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, I can pretty much guarantee that if the outside seating area had been shut down, the server(s) who would've been assigned that station had already gone home. Having made an exception for one party means that server was already stretched outside her geographic boundaries as far as being able to anticipate the needs of her customers - if you can't see them, who knows what they need? Should it have been handled better? Oh, absolutely. Honestly, handling customer issues is one of the hardest things to teach servers; most anyone can handle positive interactions, but it takes some experience and maturity to deftly handle a situation that involves disappointing a customer. Passing the situation on to the manager was probably her last resort, since her initial 'no' was met by resistance from you. When a server or hostess does that, take them up on it and speak to the manager. They can no more open up a section than they can decide what the chef will or will not do regarding cooking something different than the menu offerings.
May I have a Captain Obvious moment? It was Saturday, it's July, it was stormy. That means no one has the grill going and restaurants will be busier than expected. Gardwood's has a phone number. Had you called in advance, expressed your seating wishes and your arrival time, it's quite possible they could've left one of the tables in her inside section open allowing her to provide better service for 2 parties outside, or given one of her tables to another server. Were the Ritz-Carlton to set up shop on the shores of Winni, even they'd have trouble seating people without reservations on a stormy Saturday in July.
