. She overcharged me, didn't speak clearly, didn't apologize for the overcharge (neither did the skinny manager who came over and fixed the error), and gave off the impression she didn't know what she was doing. I didn't receive a sincere "thank you", she never said "please", and didn't do anything exceptional beyond bagging up my order. No labeling of sandwiches, offers for the appropriate condiments, and I had to ask her to bag a cold salad separately from hot food. I got the impression that she figured her distastefully revealing tank top would assuage any deficits in service. Not a professional impression! Along with this mediocre service, the same aforementioned cook came out to me to "challenge" me on the way I wanted my sandwich prepared. I don't need someone to lecture me about what comes on a tuna melt--if the paying customer wants ketchup with his chateaubriand, then so be it--the customer is always right!
Prior to this, I recall some dynamite young ladies manning the counter, going the extra mile not only for me, but for every other customer as well. Cheerfulness, order accuracy, impressive multi-tasking, and sincere greetings, smiles, and "thank you's" come to mind. They are the reason (and to be fair the food at that time was very good) I patronized this location and even brought friends to try the place out.
One thing I did notice was that the managers or owners are entirely lacking in any people skills. I was gobsmacked when (a number of months ago) the skinny manager guy yelled at an employee for leaving the counter to drop off an order nearby (she was gone for 30 seconds) when it was apparent she only wanted to expedite. I would have thanked her for handling it and for her hustle. I understand as a manager that you need to correct your employees, but that should be done in private, not out in full view of the customers! I haven't seen this particular employee lately, nor the others. Perhaps they got fed up and finally quit...
Which brings us to these new employees. It is quite apparent that the management of this restaurant doesn't hire or train very well. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I frequently see the owner(?) milling about, wandering from the kitchen to the dining room instead of helping out the operation. What's up with that?!? It is because the standards are set so low from the top that it is no surprise that things have gotten bad lately. And that is why I will not be frequenting Athenian Grill for a very long while. I would recommend you spend your hard-earned money elsewhere, until they improve their operation, if they ever do. read more