Things to do along I-75 N/S to and from the Detroit area (1 of 2)…read more
I had to spend a few days in the Detroit area and I-75, featured in black and white on Eminem's excellent Super Bowl commercial, is the route on which I'd be driving. I have become increasingly tired of Starbucks, but less so of other chain coffeehouses. That said, I always seek out the independent coffeehouses.
Mostly, I was sold on the name (Rustbelt) of this coffeehouse in Downtown Toledo, just a few blocks from the small cluster of downtown mid-rises. Inside, it has the open floor plan with exposed ceilings up above, which works very well here and fits the industrial Rust Belt mood. The seating options were to my liking: big butcher block type tables meant to be shared, smaller tables, and upholstered seating with coffee tables. I wish I could have stayed at Rustbelt longer.
It was a warm and humid summer day and I had an iced tea and a pastry. The items were tasty.
The pricing was fair and the service was unremarkable, but did lean toward being good natured.
Parking is available right in front along the street, should you want to keep an eye on your car. That said, I couldn't get a read on the location ... it seemed that there were other eateries and bars nearby, so maybe that meant it was okay. Also, I couldn't figure out where the customer base came from. Usually, bohemian coffeehouses have bohemian enclaves nearby where the bohemian people live. I didn't see any, or maybe I didn't look long enough. I couldn't imagine them being suburbanites. Lastly, I believe I've always seen Rust Belt spelled as two words. If they want to stylize this and go with one word, that's their prerogative.
So, what you have here at Rustbelt Coffee are good tea/coffee with pastries to choose from, fair prices, decent service, and a spacious open interior plan where the climate control system was working very well. That sounds like 4 stars to me.