"My daughter and I were frequent, longtime patrons of Cooper's Hawk in Downers Grove, IL. We dined there as often as 4 to 5 times per month. On September 29, 2023, we made a reservation for 1:15 pm at this location. We ordered what we usually start with an espresso martini for my daughter, and a bottle of sparking wine with two glasses for the two of us. The server, who also imparted that she had recently been promoted to a supervisor, delivered the bottle to the table with one glass only. When I questioned the server as to the whereabouts of the second glass, she stated that there was an Illinois law precluding diners from having more than one drink in front of them at the same time. She also informed me that she had told me about this policy when she served us in the past despite the fact that heretofore, she had complied with our request. When I questioned her inconsistency with regard to enforcing this rule , the server suggested that I speak with the manager, which I did. I told the manager that in all of the years, and of all of the servers that we had since patronizing this restaurant this overzealous server turned supervisor was the only waitperson that we ever had who cited and attempted to enforce this policy . I also pointed out to him that there were several tables around us at which the diners had four full glasses of wine per individual AT THE SAME TIME! (After all, it is a winery. I also asked the manager that if in fact this was a state law why was it not consistently enforced? Why were those diners allowed to have 4 drinks in front of them as the same time? Was this rule arbitrarily and selectively enforced at the manger's and server's discretion? The manager neglected to respond to my queries and contended that the server was correct. Appalled by the manager's and server's condescending and insulting treatment we left the restaurant. I complained to the Cooper's Hawk Corporate Office, and was informed by the director that the Downers Grove manager had made a substantial error, and had misinterpreted the Illinois law and the attempted enforcement of said. He apologized for the actions of the manager and the server as they had been incorrect. The director also assured me that the manager and the server would be taken to task for their egregious behavior, and for their errors in citing incorrect policy. I will not go to this restaurant again, because the manager of the Cooper's Hawk Downer's Grove location is not conversant with his company's own policies. He obviously does not value nor respect the loyalty of long time, frequent customers, as he made no attempt to assuage and retain this customer."
Grilled Broccoli
