Zeppe's Tavern

Boo

My burger was burnt and it took forever to get my food. After smelling cigarette smoke for an hour while waiting for my burnt food I decided to give this restaurant a 1 star

Too many teenie-boopers working (oops, I mean receiving a paycheck for physically standing there) who make it abundantly clear they would rather be somewhere else and the sleezy managers who tolerate it to look "cool" to the female staff, I was beginning to think this was a real life production of the movie 'Waiting..." I counted no fewer than 16 workers walking through the dining area during our hour-long stay there.  And really, none of that should bother me... especially watching all those super-stretchy yoga pants or super-high tight mini skirts... but listening to that "she said, he said" drama for an hour sorta gnaws at the dining experience.  It certainly didn't help speed up the order of grilled pork chops from getting to the table 30 minutes after the order went in.  Front of house manager said they wanted to make sure it was cooked thoroughly due to its thickness.  *Looking around*  Hmmm, a handful of patrons, a huge staff in the back, pork chops, and a half hour???  Sure, OK...

Opened in 2011, this place is one of Zeppe's latest forays into the tavern world having expanded their pizza empire of 30+ shops throughout northeast Ohio.  And while I applaud entrepreneurship and competition, why would you open your 30-something-ith store - and the only Zeppe's or other pizza store for at least 5 miles - directly across from the long-running, family-owned local pizza/Italian restaurant Mangia Mangia which had been there for many years?  And while I'm not a fan of Mangia Mangia, this certainly wasn't a shout-out for business ethics, fair business practices, or just for being a good business neighbor on Zeppe's part!

This was our second visit, our first having been a carry out order from their takeout side. Probably won't be back.  I can (and do) make better pizzas at home and Geauga Farms Country Meats has better pork chops that I can grill in far less than half an hour!