Dripolator Candler — Restaurant in Asheville

I'm changing my rating because it pertained to the previous incarnation of this cafe, Rejavanation Station. The current version now called Dripolator hews very close to the original except for one thing. Apparently there are no controls placed on the music you hear while trying to enjoy your stay, so it could be anything from hip-hop/rap to k-pop and worse. Whatever the young staff have as their favorites is what you will hear and for them, its party time! Not chill time. Previous Review- This is about as unlikely a place where you would expect to find a cool traditional espresso Cafe. On the border of a huge middle-tier shopping center parking lot in the Asheville burbs, Rejavanation occupies a building that could have been an insurance office or funeral parlor in a previous incarnation.

But walk inside and be immediately welcomed by friendly faces and a busy but cozy atmosphere. Excellent espresso drinks (which are also available at the drive-up window) accompanied by a good variety of breakfast bakery treats and complete lunch plates served with a flair of garnish.

Eat outside on the back patio surrounded by bushes that soften the traffic noise or on the front latticed patio or inside where you can choose a loungy couch, a cozy library setting or comfy tables and chairs. A great place for informal meetings, we have been there a dozen times and it was always a good experience.

UPDATE 01/04/21: They're back from a brief holiday time-off and it's just as welcoming and a consistently pleasant coffee-shop experience as it ever was. Excellent espresso at still...

Even though I loved the coffee and the food here, I probably won’t be going back after this past Saturday. I came in on my lunch break to get me a iced mocha and I talked to Claire as she as serving me just trying to be friendly as usual and even tried to ask is she was going to a show I was going to (I was just seeing if I was gonna have any friends at the show) and basically it felt like the vibe went down from there. Claire said something I didn’t understand and I tried to ask what she said for clarity and she said it was nothing, and then her, Finn, and dude with the hat that says “gods favorite” starting laughing about something and I could feel that it was directed at me and I felt that they were making a mockery of me. If I’m misunderstanding something, I would love to have it cleared up in a respectful manner, but if they really feel like my presence is that much of a burden, I’ll just stop showing up and spend my money somewhere else. It’s sad because I love some of the other people. Morgan, liv, van(I think I’m pronouncing that right), and Elizabeth have always been great to me and I think those people deserve praise, just the other people really soured...

Went there for the first time looking for a cafe to sit with my husband before I head to work. They have a cute pastry case but it is all cold. It might have been better if they could toast the croissant to give it a little freshness. My husband got the lemon poppy seed bread which was also cold and mediocre at best.

I had caramelatto with oat milk while my husband had a regular vanilla latte. The barista did a cute leaf patter with the milk and foam; however, they didn't start making the coffees until I was already done with the pastry and the cafe was not super busy. There apparently was also an order before ours, and I will note that the barista was up front chatting with the person at the register when we walked in to order. (There was no line in front of us.)

In terms of the coffees, the espresso had a slight bitter, burnt taste and I could tell the shot was pulled before foaming the milk, having worked as a barista myself before. The coffee itself though was good and otherwise would have been perfect.

The cafe was cute but overall not the place I would frequent regularly for a sit down cup of coffee. So I will still be looking for my go to...