My wife and I got married Feb 5th, 2022 at Crossroads/Thomas Family Farm (TFF). The purpose of this review is to WARN FUTURE WEDDING/EVENT PLANNERS THAT THERE ARE MANY BETTER VENUES, WITH FAR MORE ACCOMODATING ALCOHOL POLICIES, THAT WON’T SCAR... YOUR EVENT.
TFF’s owner, Debra M. Thomas, is so unprofessional, and her alcohol policies are arbitrary. In short, Debra requires the use of her brother to serve alcohol for any event. He is the most unfriendly and unprofessional guy you’ll meet. HE ULTIMATELY MADE AN ARBITRARY DECISION TO END ALCOHOL SERVICE WITHOUT GIVING ANY WARNING OR REASONING, LEAVING A SCAR ON OUR WEDDING. There are easily a dozen other Snohomish event locations that allow for professional bartenders. DON’T USE THOMAS FAMILY FARM.
Here Is what happened:
-Debra M. Thomas, owner of TFF, requires the use of her brother to serve alcohol. No other person/entity can serve alcohol. During the event, I had numerous guests describe how unfriendly the bartender was. A bar manager / relative of mine said he was so unfriendly that he’d never get a job at a decent establishment. Strike 1 for any event.
-The bartender stopped serving alcohol before the contracted 9:30pm time. He gave no warning or reasoning. Our wedding had 80 guests, most over 50-years-old, with a handful of 20-year-olds. The next day, my wife and I had 25 relatives to our house and asked if anyone saw anyone stumbling/drunk. NOT ONE PERSON said they saw ANYONE. During the event, when I asked the bartender why he made this decision, HE DIDN’T GIVE EVEN ONE DATA POINT. There was no warning given to my wife and I. At the event, I asked Becky Harper, TFF’s coordinator, why the decision was made, she said she didn’t know, and “I WOULD NOT HAVE STOPPED SERVICE.” In the months before the wedding, Becky described 300-person events that got out-of-hand with alcohol. I can’t imagine our 80-person, nearly all over-50 wedding could have been any tamer. His random decision affected our ENTIRE WEDDING. Strike 2.
-The bartender wouldn’t serve my 82-year-old stepfather because ‘he was drunk’. Not only does my father-in-law not have more than 2 drinks, he walks with a shuffle/stumble normally. He was SO insulted. I wanted an apology from TFF. Debbie, the owner, didn’t respond. Strike 3.
-When I challenged the bartender to give me data and allow either our day-of coordinator, my wife, or I to address any TFF concern, he only said “take it up with my sister,” who wasn’t at the event. He then called me a drunk. I told my wife, wedding party, and 25 relatives the next day what he said and every single person was astonished as I barely had anything to drink. He was incredibly unprofessional. Strike 4.
-TFF has no policy to allow for ‘escalating warnings’ that allows event coordinators/payees to address TFF concerns before taking actions that affect an event. When I made this recommendation to Debbie, she didn’t respond. Strike 5.
-I asked Debbie for an apology, I recommended TFF adopt better policies, I recommended TFF allow for friendlier bartenders. Debbie didn’t respond. Strike 6.
-When we repeatedly asked Debbie to take accountability for the black scar the bartender put on our event, she only replied that she was asking a lawyer if TFF was required to refund anything. No accountability. No apology. No other response. Wow.
We’re still aghast that Thomas Family Farm was so unprofessional. My wife and I would not recommend ANY EVENT there.