Delegates Cafe At National Constitution Center

The experience here today is one that makes me embarrassed to be a Philadelphian. Came with my 5^th graders class, teacher chose Delegates Café between viewing Liberty Bell and going to Atwater Kent museum. Location was a plus, service was NOT. We walked in at 11:45. They have a decent selection of premade cold sandwiches and salads, and a nice hot grill selection. The cold salad I ate was the only plus, very fresh and tasty. While our group of 20 was deciding between hot or cold, a very large school group came in and got into the grill line. The one cook behind the counter seemed positively bewildered (maybe he was actually a dishwasher?) and overwhelmed. When some of our kids got in line, now 30+ kids long, a manager came along and was speaking to cook who was clearly upset. When I asked manager how long he thought they’d be waiting and were they getting more help behind the grill, he replied «we weren’t expecting this many people to come in», and how they weren’t ready and mumbled something else about the «group leaders calling ahead». Huh? Didn’t see any signage requesting that people call ahead to tell a restaurant open to the public to be, well, ready for the public who may want to eat? Pardon us to expect a large, cafeteria style café in a well attended public museum to be ready for lunch AT LUNCHTIME. We had to tell our disappointed students to pick from the cold selections so we could eat and be on our way for next scheduled sight. Delegates Café, a huge FAIL on your part.