We used to live near St. John and always loved the atmosphere of the town. After a few years of being away we had reason to be back in town and so we decided to try the Inn Cafe for breakfast. While living in the St. John area we had not eaten here, but we were looking forward to experiencing friendly small town hospitality that we could brag about, similar to the ice cream and friendliness we used to find in the pharmacy.
Sorry to say, I was very disappointed. The atmosphere was a "we can't" atmosphere. Because of some dietary needs we requested an alteration to the menu that would have been a simple exchange. We were the only people in the restaurant and it should have been easy... a customer service "no brainer" (the exchange would have even been a cheaper ingredient than the one that came with the meal). Any other food chain would have said "sure". I was surprised to be told that they don't make changes to the menu. This had nothing to do with cost to the owner or the chaos of a full dining room. It was simply "we can't." When the hash browns came we were not offered ketchup. The waitress completely disappeared and I had to go grab a bottle off from the counter. Furthermore, we were never offered refills of our water. In the end, while the food was simple and good, I would not recommend going here.
It strikes me as sad for their establishment. If customer service had been warm and friendly and their menu flexible, I probably would have raved about them to people who might be driving through town and would have said... "you need to stop at...". We have always done that for the pharmacy ice cream & soda fountain, which is now located in the hardware store. It would seem to me that small town businesses need this kind of referral loyalty and need to be a step above in their customer service in order to thrive. Unfortunately this establishment doesn't seem to get that.
I will give them two stars, simply because we enjoyed the food, but the rest of the experience was definitely overshadowed. read more