West Salem Diner

"Initially, this place felt like such a racist establishment but now that we have concluded our service I choose to believe there was a terrible lack of communication. We selected this location because they are a local restaurant and we wanted a unique experience. Booooyyy did we get one. We were immediately sat and offered drinks. Orders were placed and we patiently chatted. Well, over the course of nearly an hour, we watched other tables receive the same service, eat, pay, and leave. Our server never came to address us about the delay, asked about water once, and avoided eye contact as they waited other tables. In our wait time, I noticed that we were the only table with a person of color (hence my previous assumption). With 2 minorities and 4 military affiliated individuals, we were expecting a more professional experience. My colleague spoke out to our server to ask what was going on after several tables and 45 minutes, to which he stated that the kitchen lost our tickets. The server then nervously rushed to confer with another two servers who exchanged glances at us as they whispered. Within about 10-15 more minutes our food was served, it tasted okay, temperature was fresh to order, and normal customer service returned. A different server offered us a substantial discount to apologize for the inconvenience and ensured better communication with us as we finished our meal. I’m truly hoping and believe that this is a situation of a new/training waiter who has not worked in customer service, and therefore did not know how to handle the situation. We are grateful that the food tasted pretty good, and are equally appreciative of the accommodation for experience. On a more pleasant note: Their menu has a good variety of flavors to choose from. We spent a good moment perusing the options to debate what to try! Our vegetarian member truly enjoyed his fresh salad. Their chicken sandwich was the perfect texture, as were the pickles."

"EXACTLY what you want a local Southern Diner to be. I love how the restaurant honors the shop that was there when I was a kid. They serve all the best comfort foods you'd want. I loved the burger and fries I had and definitely enjoyed their sausage gravy and biscuits. Great coffee too! Can't wait to go back :)"

"Wonderful breakfast offerings! We had a breakfast club and the biscuits and gravy along with coffee and a peach bellini. The seasoned fries had the right amount of spice to accompany the meal."

"1st time going and the food was great. I had the biscuits and sausage gravy with bfast potatoes and 2 eggs. Gravy was seasoned well just needs more of it on biscuits. Eggs got scrambled bc I have trust issues with others cooking them over medium, but they were tasty. The potatoes were wedge style and seasoned well also. The homemade lemonade stood no chance after the 1st sip."

"Food was delicious. There were plenty of open tables so no wait to be seated. The waitress was knowledgeable of the menu and was helpful when we had questions about the food. I had the Freebird sandwich and it was perfection. Fries were crispy and not too salty. Pimento cheese has a small kick to it so if spice is your thing you will enjoy it."