<p class="p1">Here’s the condensed version of my experience at the new Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers at 3420 Ryan St.: I visited one afternoon with my daughter, Katie, and her friend Brisa. We were all delighted with the trendy, artsy look and feel of the place. We ordered one pizza. We waited two hours. We never got it. We left. I can say that the ice water is very good.</p><p class="p2">Now, a few details. I had visited a Mellow Mushroom restaurant only once before- — in Baton Rouge. I ate a Maui Wowie pizza there and it was honestly one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten. So I was thrilled when I learned Lake Charles’ own Mellow Mushroom had opened Feb. 19. I could not wait to go.</p><p class="p2">When we arrived, this place looked to be generating excitement before diners even walked in the door. That’s because outside, children were standing in awe of the huge robotic Transformer-looking creature in the open-air patio dining area, visible from the parking lot. </p><p class="p2">Once in, we chose to sit in that outdoor patio area since it was such a beautiful day.</p><p class="p2">Our waitress arrived fairly quickly with menus. She did tell us there was a 50- to 55-minute wait on pizza orders. We were fine with that, and figured our simple order of one large pizza would not present a problem. </p><p class="p2">We settled in, sipping big glasses of ice water and awaiting our highly anticipated large Maui Wowie pizza pie.</p><p class="p2">We entertained ourselves by watching excited kids climb on the Transformer robot. </p><p class="p2">After an hour or so, Brisa went inside the restaurant to check on our order. She came back without any answers.  </p><p class="p2">Brisa, a soon-to-be-graduating LSU business major, said, “If this were my business, I would try to turn this negative into a positive. I would go around and offer free drink refills or a free appetizer to people who had been waiting a long time.”</p><p class="p2">That would have been nice. If someone from the restaurant had offered us a shred of hope that our pizza was on its way, I would have been good for another 30 or 40 minutes of waiting. </p><p class="p2">As time went on, we speculated that perhaps there had been a shift change, and our waitress was gone. I went inside to see what I could find out. Like Brisa, I came back without any information and no clue as to where our order or our waitress was. </p><p class="p2">So after two hours, we left.</p><p class="p2">As we walked out, the greeter at the front silently mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”</p><p class="p2">I was disappointed, of course. I missed out on what I’m sure would have been a great pizza. But it was more than that. </p><p class="p2">I had been hearing so much buzz about this place. People are excited about it. It seems like such a fun and welcome addition to the Lake Charles restaurant scene. I wanted, and still want, this place to be a success because it seems like such a shot of adrenaline for Lake Charles.</p><p class="p2">That’s why, despite one less-than-stellar experience, I am choosing not to give up on Mellow Mushroom. </p><p class="p2">Sometimes people, and innovative pizza restaurants, deserve second chances. Why? Things happen. People and businesses, especially new ones, have bad days. Like a good sports team, it can take time for a brand-new restaurant’s staff and management team to gel and get in sync with one another. I get it.</p><p class="p2">Or perhaps we visited on an off day. Everyone has them. </p><p class="p2">I feel confident that it’s all going to come together for Mellow Mushroom.</p><p class="p2">There are over 150 Mellow Mushroom locations across the country. They are obviously doing something right and I’m speculating that in a short amount of time, this new location is going to climb aboard that mellow train of success, too.</p><p class="p2">So come on, Mellow Mushroom. Bring it. Lake Charles wants you. We need you. And I’ll be back soon to try out that Maui Wowie pizza. </p><p>The restaurant’s outdoor patio dining area. </p>Donna Price