Bruiser's

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! I am not a hot dog fan...and was thinking what am I going to eat? Alaskan Cod Sandwich...it was great! Loved the tartar sauce!!! But being the foodie that is am..I tried the New Yorker (got a couple of bites from my husband), the Jambalaya Dog (a bite of my oldest) and a bite of Dirty Dell dog (from my youngest) and I have to say it was so good! Mind you even though it says 6" hot dog the servings are huge! The wait staff were so helpful and friendly. Owner came and had a chat with us, great guy!! Definitely going back!! BTW if your a Chicago Cubs fan...definitely the place to be during the season!

So, I don't normally review places with bad experiences. I usually call it a day, and move on with no intention of returning. But the issues I had with this place mounted on top of each other today. I can't help but warn people. I see all these not so bad reviews and wonder... was it just an off day with an off crew? This was my first visit to Bruisers. A friend of mine wanted to meet and have a nice lunch before the holidays. Where do I start? Covid Precautions: The first red flag was the lack of Covid precautions taken. First thing I noticed was a joke on the tables that were closed saying something along the lines of, "This table HAS Covid." I am all for a good joke, but this not a good Joke. Very bad taste. A joke that could easily turn off half your walk-ins. Now... I can let go of just a joke if real guidelines were being followed. But I didn't see one precaution being taken. Examples are as follows: Tables not being wiped properly after customers leave, a communal straw where dirty hands can grab at uncovered straws to drink out of (spread city), no hand sanitizer for customers or workers anywhere. The employees didn't have any masks on except for the person at the counter taking the orders. I was also uncomfortable to see the chef not wearing any sort of mask or gloves. You want customers to take a chance, then follow the rules. It is 2020, the year of sanitizing. Rude Chef: So on top of the lack of Covid concern was the lack of respect the chef had for his fellow employees and a customer. The lady who did have a mask taking orders was nice enough, but as soon as we took a seat I could hear and watch the chef aggressively bark at her. I honestly felt a little bad for her. Something along the lines of hotdogs were ready to go out that no one got to it just yet. His approach was not professional. It was like watching a bad marriage unfold. A bickering back and forth with no respect for one another. I felt like I was in a Gordon Ramsey episode of Kitchen Nightmares. No communication. Just insults for everyone in the room the hear. The complaints of the chef can be summed up to just having a good number of hotdogs to cook. I mean... you should be happy with every order considering that each dog that goes out the door pays the bills. It felt like the complaints stemmed from not wanting to extend effort beyond having to cook more than one hotdog at a time for more than one customer at a time. And with that frustration of having to do more than the minimum effort, he took out his frustration on the employees. I mean... who wants to sit and eat around a toxic environment such as this? Then... I was shocked at the approach taken to the upset customer that was after us. The customer was upset over the length of time it was taking to cook the food. It looked to be a large order, but instead of responding to the upset customer in a calm and collective manner, he barked at them in the same rude way as he did with employees. Again... other customers sitting in the room… can hear and observe every single aspect of this disaster. If I were to ever return to this establishment it would need some big changes. The Covid issue is one thing, but the rude kitchen was a show. Please take a long look at the day-to-day operations. Perhaps communicate in a professional manner, as well as run the kitchen like you actually want to be in business with a growing base. I am one person. Who likes a good hot dog. A possible return that you lost. Along with my friend who felt the same discomfort. As well as a few family members in town that got to hear my misadventure at Bruisers. I say this as business owner myself. You have to TREAT YOUR PEOPLE RIGHT, and FOLLOW THE COVID GUIDELINES.