Corelife Eatery - Florence

We stumbled upon this restaurant just in the nick of time—five minutes before closing—and they treated us like we were their very first customers of the day. The food was fantastic!

First time here and it was very good. So many different bowl options, ingredients, proteins, and sauces.

When I went to place an order with my husband and children, it took a long time for the African American staff member to put down her phone and attend to us. Meanwhile, another young employee was joking about the restaurant's internal issues, which I found unprofessional. Although she seemed friendly, her conversation was inappropriate. I ordered a steak wrap, and I noticed that the other staff member was handling raw chicken without changing her gloves or washing her hands afterward, which I found very concerning and unsanitary. I felt quite disgusted and sympathetic for the person they were gossiping about. I've been a loyal customer for two years and have always enjoyed excellent service, especially from the daytime crew, who are fantastic. However, the nighttime staff seems to prioritize their phones and gossip over customer service, creating a toxic work environment that makes it hard to retain good employees. If I could give this visit a negative five stars, I certainly would. CoreLife really needs to improve.

I've ordered pickup here 3 times and all 3 times it was just okay at best. I ordered Warm rice bowls but they were room temperature at best. My first bowl was the Tinga taco bowl and the chicken was extremely dry and tough and was room temperature. It was just okay. My next 2 times I got the Korean bbq bowl. They were out of the Korean bbq pork both times and the egg was rubbery and over done. The first time they told me when I picked up my bowl and I had to wait for them to add meat. Not the end of the world. The second time no one told me they were out of the meat and I was unpleasantly surprised to get home and have a bowl with no protein, especially considering the meat is what kicks up the price. I paid a lot for rice and vegetables. We had to call and it took us awhile to finally speak to the manager. They did give me a full refund which was nice but it was an irritating experience to say the least. I don't hate the food but it's also not great. It is one of few healthy options so that's why I keep going back. For the quality of food I feel it's a bit overpriced.

Great customer service and friendly staff! Thank you Joseph for the drink suggestion.