Williams Fresh Cafe — Restaurant in Brampton

I’ve been coming to Williams Fresh Cafe for years, and I’ve generally had good experiences, but my most recent visit left me feeling incredibly disrespected. Recently, they’ve implemented a reservation policy for most booths, supposedly reserved for families or groups of three or more. While this is understandable from a business perspective, it led to a disappointing situation during my last visit.

I came with a friend to eat and do some work for a couple of hours. There were no empty seats, so we attempted to sit at a booth that was marked as “reserved.” We were immediately told to find another spot, which felt rude, but we moved to a table without much of an issue. What was truly frustrating, however, was that just moments later, a couple sat at the same booth without any objection from the staff. Even more perplexing, another couple did the same thing shortly after, with the staff completely ignoring the situation.

Both couples seemed to belong to a specific favoured ethnic group that has become quite common at this location, and it seemed like the reservation policy didn’t apply to them. This experience felt discriminatory, disrespectful, and frankly, it left me questioning whether there is a bias at play.

I’ve always appreciated the atmosphere at Williams, but this was a very disappointing and upsetting experience. They need to reassess their policies and ensure that all customers are treated fairly and equally. I expect better from a place I’ve supported for years.

**Update (response to owner's comment, since I do not have their email to respond personally): Thank you for your response, but I believe there has been a misassessment of the situation. When we were asked to move from the reserved booth, the staff did not inquire whether we were there to study, work, or how long we intended to stay. Therefore, there was no way for them to know we were planning to be there for a longer period of time. Additionally, we did not have any clear indicators (e.g., carrying bags) that would suggest we were staying longer.

Moreover, I find it concerning that the policy seems to be applied inconsistently, potentially based on customers' appearance or age. This is not a fair or acceptable way to assess who should be allowed to sit where.

When I directly asked the staff about the reserved booths, I was told that they were specifically for groups of three or more. I have asked this question on previous visits as well, and I received the same response every time. No one has ever mentioned anything about prioritizing students over other customers, so it feels like this reasoning is being introduced now to justify the situation.

Furthermore, the first couple who was seated at the booth remained there for almost as long as my friend and I did—nearly 2.5 hours—well after they finished their meal. They left just 15 minutes before we did, so the claim that they were there for a significantly shorter time does not hold up as a justification for the different treatment.

My friend and I were also there to enjoy a meal while working, and we left when we were done, just like other customers. I hope this feedback helps ensure that all customers are treated equally, without discrimination or inconsistency in the application of policies.

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Wow am I ever surprised. We were asked to leave after not buying anything. And while that might be okay for some places then maybe put up a sign?

But you are a cafe where half the guests are students nursing their 5 hour old coffee. You are also a franchise so kinda unreal.

But really it was the blatant lie about needing the table for the crowd of guests who needed a place to sit. While yes there was a small crowd there was max 10 individuals in that line near the front. The number of seats I counted before I left was 32 including the 4 seater my sister and I got up from. Even if each of the 10 guest wanted a table to themselves there would still be tables and seats left over. Not only did we get approached which I thought was insane. We politely told them that we were leaving soon and not planning on grabbing anything at the time. So even more insane to approach us not even 5 minutes later to ask us to leave when we had already sad we were on our way out.

Like my bag was packed and I was simply trying to finish up an order on my phone

The true joke about all this was that we looked at the menu deciding if there was anything we wanted to eat and decided that things were too pricy for the quick work session we wanted to do. We also talked about how much we liked the atmosphere and that we would come back when we had a bigger chunk of time to see the menu and get something then

I hope your annoyance of me not buying a 2 dollar coffee was worth my sister and I now looking for another cafe to spend out time in weekly.

Like how shocking that this is the way that Williams cafe does business. That’s not how you retain business or build customer loyalty. I’ve frequented this establishment many times and never had an issue ( I guess because I paid for something) and have always offered this place as a top suggestion when asked for cute cafés.

I’ll be sure to take this complaint up as I also didn’t appreciate us being 1/2 black individuals being approached when I did a quick search and saw that some tables had not ordered anything either. Weather they were waiting for food or settling in I don’t know but we were obviously the minority and it gives me the ick to think we were stared at for a period of time before being approached. Wondering why they were concerned about us taking a four seater when no one was asking about not having...

My review is based off the past few times I've attended. I just recently started attending this location in September. The first couple times the drivethru was closed. Making it difficult for me to go inside with my babies and having to choose a different coffee shop. The third time I was at the other end of brampton and decided to drive all the way there for a chai latte and they didnt have one. The fourth time I made it a point to ask for my drink less hot because I noticed that the temp is quite hot. They thought I said extra hot and it came out hotter. Today again I asked for it less hot and the person that took my order repeated and asked if Luke warm was ok, I said sure. Got my drink and took a sip. It bloody burnt my tongue. I had to get her to add cold milk as I cant wait that long for them to remake it. The drink ended up being tasteless and more on the colder side. Had to come home and warm it up and add flavor. It's been two hours and my tongue is still tingling from the burn. I also ordered a mac and cheese. The garlic bread was cold and the mac and cheese wasn't that tasty. My kid didn't eat it. Also, on an overall, takes a really long time for them to make a drink and this is not based off being busy. I've gone in when there are no other orders and it still takes a really long time compared to other coffee shops. I was also a barista for 8 years back in the day and I can say without a doubt that this is the slowest coffee shop I've attended.

I don't think I'll be returning. Not worth the expensive pricetag and...