General Store Eatery

This is a deli type restaurant with handmade soups and sandwiches. We stopped in after some shopping in Valley Junction not knowing what to expect. In one sense it is hard to write a review after only visit. There is a tendency to be overly complimentary if you had a good one time experience and overly critical if that one time experience was not so good. My wife had the turkey and Swiss and love it. I had the pastrami and Swiss and...meh...ok. My complaint is that the bread seemed like like came straight out of the bag. I prefer a heartier, more dense rye. But here's the thing: Would I go back after another trip to Valley Junction? Sure there are other options on the menu that I might like better. So I am not going to make a judgement based on one visit. The General Store Eatery has been in business for 35+ years. No one stays in business that long if they weren't doing something right.

A friend & I met in Des Moines and thought we would try this little gem in Valley Junction for lunch. The atmosphere is laid back & cozy. The ladies who run it are super friendly & the food was great! Perfect little spot for a sandwich & soup. The food is made fresh & soups made fresh that morning. If you ever get lucky enough to try the tomato spinach soup - don’t pass it up!

I can't imagine that Isla Villa had the experience she described. Don't know when she was there but I was in this shop this week and loved the food. The "girl in dreads" waited on me as well and was very pleasant. I would definitely encourage anyone to eat here. I've eaten here on many occasions and have always had great food and a welcoming atmosphere.

Had the worst service of our lives in this restaurant today. When we left my husband said we will never go back there. Other patrons were complaining also and we saw multiple eye rolls. The huffy angry blonde in dreads who likes to be short with people, slam the register, and be completely arrogant needs customer service training. Or firing. Luckily this establishment is in a bustling retail setting or it would surely go out of business. No greeting or small talk coming in or going out. We walked in to her yelling at us "The menus are down on the counter top!" As she points. We grabbed two menus and as we stood there reading them she pretty much glared at us with her hands on her hips making it obvious she was waiting for our order. She stated we could not have the special, chicken salad sandwich, because they were already out of it. So I ordered the turkey and sprouts pita to which she rudely said well we don't have any sprouts so do you want to sub lettuce or something. Ugh! We ended up getting the half size Italian sandwiches (4 inches), which were very dry. I asked her if I could have the vinaigrette on my bread or some mayo and she said no that would make the bread mushy. I need my bread moistened for physical reasons. It was hard to get down a dry half loaf. The side was only a pre bought bag of chips. My husband got water, I got peach tea, a total of $20 for that was ridiculous. We could have gotten a full sub meal for that elsewhere. When we got up to leave they never said goodbye or even thank you.