05/29/2026
Listen, I feel as the owner of East Side Deli & Subs I need to make a statement regarding the activities that transpired at my deli over the weekend.
A man came in and ordered a chicken gyro and wanted it plain. He also wanted another gyro with regular fixings on it. The girl waiting on him told him the total was $20. He paid and walked out to his truck where a lady was waiting with him. They waited for their food.
At this point I was standing at the register. I saw their food being brought to the truck after about 15 minutes by the new trainee cook. He handed them the food and walked back to the trailer. I then saw the man get out of the truck and approach me at the register.
He said, "These are not right."
I said, "Let me look."
After checking them, I agreed they were not right. They were lamb gyros, not chicken gyros. I immediately approached the new guy in the food trailer and asked him to remake the food with chicken, and we started that process.
I then saw the female get out of the truck and head toward the trailer with her receipt in hand, waving it at me and screaming very aggressively. She asked, "Are you the manager?"
As I stepped out of the trailer, I tripped over the hitch and fell hard into the steel building behind the trailer. She then said, "I wish you would hit me like that."
At that point I was stunned and unsure what the issue now was.
She said, "The sign says gyros are $5.00, not $10.00."
I explained that, as the girl had told them when ordering, we offer 6-inch gyros for $5.00, regular 8-inch gyros for $10.00, and double gyros for $20.00. We do not offer a $5.00 chicken gyro because it is made with a real fresh piece of chicken that we prepare ourselves.
She did not want to hear the explanation. She wanted them for $5.00, and the situation escalated from there.
She said she was calling the police, which she did. The officers arrived and listened to her complaint. She was shown the sign with all of our prices that is displayed in front of the register when customers order. She still did not want to hear it.
She then asked the officer to wait while she waited for her fresh chicken gyros to be made. Within about 15 minutes they were delivered to her vehicle, hot and fresh off the grill, and the deputy waited while that happened.
Her words to me after not getting her way were, "This will go on Facebook."
Well, here it is.
Now, this was the nice side of me.
One thing I will never do is stay quiet when I know I am right. It is sad that so many people nowadays use Facebook to try to ruin people or talk garbage about them without caring who gets hurt in the process.
As I read the comments, I see people bringing up complaints from over a year ago. Many of those issues involved former employees who are no longer here. They were terminated because they were not a good fit for the standards we expect at our business.
It amazes me how some people continue to stir the pot long after they have moved on. If you did not work out here, that is fine. Not everyone is a good fit for every workplace. But constantly attacking a small business on social media serves no purpose other than creating drama.
I have also seen comments from people who have never even had a problem with us personally but feel the need to join in and attack the business. If you have an issue with your food or your service, bring it to us directly. We cannot fix a problem if we do not know about it.
To those who have had issues in the past, many of those employees are no longer here. We have worked hard to improve our operation and continue improving every day.
As for the new cook who made the mistake, he apologized four different times to the customer. It was an honest mistake. He is a respectful young man, a very good cook, and after everything that happened, he is still welcome here. The mistake was corrected immediately.
What disappoints me most are the people who pile on after hearing only one side of a story. Remember, if you live in a glass house, do not throw stones.
If you had a problem and brought it to us, we fixed it. If you ever have a problem in the future, we want the opportunity to address it right then and there instead of finding out later through Facebook posts.
All I am saying is that we have this under control. We are fine-tuning things daily and are happy to serve fresh food to our customers.
We are cutting back on some menu items, adjusting our hours, and plan to open earlier in the mornings. We are not closing. We are not leaving.
For those who believe some of the rumors and nonsense being spread online, we have passed all health department inspections over the last three years. We were inspected again recently and the experience went very well.
There will always be people who want to see others fail. There will always be people who enjoy creating drama. There will always be people who are jealous of someone else's efforts.
With all that being said, we hope to see you soon. Come try our food and decide for yourself whether it is good, bad, or somewhere in between. We are confident enough in what we do to let our food speak for itself.
Thank you,
Darren Martin England
Owner
East Side Deli & Subs
