Rowdy Joe's Feedback

The woman I think is the boss/owner is a very small woman with short, brown hair. But I could be mistaken.

My daughter Ryan is one of the wait staff at Rowdys and I know for a fact that she is never surly and would bend over backwards to make sure cutomers got great service...next time you are in ask for her and see what I mean. 😉

Another point - Ryan is not blonde. She has brown hair. I would also attest as a buying customer, she has always been very pleasant and accomodating whether it be at Rowdy Joes or when Ryan works at OTW.

Jumbie -STX

Ryan is the one I look for and stay if she's working - she is really the only reason I consider going back there.

I love waitresses who are accommodating! :@)

I don't dine there but this is the kind of issue that causes restaurants
to close. Whoever is a regular and knows the owner should take a moment and tell him/her to read these complaints!!

What nights does Ryan work at Rowdy Joe's. I'll look for her when were back in a few weeks.

I am not sure what evenings she is at Rowdys but she also works at Off The Wall, Normas Domino Club as well as The Lost Dog Pub.....takes a lot of tips to pay the bills sorry to say but she enjoys them all.

She works at all the places I frequent when I'm on island. I must have run into her before but I'm terrible with names. I'll look for her on the next trip and introduce myself if I find her.

I ate at Rowdy Joes for only the second time last night. The place was very busy, the food was affordable and excellent with service fast and friendly. I'll be going back again soon!

ios the rude servers name toni by any chance

Here's the straight scoop on Rowdy Joe's:

It's a great place. The food is good, the staff are great, except for one problem: THE OWNERS.

RJ's is owned by Scott and Sherry. I swear those two are about the grumpiest owners I've ever seen. Every single time I'm in there, they have a scowl on their faces. I don't think I've ever seen them smile. They always seem harried and stressed out. The thing is they CHOSE to open the business -- if you don't like it, then shut it down! As the owner, it falls on you to set the tone, and I must say, Scott and Sherry are utter failures at doing so.

I remember three years ago when Scott and Sherry had just arrived from St. John, where they had lived for many years. They were about to open RJ's and were super nervous about whether or not the place would be a success. Fast forward to today: it's a bona fide success! Congrats, Scott and Sherry, you did it! Now, why can't you just be happy about it?! You got what you wanted, yet you still seem on edge all the time. It really gets to wearing on a person.

So, why do I still go on there a lot? Because everyone else that works there is awesome! Nicole, the pretty blonde with loooong hair is the daytime bartender and she rocks and is a good friend of mine. Dennis and Steve, who work the bar at night, are both awesome dudes! Britta, the dark-haired beauty with the intense eyes, is also a sweetie and is a hard worker. Then there's Becky, the drop-dead sexy gal with curly brunette hair -- she's just a dish not to mention a great server! Lastly, we have the aforementioned Ryan, who is a friend of mine. She is an awesome chick and knows her stuff! In short: EVERYONE there, with the exception of the owners, is top notch!

All the workers there have complained about Scott and Sherry. They are tough to work for. Take Ryan for example. Last week, Sherry FIRED her for showing up looking unkempt. Not for being late, not for being rude to a customer, not for a good reason at all... just for not looking perfect. RIDICULOUS! Ryan worked there for a loooong time and never ONCE called in sick or showed up late for a shift. EVER. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but I'm afraid you won't find Ryan at RJ's ever again. Their loss!!

For those of you who had bad experiences from the staff, I'd bet my bottom dollar it was from Sherry the owner. She has short dirty blonde hair and is on the skinny side. Oh, and don't forget the harried, annoyed look she wears 24/7.

And, that's RJ's as I see it. Remind me never to ask for ice cream during dinnertime. lol

damn, tell it how it is. I like that this became a pro Ryan thread, instead of a bash RJ thread. Which btw, yes she is a super cool person.

I don't write on this blog but I feel compelled to do so in regards to the slanderous comments that are being posted here. First of all I frequent Rowdies usually a couple times a week and I love spending my money there because not only is the staff awesome but Cheri and Scotty are Fabulous people and run an affordable neighborhood sports bar that serves great food. I love their restaurant, the staff and am so thankful for the service they provide and have never felt unwanted when I frequent the establishment or treated rudely.

To Mr. Texas Webmaster, shame on you sir! I happened to witness your childish temper tantrum and thought that at any moment you were going to fall to the ground kicking and screaming like a 2 year old over something as ridiculous as ice cream! Understand that Cheri was taking into consideration that her guests that were in the restaurant were being taken care of by having the option of finishing their meal with the wonderful ice cream they serve. And if the situation was reversed sir you would be singing Cheri's praise for saving you an order of your favorite ice cream instead you acted like an infant, making a fool out of yourself and disturbing the other patrons. Had you acted like an adult I might find some validity in your argument but the manner in which you conducted yourself in was nothing short of pathetic.

To Mr. NugBlazer. I understand you are friends with Ryan which excludes you from having an objective opinion on the topic of her being fired! The purpose of this website is for people to state their unbiased opinion not rant about their friend getting fired from a job because obviously your too close to the situation by being her friend which you stated in your post. The REAL truth is that she was let go because she consistently shows up for work late, drunk, stoned, high and sloppy. Needless to say she is a great person who always has a great attitude and someone who I enjoy seeing when I'm at one of the places she works but there comes a point when a employee becomes a liability and Cheri would not have terminated her employment unless she felt that the final straw had been reached.

So this whole thing started over some guy acting like a baby because he couldn't order some ice cream! BIG DEAL! Get over it! Who F***ing cares! People are more inclined to blog about a bad experience than a good one which is sad so I'm here to set the record straight. Rowdy Joes kicks ass! I love it there, the staff and Scotty and Cheri and if you don't like something about it then don't go there which means more ice cream for me!

culinaryassasin, these posts are peoples opinions. they are entitled to those just as you are to yours. maybe if the owner had stated at the beginning that they were short of ice cream the situation might not have escalated to the point it did. people who live here understand about businesses not having things on hand, it happens.

and wasn't your post also based on your personal relationship to the owners?

we all have bad experiences at establishments and are entitled to post those. there was a thread started more than a year ago about positive experiences on island-good luck finding it as people have not posted to it for a long time. there was a post a week or so ago about a positive experience, you will have better luck finding that. and have you read the restaurant thread, most of it is positive.

your post was pretty much a tantrum just like you say the original posters was.

Thanks, speee1dy, you pretty much hit the nail on the head.

culinaryassasin, don't be a hypocrite. I see this is your very first post here. Not off to a very good start, are you? Makes me wonder if you are Sherry's mother. lol

The facts:

The owners are often grumpy, terse, stressed out and rude. I've seen it myself many, many, MANY times. Clearly, others on this board have also seen it, that's why this thread exists. The staff also agrees, whether you like it or not.

Telling someone they can't have an item on your menu because you are saving it for other customers is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

Ryan is a great worker and people love her as is evidenced by the comments on this thread. Firing her was not a good move.

I stand by my comments.

There are always three versions of the truth. Yours, mine and the reality and even the latter can be a variable! You just can't please all of the people all the time. Nobody who works very hard and takes pride in providing excellent product and service likes it when they're dunned but you have to put it all in perspective. Obviously if you're getting dunned all the time then you have a problem but if that's not the case then you just have to try and let it slide off you and get on with business. No doubt Cheri and Scotty (and I don't know either them or their place) have been in the business long enough to deal with it. It's easy for others to sit on the fringe and say that they should have done this or they should have done that in this situation but if you weren't there and you're not in their shoes then you don't know. A lot of fuss about not much but that's just my opinion. 😀

oldtart, true about yours mine and reality.

nugblazer, thanks

Sherry, the owner, has never been rude to me, but I don't think I've ever seen her smile either.

This whole discussion is about how food service places are perceived by their customers. It is too bad that a good place on a small island has been singled out. I think that most people will agree that this place is far above average on St Croix. I will not second guess the motivation of those who made comments.

I have been ALL of those people at various times in my life. I have been a walk-in customer who was treated badly. I have been a regular customer who had good friends fired. I have been a regular customer who has seen my friends, the owners, criticized unfairly. I have been a restaurant owner.. who ...? The restaurant business is tough. It is hard to smile when you are trying to make the bottom line work. When it is your money, your ego, your energy that is on the line. We all know that we should, but we are human...

I think we should all be able to state our opinions. However when you do it on a public forum you have to ask yourself ..what is my motivation?... Are you just letting off steam? Are you trying damage the business because you are angry by some slight? Are you trying to influence others to think the same way you do.?

I am not saying that we should not criticize businesses that do not serve us well, however we should always consider the impact of our remarks...How important is ice cream?

My husband and I have had lunch there before, enjoyed it, and are going back tomorrow with a guest. I have no doubt it will be a great lunch.

Just ate there tonight. Great food and service, as usual.

Bernie

I'm afraid I have to concur with nugblazer. The food is great, the vibe is nice, the service is top notch and consistent. However, when you patronize RJ's, you are putting money into the pocket of two people who don't appear to be grateful for your business. I have stopepd eating there lately for this reason. We are a small community and business owners should be extremly grateful for local business in these tough economic times. I want to know when I am spending money in a local business that my business is appreciated and feel encouraged to return.

We have to keep returning once in a while just so my sweetie can get a fix of the awesome blue cheese cheesecake salad. 😎
Probably go more often if we hadn't discovered the yummy cordon bleu crape's Sunday brunch item at Eat @ CB. Budget only stretches so far.

Wow, this thread took off.

Ms Information asks "How importan is ice cream"? A valid question I suppose but as a former restaurant owner I would expect that you know the answer in the back of your mind. I am sure we could give this question to a group of Business Management 101 students to analyze and I bet they would all come to the same conclusion that a bowl of ice cream can be extremely important. The future value of that bowl of ice cream turns out to roughly be $1500 over the next two years. Lets assume that my wife and I would have continued to eat at RJ's once every two months at $75 per visit. 6 visits a year, 12 visits over two years. That is $900. Now 50% of the time we ask another couple to join us, and on occassion we have 3 to 4 couples, and kids. You can see how quickly this small bowl of ice cream adds up to something much bigger.

Now, because I felt strongly enough about that bowl of ice cream and the way I was treated I posted about it on this message board. Did that result in other lost dinners? The answer will of course remain philisophical in nature, but I would suspect that others may be influenced by this thread, but maybe not.

As the business owner she had every right to make up rules on the fly, and as a customer I have every right to question those rules in public by stating my dislike of those rules. Maybe this will help them become better business owners if the feedback ever gets back to them, or at the very least maybe they give their decision a second thought the next time somebody comes in for ice cream during dinner. All I know is it won't be me coming in for that ice cream.

Chad

PS - culinaryassassain, based on your comments it is obvious you weren't there that evening.