Otto’s now open in Crozet

I have not had such a bad experience as Andy's but I have noticed that the staff has gotten quite rude as of late. Did Otto's ownership change hands in the past couple of months? I also agree that the Winter Hours are not clearly marked at all. They need to cover up the old time of 8pm. As far as the food is concerned, I still think it is good. The Italian Panini is hard to beat (even though it was not as good the last time I had it) and their onion rings are great.

I live in Crozet and have eaten at Otto's a number of times (10+). Here is what I think:
1. The cost they charge for the quality of beef they use is way too much. See previous comment regarding Sam's Club quality beef.
2. More often than not the burger is either cold or dry and burnt. Can they get someone in there that can cook a flippin' burger?!
3. I have noticed some attitude from at least 3 different employees. When did saying 'thank you' after I give you a bunch of money for your overpriced, mediocre food go out of style?
4. The food usually takes quite a long time to be served.
4. The fries are quite good, as are the chicken tenders.

I eat there when I have to, mostly when we need something sort of quick and don't want to cook for the kids.

If Ott's provided higher quality beef, cooked properly and in a consistent and timely manner, and were friendlier, then I would be in heaven! Simple changes that would help them rise above and be more than just a choice out of convenience and scarcity.

i wanted to like otto’s. we just moved to crozet and the choices out here are limited. went there a few times and got subs, which were fairly good. but the criticisms here are absolutely right. the food is slow and their employees are awful. i placed an order for pick-up recently and the girl on the phone refused to pay attention. she answered the phone, said hello, and then just buzzed out. finally, she comes back on, but when she did, she couldn’t pay attention while i ordered a sandwich. sample conversation: “would you like white bread or wheat?” “wheat.” “we dont have wheat.” seriously?

later: “what kind of meat would you like on it?” “um. i ordered a turkey sub.” “oh, so, i guess you want turkey then?” i’d only said that i wanted a turkey sub about 4 times already. did she listen? nope. it literally took 5 minutes to order one sub on the phone! did i lose patience? yes. i finally had to ask her to please focus. i tried to say this as nicely as possible. but then it got even better….

when i got there, she’d taken the wrong order down. i’d ordered a whole sub, and she wrote down a half sub. when i’m paying, i tell the owner this, and he says “okay that’ll be 11 dollars.” i say, “but a whole sub is only 7 dollars.” he says “you ordered a half sub. and now you’re ordering another half sub. 11 dollars.” i say “but i ordered a whole sub! the person on the phone didnt pay attention to my order. i’m not paying extra for her mistake.”

and he says, “you were rude to her.” i said “i think it’s rude that she doesnt listen at all when you’re trying to place an order.”

he still wanted 11 dollars, convinced apparently that i was some horrible person with nothing better to do than snap at his employee. i cancelled the order and went to subway. i assure you, i’m a nice and a patient person. this was a fiasco. i wont go back. and i’m not surprised at all that there have been complaints about employees before.

there’s a 50ish man in there every day who seems to run the place. i assumed he was the owner; if not, he must be the manager. either way, they’ve got some serious problems over there.

I visited Crozet for three weeks and my Hotdog Days at Otto’s were a highlight. I dunno where some of these disparaging comments come from, or where the commenters eat… but for a guy used to the world-class restaurants and celebrity chefs of Manhattan, I felt… not “down home” but “at home” with these cooks. At Otto’s I found imagination served in giddy-delicious combinations of ingredients (Asian dog, Double-Dog-Dare-Ya Dog) with fresh fixins’ and cared-for cooking. Their shakes and smoothies are something any sodajerk aspires to. The gals behind the counter made me feel welcomed and appreciated.