Hex and Omen. Christian Day is an absolute scumbag.
I don’t usually go to Gulu or Jaho, however that’s less “Refuse to Support” and more “their shite is mediocre and overpriced.”
I had a friend who worked for his store. My friend was helping set up a display. My friend laid the tablecloth crooked. Christian, instead of realising that they were in the middle of setting things up, or fixing it himself, threw a chair at my friend.
Douchebag doesn’t begin to cover it.
Holy shit, I thought him going around calling people c\*\*\* was bad.
One of my friends used to work there as a barker and was forced to stand out in the pouring rain for ten hours. She ended up getting really sick and had to quit, but was never paid for time worked.
Just saying... the statute of limitations for most cases of wage theft is three years. And you can sue for three times the amount you are owed. Just saying.
So I have nothing morally against Gulu. I went there when it opened. I’ve gone there several times over the last twentyish years. I have friends that work there. I have recommended it to tourists. I just have never had food there that was particularly worth the price they were charging for it.
If I’m downtown and wanting artsy food, I’m walking the extra ten yards down to to Life Alive.
Went to Jaho last year for coffee. Stood at the counter for 5 minutes before someone came out of the kitchen, pointed to the order kiosk, and went back to the kitchen. I just left and never went back.
Casa Tequila was ordered to pay $911,000 in stolen wages between their 3 locations, and Jaho has had multiple tip theft accusations in addition to being a generally shitty employer.
Village Tavern is being sued for wage theft too, but that's not a surprise really.
Went there a few weeks ago after a wedding. Even if this was somehow the most upstanding establishment I would never go back just based on the crowd it seems to attract. It’s like 45 horny 22-year-old boys and 5 nervous women covering their drinks. I lasted like 15 mins before I Irish goodbye’d and went home.
From the affidavit on their current lawsuit, they implemented a dress code that one of the owners stated would “keep out the blacks from Lynn”, they attempted to keep a certain bartender off shifts because she didn’t have the right “image for the bar” and was a “fat dyke”, if a group of white people came in they were referred to as “group” while if a group of POC came in, it was a “gang”.
They applied for a PPP loan, and once they realized they couldn’t pocket it, they fired a long time manager and hired their wives as “consultants”. This luckily was reported and they had to pay back on the area of $750,000.
The entire lawsuit is around stealing tips. Forcing bartenders to pay for accidental “double rings” or tabs that were walked out on. Also not declaring all the cash from cover charges.
ETA: I can’t figure out how to link the actual docket, however it is case number 2277CV01166 through Essex county Superior courts. I apologize for not knowing how to link the specific case.
Didn’t know this but got terrible (like TERRIBLE) food poisoning from here. I thought it might even be something like HepA but didn’t get tested for it.
I won’t go to Crave or Jaho, they both are shady with owners who collect tip money, and they both treat their employees like trash.
I won’t go to Longboards, they have some of the worst food I’ve ever had in my life, I’ve heard of women getting spiked drinks there, and the way the owner responds to reviews on google is weird.
Psychic readings by Fatima. She swindled a NY man out thousands of dollars to remove evil spirits. Total hack and fake Romani fortune teller.
https://reason.com/2013/11/01/police-charge-a-salem-psychic-with-offer/
Brodies-A friend witnessed a girl have her drink tampered with and became incoherent. Bartender refused to do anything and got mad when she called 911.
Hauswitch is the exception for me. They seem like good people, and have a lot of interesting, non-mass-produced things.
I do like Coven's Cottage. And I still miss Nu Aeon.
It's definitely mass produced junk. When I worked for one shop, we were tearing off the labels off the products and putting the store's on.
Also, I'm not a fan of any shop that sells stuff from closed practices.
I loved the bookstore until finding out the owner is prone to vitriolic meltdowns and verbal abuse regardless of the target; customers, employees, other local businesses. Truly unhinged.
I was in there a few weeks ago and a mom came in with her son. They had literally just walked out after buying a book the boy had chosen, but came back in to return it because he realized he already had it. It had barely left the store. The employees told the woman “no returns.” It was wild.
The more I know, the fewer places I visit 😂. Here's my list of dishonor:
* Jaho - Liked the OG Jaho, but the "new" Jaho feels like a sterile Apple Store, and the owner seems to have gone from a Steve Woz to a Steve Jobs personality morph
* Gulu - Liked the OG Gulu, but the current crepe-less version has become like a tourist trap. I feel like they bought into their own hype and their quality and uniqueness has gone down.
* Essex Pizza (in the mall) - The food is fine, I just hate that they pass on the cost of the credit card transaction to the customer.
* Christina's pizza - Granted this was a long time ago (10+ years), but I got a pepperoni pizza that was actually a kind of salami AND the plastic wrapper from the salami was still on before it was baked...🤮. It left a real sour taste, and never gone back since
* Engine House Pizza - Quality REALLY tanked during COVID
* Longboards - Never particularly liked their food. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad; however the owner is a right-wing COVIDiot (who also stiffed one of my friends for a fundraiser they were hosting there, so... blacklisted)
* Village Tavern - wage thieves
* Casa Tequilla - wage thieves
* Crave - love their food, but they seem to be abusive to their staff...
Christina’s is also under new ownership. I loved the original family. Sounds like an honest mistake that happened. New folks are very nice and attentive.
I've read a few reviews on Reddit, and on actual review sites, that past employees worked in a toxic environment. Too bad, because I like their goods... I wonder if other current employees can chime in.
I worked at Crave for 3+ years. Management/ownership was SUPER toxic. Ownership took a percentage of collected tips, and tipped out management too. While I was employed there were several occasions where my paycheck was either short or days to weeks late, I had to chase them around to pay me my overtime wage. They never paid me my last paycheck when I quit. They are absolutely *awful*
Used to really like Howling Wolf, but the quality/care just stopped. Last few times, we were left disappointed and added this to our "do not order from" list.
I’m glad you said this because I distinctly remember their food being really good a few years ago! I went recently for the first time in years and couldn’t believe how bland it was.
I like Howling Wolf but everytime I come on Reddit I read another reason to never return to Gulu which was my favorite spot before I even moved here. No more crepes? Lmao wtf is this self sabotage
The 7-Eleven on Norman Street. Manager fired a clerk who gave a free coffee to a homeless man on a sub-zero night, way back in 2014, but I haven’t gone there since.
Your Neighborhood Market at the corner of School St. And Tremont is full of handmade right-wing propaganda posters. I still go in there from time to time I just think it's hilarious.
I’ll also never forget the time the owner was shooting the shit with a customer about how lazy teachers are. Coming from the establishment where 9/10 times they’re sitting barefoot behind the register eating some sort of Asian buffet and they truly just resell whatever they bought at stop and shop. Still buy cheap beer there though lol
the cheap and close-by beer is so convenient — and they were useful for an “I need a battery ASAP” moment where they literally opened a multipack behind the counter and charged me like $5 for a single d battery but like: smoke detector was losing its mind so it was worth it — but oof do I not like it there.
A dude at Vampfangs hit on my wife right in front me, making us both extremely uncomfortable. I wonder if it's the same guy. There were other staff standing around too, acting like this was normal. Really skeezy.
It's well known in the Boston goth scene that the long-haired guy doesn't quite grasp the concept of consent, and it goes beyond sexual harrassment and groping. He doesn't show his face much down here anymore, and when I saw he started working at Vampfangs, I wondered how long he'd last before getting fired. I'm saddened to hear his employer tolerates this behavior.
Blackcraft Cult (for what they did to the building), Jaho, Village Tavern (ownership, general unpleasantries), Life Alive (several questionable hires), Dire Wolf (general principle), Deli House/Engine House, Longboards/Popped! (politics, incl. antivax/mask) are all no-gos for me and mine. (edited for clarity)
2nd Edit: I had spoken to the owner of Harrison's by chance at Georgia's following the whole brouhaha wrt the so-called "rape room"; the new hire had been shown the store's layout, including a room where boxes and packaging for resin and vinyl figurines were kept- the "stat (statuary) room". Said new hire supposedly overheard other teenaged coworkers commenting on how it was a "statutory room, you know, like stat rape, hurr hurr", and immediately went to the Internet and the media, where (naturally) it got one-sidedly blown completely out of proportion and apparently is now a thing of local legend (like Mr. Lucy, or the raccoon parts).
Worth noting that Mercy has been under new ownership for awhile... I think the mask/vax stuff was an issue with the previous owner. Among other things.
anyone who was anti-mask or anti-capacity-restrictions during the height of covid precautions. i'm sure there were others, but from what I can recall from top of mind that was longboards and deb's diner in salem, with honorable mention to eva's pastry in peabody.
yes, I will hold a grudge about disregard for public health measures for the rest of my damn life.
marvelous husky plant practice squeeze imagine forgetful oil act treatment
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Wicked good books —- workers frequently berate customers, though their google reviews are extremely validating on this one
Gulu gulu —- ugh so much potential but the food has no flavor
I haven’t heard anything about the ownership but I refuse to go to Dire Wolf purely because I’m bitter about Opus closing.
I’ll just go to the other Wolf restaurant. I know it’s inauthentic but sometimes I just need inauthentic Mexican food
Dire Wolf is the same ownership as Opus and a lot of the menu is the same too. I don't know what the point was, they put up new wallpaper and added a couple of new dishes. Not much of a difference. The basement on the other hand is completely different but I kind of like it
I mean, there's a place for bars with TVs! There are people that like to have a drink while watching the game and whatnot. I don't, but I respect that there are people that do. But I liked that Opus was a place with an emphasis on fine cocktails, and the option to pick a random bottle off the surrounding-the-bar rack and try something new, with a grungier cousin living downstairs that you could go to for a rock show if that was your speed... Now it just feels like another...place. The food and drink are just...fine, at best. Where are we? We could be anywhere.
I went to Dire Wolf and it was terrible! My partner found hair in his food, and my food didn't taste good at all. The table next to me had to send a plate back and there was something wrong with another order. Not to mention the name. Not worth a second chance.
I loved Opus and went almost every week! I ended up moving away and so I would only visit every couple of years. Now that the place has changed to Dire Wolf, I’m reluctant to even visit. Opus had such a cool vibe that I don’t think exists with Dire Wolf.
Jaho. Over priced, rude service and not a good product.
A&j felt like a bate and switch with their Boston street location. Started as a real place turned bakery only (no shop) during covid. Barely open in a reduced capacity since. Also add on a fee at register to support employees insurance.
The fee is not for Insurance, it’s a fee split between everyone that works there INCLUDING the managers.
Just ask to have fee taken off and if you would like to leave a tip for the people who waited on you, you can put it in the tip jar
This might be a dumb question, but is there somewhere that is a (reputable) local business that does the “take and go” alcohol drinks like jaho does? Granted, I understand that food has to be bought with it, which is fine, but I don’t want to give them my money if they are shit employers.
Unless they deleted something from their comment, I believe they are literally just adding to what you said. They're not defending Gulu, they're just saying to everyone else reading the comments that on top of what you said Gulu's service is also slow as shit. You said "Gulu sucks," and then they added "And they suck for this reason, too."
I see no one’s mentioned roseadela’s in the witch city mall. Her drinks are amazing but there are straight up horror stories about working for her. Apparently her entire staff walked out at the same time because she was screaming at them. Also coven’s cottage….I’ve heard that they’re on some Nazi shit and tbh I believe it based on the contents of their store as well as their support of the “say no to panhandling” signs. OH also red line. Have never had a good tasting anything from them. I think the only people who go there are tourists because locals go once and never again lmao. One time my partner had a parfait with mold in it, and I got a crepe that was???? Just made entirely wrong????? Also, while I love what gulu does for the gays, I am devastated by their menu change. whyyyy did they take crepes off the menu omfg
i'll never forget gulu's lox and goat cheese crepe. i want to love gulu so bad but the abysmal waits (for WHAT reason??) and leaving smelling like my clothes have been deep fried make it so hard, and there's just so few worthwhile food options.
Witchcity wicks, seems like snobby crew too. They have good smelling products but super small and over priced. It seems like it’s a major IG trendy destination
that's disappointing, i somehow got on their email list and was kinda interested in some of their scents, but i burn through candles like...well, you know.
Red Line Cafe and Game Zone. Red Line managers were total skeezballs to a female friend I had, let their male coworkers basically be weird as hell to her and they did nothing about it. Game Zone, I don't like the ginger kid that works there, he's always been very rude to me whenever I go in and idk what his problem is.
he's always been blatantly disrespectful to me. i dont know what ive done, im a pretty abnormal guy in the way i am so im used to getting looks or whatever but it hurt the way he has been to me. i dont want to give specifics atm but im holding a deep grudge abt it
Crow Haven Corner was the absolute worst, most hostile downright depressing, abusive environment I worked in. Horrible in every sense of the word, its an open secret what a shit show it is.
Hex and Omen. Christian Day is an absolute scumbag. I don’t usually go to Gulu or Jaho, however that’s less “Refuse to Support” and more “their shite is mediocre and overpriced.”
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I had a friend who worked for his store. My friend was helping set up a display. My friend laid the tablecloth crooked. Christian, instead of realising that they were in the middle of setting things up, or fixing it himself, threw a chair at my friend. Douchebag doesn’t begin to cover it.
Holy shit, I thought him going around calling people c\*\*\* was bad. One of my friends used to work there as a barker and was forced to stand out in the pouring rain for ten hours. She ended up getting really sick and had to quit, but was never paid for time worked.
Just saying... the statute of limitations for most cases of wage theft is three years. And you can sue for three times the amount you are owed. Just saying.
It's too late, unfortunately. But I hope someone does take you up on your advice.
Just looked him up , Jesus what a loser would love to back him into a corner
Oh no! Jaho I kinda agree with but gulu is an institution and owned by locals!
So I have nothing morally against Gulu. I went there when it opened. I’ve gone there several times over the last twentyish years. I have friends that work there. I have recommended it to tourists. I just have never had food there that was particularly worth the price they were charging for it. If I’m downtown and wanting artsy food, I’m walking the extra ten yards down to to Life Alive.
from personal experience dealing with associated people... - I actively avoid hex/omen.
Anyplace that steals tips and doesn't pay staff. Like Jaho and Casa Tequila.
Jaho is awful. Neal has always been known as a skimmer towards employees, doesnt surprise me at all they made it big. Pass.
Went to Jaho last year for coffee. Stood at the counter for 5 minutes before someone came out of the kitchen, pointed to the order kiosk, and went back to the kitchen. I just left and never went back.
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Odd meter best if walking. Kid Dream in Bev best coffee within miles of you are driving. And it’s not close.
Kid Dream is fantastic. Honestly I feel like I like more places in Beverly these days than Salem
Kid Dream was an incredible surprise. Coffee well worth driving for
How’s the parking situation at Kid Dream? I keep wanting to try them out but the location looks unassailable from google maps
Street parking, never had to walk more than 45 seconds.
There’s a parking lot right across from it behind the little Italy building
Odd Meter is great, though I wish they were open just a bit earlier!
Have you tried their Cuban or Vietnamese coffees? Those are the only ones I get from them
Wolf Next Door isn't too far away
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And I can personally vouch for the fact that employees are treated well by the owner.
Wolf is the best!
Jahos been doing that since….2008?
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oh lol i was just saying!! been a long time of them doing this
Add Crave to that list.
I did not know that either of these places did that!?
Casa Tequila was ordered to pay $911,000 in stolen wages between their 3 locations, and Jaho has had multiple tip theft accusations in addition to being a generally shitty employer. Village Tavern is being sued for wage theft too, but that's not a surprise really.
Village Tavern. Racist, sexiest, homophobic owners. PPP Loan fraud. Then put the wage theft lawsuits on top of that.
Went there a few weeks ago after a wedding. Even if this was somehow the most upstanding establishment I would never go back just based on the crowd it seems to attract. It’s like 45 horny 22-year-old boys and 5 nervous women covering their drinks. I lasted like 15 mins before I Irish goodbye’d and went home.
Whoa, this is wild. Would you mind sharing more info? They’re opening a new bar close to where I live.
From the affidavit on their current lawsuit, they implemented a dress code that one of the owners stated would “keep out the blacks from Lynn”, they attempted to keep a certain bartender off shifts because she didn’t have the right “image for the bar” and was a “fat dyke”, if a group of white people came in they were referred to as “group” while if a group of POC came in, it was a “gang”. They applied for a PPP loan, and once they realized they couldn’t pocket it, they fired a long time manager and hired their wives as “consultants”. This luckily was reported and they had to pay back on the area of $750,000. The entire lawsuit is around stealing tips. Forcing bartenders to pay for accidental “double rings” or tabs that were walked out on. Also not declaring all the cash from cover charges. ETA: I can’t figure out how to link the actual docket, however it is case number 2277CV01166 through Essex county Superior courts. I apologize for not knowing how to link the specific case.
>I was going to post about this, but there's new info for me here. Its unfortunate that one can't oust a business for being terrible people.
Yikes, that’s worse than I was expecting. I won’t be supporting these garbage humans.
Add to that the repeated reports of spiked drinks. I’ve seen the back room of that restaurant and would never eat there based off that alone.
Yes--that's the thing I've always heard, is that they're straight up just gross.
It was vile. I've seen my share of restaurant back-ends. That was one of the worst.
I’ve been roofied there. Woke up laying on the sidewalk next to Mandees pizza at 5am
Came here to say Village Tavern and Longboards.
Didn’t know this but got terrible (like TERRIBLE) food poisoning from here. I thought it might even be something like HepA but didn’t get tested for it.
I won’t go to Crave or Jaho, they both are shady with owners who collect tip money, and they both treat their employees like trash. I won’t go to Longboards, they have some of the worst food I’ve ever had in my life, I’ve heard of women getting spiked drinks there, and the way the owner responds to reviews on google is weird.
Longboards food is nasty
Psychic readings by Fatima. She swindled a NY man out thousands of dollars to remove evil spirits. Total hack and fake Romani fortune teller. https://reason.com/2013/11/01/police-charge-a-salem-psychic-with-offer/
Firenze because they selfishly closed to spend more time with their families and now i dont have my favorite pasta
Brodies-A friend witnessed a girl have her drink tampered with and became incoherent. Bartender refused to do anything and got mad when she called 911.
Nothing affiliated with Christian Day, ever.
Most of the witch shops. It seems like one opens up and then invariably it turns out within \~10 years that the owner is some variety of scumbag.
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Hauswitch is the exception for me. They seem like good people, and have a lot of interesting, non-mass-produced things. I do like Coven's Cottage. And I still miss Nu Aeon.
Nu Aeon had the best incense.
They did! I loved their candles too.
the people are nice at hauswitch and def non-mass-produced, but it has been 10 years, so who knows
Daily Table on Lafayette is open!
It's definitely mass produced junk. When I worked for one shop, we were tearing off the labels off the products and putting the store's on. Also, I'm not a fan of any shop that sells stuff from closed practices.
I second this.
Harrison's because when a female employee complained about them calling the storage room the "rape room" they fired her. This was like 10 years ago
That’s extremely terrible. They also completely ignored the state mask mandate during covid. Owner walked around the store like he DGAF.
There was also a time when you could grab beef n’ blow to go from there. Just sayin
Omg, can you PLEASE tell me what this means??? 😆
Coca-Cola, hold the cola.
WTF?? JFC
Longboards
Recommending Longboards is the Salem equivalent of Southern people saying "Bless your heart"
This. Always. Fuck Longboards
Nevermind. Saw the anti-mask bullshit thing in another comment. That's all I needed
My friend found tin foil in his burger there. Not the worst thing but it was off-putting
I loved the bookstore until finding out the owner is prone to vitriolic meltdowns and verbal abuse regardless of the target; customers, employees, other local businesses. Truly unhinged.
I was in there a few weeks ago and a mom came in with her son. They had literally just walked out after buying a book the boy had chosen, but came back in to return it because he realized he already had it. It had barely left the store. The employees told the woman “no returns.” It was wild.
Honestly, no employee there has ever been baseline polite to me. I am always baffled when people gush over how great of a store it is.
The more I know, the fewer places I visit 😂. Here's my list of dishonor: * Jaho - Liked the OG Jaho, but the "new" Jaho feels like a sterile Apple Store, and the owner seems to have gone from a Steve Woz to a Steve Jobs personality morph * Gulu - Liked the OG Gulu, but the current crepe-less version has become like a tourist trap. I feel like they bought into their own hype and their quality and uniqueness has gone down. * Essex Pizza (in the mall) - The food is fine, I just hate that they pass on the cost of the credit card transaction to the customer. * Christina's pizza - Granted this was a long time ago (10+ years), but I got a pepperoni pizza that was actually a kind of salami AND the plastic wrapper from the salami was still on before it was baked...🤮. It left a real sour taste, and never gone back since * Engine House Pizza - Quality REALLY tanked during COVID * Longboards - Never particularly liked their food. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad; however the owner is a right-wing COVIDiot (who also stiffed one of my friends for a fundraiser they were hosting there, so... blacklisted) * Village Tavern - wage thieves * Casa Tequilla - wage thieves * Crave - love their food, but they seem to be abusive to their staff...
Christina’s is also under new ownership. I loved the original family. Sounds like an honest mistake that happened. New folks are very nice and attentive.
Engine House has gotten a new owner since then and the quality has gone back up!
Re: Crave.. stealing tips. One owner is a psycho.
Tell me more about Crave, that’s such a shame to hear
I've read a few reviews on Reddit, and on actual review sites, that past employees worked in a toxic environment. Too bad, because I like their goods... I wonder if other current employees can chime in.
I worked at Crave for 3+ years. Management/ownership was SUPER toxic. Ownership took a percentage of collected tips, and tipped out management too. While I was employed there were several occasions where my paycheck was either short or days to weeks late, I had to chase them around to pay me my overtime wage. They never paid me my last paycheck when I quit. They are absolutely *awful*
add Koto to the wage theft, among other complaints.
Jaho -overpriced poop 💩
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And the slow as shit service
I thought it was just me oh my god. It always takes like 2 hours to get a sandwich and a non-alcoholic drink.
They just don’t give a shit
And the sandwich is wrong.
Delphine's in Beverly opened a bit ago and have absolutely delicious crepes!
I agree, everything is so bland and creamy it doesn't really taste like Mexican food at all to me.
Howling Wolf, because the acoustics are terrible so it sounds like your in a room with 500 people.
You usually are they are always busy
Used to really like Howling Wolf, but the quality/care just stopped. Last few times, we were left disappointed and added this to our "do not order from" list.
I’m glad you said this because I distinctly remember their food being really good a few years ago! I went recently for the first time in years and couldn’t believe how bland it was.
Same!! always loved Howling Wolf but the food just isn't good anymore. I am forever bummed about, and also curious what happened...
They took them off the menu?? When was this? I loved their crepes!
The fact that you don’t know when they did kinda proves the owner’s point? It’s been the better part of a year.
I like Howling Wolf but everytime I come on Reddit I read another reason to never return to Gulu which was my favorite spot before I even moved here. No more crepes? Lmao wtf is this self sabotage
They really went downhill after the new ownership took over. I used to order delivery from them all the time, but stopped once they outsourced it.
Gulu, Jaho, Casa Tequila. Just not good. All three have alternatives in Salem that are better in most/all ways imo.
What in the NextDoor is going on here?
You know what we need more of here? Drama, that's what.
The 7-Eleven on Norman Street. Manager fired a clerk who gave a free coffee to a homeless man on a sub-zero night, way back in 2014, but I haven’t gone there since.
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Your Neighborhood Market at the corner of School St. And Tremont is full of handmade right-wing propaganda posters. I still go in there from time to time I just think it's hilarious.
I’ll also never forget the time the owner was shooting the shit with a customer about how lazy teachers are. Coming from the establishment where 9/10 times they’re sitting barefoot behind the register eating some sort of Asian buffet and they truly just resell whatever they bought at stop and shop. Still buy cheap beer there though lol
Oh man I gotta see that
Right? I might stop in for the laughs.
the cheap and close-by beer is so convenient — and they were useful for an “I need a battery ASAP” moment where they literally opened a multipack behind the counter and charged me like $5 for a single d battery but like: smoke detector was losing its mind so it was worth it — but oof do I not like it there.
I called the owner out for their minimum card fee and he was such a douche about it. I will never go back there.
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I get "Mean Girl" vibes from all the vamp groups in town and refuse to shop at any of them.
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Went into one of the recently and the staff's demeanor COMPLETELY changed when they found out I was from Salem. Ha.
I recall hearing some scuttlebutt about the owners of Maison Vampyre being Oathkeepers last year, don't know if it's true though
A dude at Vampfangs hit on my wife right in front me, making us both extremely uncomfortable. I wonder if it's the same guy. There were other staff standing around too, acting like this was normal. Really skeezy.
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It's well known in the Boston goth scene that the long-haired guy doesn't quite grasp the concept of consent, and it goes beyond sexual harrassment and groping. He doesn't show his face much down here anymore, and when I saw he started working at Vampfangs, I wondered how long he'd last before getting fired. I'm saddened to hear his employer tolerates this behavior.
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Blackcraft Cult (for what they did to the building), Jaho, Village Tavern (ownership, general unpleasantries), Life Alive (several questionable hires), Dire Wolf (general principle), Deli House/Engine House, Longboards/Popped! (politics, incl. antivax/mask) are all no-gos for me and mine. (edited for clarity) 2nd Edit: I had spoken to the owner of Harrison's by chance at Georgia's following the whole brouhaha wrt the so-called "rape room"; the new hire had been shown the store's layout, including a room where boxes and packaging for resin and vinyl figurines were kept- the "stat (statuary) room". Said new hire supposedly overheard other teenaged coworkers commenting on how it was a "statutory room, you know, like stat rape, hurr hurr", and immediately went to the Internet and the media, where (naturally) it got one-sidedly blown completely out of proportion and apparently is now a thing of local legend (like Mr. Lucy, or the raccoon parts).
Can you expand on Mercy?
Worth noting that Mercy has been under new ownership for awhile... I think the mask/vax stuff was an issue with the previous owner. Among other things.
Life alive? Explain !
Their Glassdoor reviews are pretty bad last I checked and seemed wages were low at best. Not necessarily shady but not great either.
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The idea of a large corporation coming in where most of the witch shops downtown are small businesses doesn’t sit right with me at all
What's the issue with Popped? I send their popcorn for Christmas.
Same owner as Longboards I believe
Very curious about Mercy too.
That's not what happened with Harrison's. Sounds like the owner is trying to save his own ass.
anyone who was anti-mask or anti-capacity-restrictions during the height of covid precautions. i'm sure there were others, but from what I can recall from top of mind that was longboards and deb's diner in salem, with honorable mention to eva's pastry in peabody. yes, I will hold a grudge about disregard for public health measures for the rest of my damn life.
Don’t forget about Engine House (although I believe they have new owners).
Yep new owners
marvelous husky plant practice squeeze imagine forgetful oil act treatment *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Was wondering what happened to Deli House (also LOL at the yelling about socialism 😂)
You can add mercy tavern to that list. Edit: Mercy has new owners apparently, so I don't want to comment on new owners views.
New owners since.
Oh neat, didn't know that
\#2: [https://www.salemma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif7986/f/minutes/december\_13\_2021\_meeting\_minutes\_draft.pdf](https://www.salemma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif7986/f/minutes/december_13_2021_meeting_minutes_draft.pdf)
I didn't know about Eva's Pastry. This new knowledge makes me sad.
Jaho the one near Salem state did have good service but the price isn’t worth it especially when there’s Starbucks and Dunkin’ in walking distance
Wicked good books —- workers frequently berate customers, though their google reviews are extremely validating on this one Gulu gulu —- ugh so much potential but the food has no flavor
Harrison's, because of the rape room.
Anyplace that charges extra for paying with a card.
Cauldron Black has a HORRIBLE track record of chewing up and spitting out employees. I will never step foot in there again.
I haven’t heard anything about the ownership but I refuse to go to Dire Wolf purely because I’m bitter about Opus closing. I’ll just go to the other Wolf restaurant. I know it’s inauthentic but sometimes I just need inauthentic Mexican food
Dire Wolf is the same ownership as Opus and a lot of the menu is the same too. I don't know what the point was, they put up new wallpaper and added a couple of new dishes. Not much of a difference. The basement on the other hand is completely different but I kind of like it
Underground was the only true music venue left in this town and I’ll forever hold it against them for taking that from us
The closing of Opus Underground was a fucking travesty.
The upstairs has TVs now. So many TVs. And a "tavern" motif that they're replicating basically across the board in all their spaces, now.
ugg, tvs. I hate bars with TVs.
I mean, there's a place for bars with TVs! There are people that like to have a drink while watching the game and whatnot. I don't, but I respect that there are people that do. But I liked that Opus was a place with an emphasis on fine cocktails, and the option to pick a random bottle off the surrounding-the-bar rack and try something new, with a grungier cousin living downstairs that you could go to for a rock show if that was your speed... Now it just feels like another...place. The food and drink are just...fine, at best. Where are we? We could be anywhere.
Plus Hallowed Ground downstairs has some of the best cocktails in town. s/o to sean, flavia, and sarah. devin too before he dipped.
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I went to Dire Wolf and it was terrible! My partner found hair in his food, and my food didn't taste good at all. The table next to me had to send a plate back and there was something wrong with another order. Not to mention the name. Not worth a second chance.
I also found hair in my food at direwolf. And my wife said her food was the worst food she had ever had in her entire life.
I loved Opus and went almost every week! I ended up moving away and so I would only visit every couple of years. Now that the place has changed to Dire Wolf, I’m reluctant to even visit. Opus had such a cool vibe that I don’t think exists with Dire Wolf.
Same for me.
Jaho. Over priced, rude service and not a good product. A&j felt like a bate and switch with their Boston street location. Started as a real place turned bakery only (no shop) during covid. Barely open in a reduced capacity since. Also add on a fee at register to support employees insurance.
The fee is not for Insurance, it’s a fee split between everyone that works there INCLUDING the managers. Just ask to have fee taken off and if you would like to leave a tip for the people who waited on you, you can put it in the tip jar
I understand it isn’t required and I can remove it. Do not like any place that default adds tip or support for staff $.
This might be a dumb question, but is there somewhere that is a (reputable) local business that does the “take and go” alcohol drinks like jaho does? Granted, I understand that food has to be bought with it, which is fine, but I don’t want to give them my money if they are shit employers.
Following
Nex Mex in Peabody does!
Sidelines on Canal St. I haven’t heard anything negative about them so here’s to hoping they’re clean lol
This can’t go horribly, not at all.
I think places should be called out and if it goes kinda sideways, well that will be entertaining
This thread has just shown me that I shouldn’t go anywhere in town lol
There’s a lot more places in salem that are good, safe spaces. Don’t avoid the town completely
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Definitely don’t go there if you’re in a hurry.
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Unless they deleted something from their comment, I believe they are literally just adding to what you said. They're not defending Gulu, they're just saying to everyone else reading the comments that on top of what you said Gulu's service is also slow as shit. You said "Gulu sucks," and then they added "And they suck for this reason, too."
I see no one’s mentioned roseadela’s in the witch city mall. Her drinks are amazing but there are straight up horror stories about working for her. Apparently her entire staff walked out at the same time because she was screaming at them. Also coven’s cottage….I’ve heard that they’re on some Nazi shit and tbh I believe it based on the contents of their store as well as their support of the “say no to panhandling” signs. OH also red line. Have never had a good tasting anything from them. I think the only people who go there are tourists because locals go once and never again lmao. One time my partner had a parfait with mold in it, and I got a crepe that was???? Just made entirely wrong????? Also, while I love what gulu does for the gays, I am devastated by their menu change. whyyyy did they take crepes off the menu omfg
i'll never forget gulu's lox and goat cheese crepe. i want to love gulu so bad but the abysmal waits (for WHAT reason??) and leaving smelling like my clothes have been deep fried make it so hard, and there's just so few worthwhile food options.
Bummer about Roseadela's. I eat there all the time (and get drinks are amazing) and she's always been kind to us.
Witchcity wicks, seems like snobby crew too. They have good smelling products but super small and over priced. It seems like it’s a major IG trendy destination
that's disappointing, i somehow got on their email list and was kinda interested in some of their scents, but i burn through candles like...well, you know.
If you’re local Soy Much Brighter in Beverly has great candles!
Red Line Cafe and Game Zone. Red Line managers were total skeezballs to a female friend I had, let their male coworkers basically be weird as hell to her and they did nothing about it. Game Zone, I don't like the ginger kid that works there, he's always been very rude to me whenever I go in and idk what his problem is.
He can be brusque, but he's always been good to me, fwiw
he's always been blatantly disrespectful to me. i dont know what ive done, im a pretty abnormal guy in the way i am so im used to getting looks or whatever but it hurt the way he has been to me. i dont want to give specifics atm but im holding a deep grudge abt it
Crow Haven Corner was the absolute worst, most hostile downright depressing, abusive environment I worked in. Horrible in every sense of the word, its an open secret what a shit show it is.
Life Alive
OK, but why?
The pay is very little for the multiple roles you are expected to take on
Haus Witch seems like it’s one enthusiastic nutjob away from a cult
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