Good coffee, cozy atmosphere, very green staff
Randomly searching for a new place to try, saw that the baker and brew swapped to this location. So I swung in to give them a new try.
Decoration wise, it's a much more open and lighted experience. It's no longer trying to copy a Starbucks but instead a much more home-y vibe.
Displays are well lit, clean but also open and inviting. There's no traffic flow, so people weave around the dining area to queue up. The staff is very friendly, but they are a little disorganized and unfamiliar with the items on their menu.
I got an afrolatte, a combo of a latte with ice cream. Along with an apple crisp açaí bowl, a chocolate chip cookie, and a "pregel" a pretzel bagel.
Food came out in a strange order. I got the cookie and bagel delivered to me on separate plates, with a fork and knife with the bagel. I got my drink announced so I had to go pick it up, then the açaí bowl was delivered last in a to-go container with honey residue all over the bottom and no spoon.
The afrolatte was not bad. It was more like a milkshake than your traditional latte. The coffee was strong enough to not get lost in the cavalcade of chocolate ice cream, but it was very rich. Had to throw away half of it.
The "pragel", it was sound in concept but lacking in execution. It was made relatively recently, but was still dethawing. it was lacking the buttery outside and salt one would anticipate from a pretzel. Even a plain pretzel would have a chewy exterior with a soft interior, and this one was more akin to bread than bagel.
The açaí bowl was overly sweet. They went a little too heavy on the honey and delivered a sugar laden fruit bowl. It's clear they have not made many of these bowls, and it shows in spades. The biggest issue not being the mess of honey and lack of utinsels, but the açaí being not fully blended. It was closer to sorbet, icy and gritty.
The chocolate chip cookie was good, made relatively recently and a good size for the price. Was a dollar more than the pregel, but much better in quality.
My experience here was lackluster, but a lot of what I experienced is fixable. The coffee is good, but the coffee menu is way too small. Puts emphasis on items the staff can't prep, and leads to a hunt to find
Items to order. Get rid of the açaí bowls, add the afrolatte and afroletto to the coffee menu, leave ice cream to bowl sizes and to a single column. Remove bakery items from menu, label and price them by each item in the cases.
Emphasize coffee drinks and food, pictures of featured items are great, and generic pricing for standard cafe drinks. If you want to go very fancy, switch the menu between breakfast and lunch to focus more on food after 11am.
Organize the staff, get them familiar with the menu and items. Get a set delivery process and stick with it. Given the business, numbered placards might be handy.
If they can do all that, I would imagine the experience being top notch and this place being a very solid option from your normal chain cafe place. It needs that polish though to truly shine
It's okay for coffee, but they very much are still figuring out how to run. Stick with the basics and you should be okay. read more