Corner House Cafe — Restaurant in California

Very disappointed. My wife, two year old daughter, and me drove to Los Olivos from Santa Barbara to visit the country side and some of the shops in town on a rainy June day. As we pulled up in front of this place to grab coffee and some pastries, my wife first had to use the restroom while I changed my daughter in the car. As my wife entered this establishment the man working there (owner or manager) told my wife “sorry you can’t use our restroom as you would create a line and inconvenience our customers”. A flat out lie since it was raining and there were no customers! The guy was not explicitly rude but gave my wife a cheap excuse, as I looked from the car parked right in front of the store. We would understand if he had said, “hey, the restroom is for customers only” to which our response would’ve been “we plan to get coffee and pastries”, end of story. My wife didn’t want to waste time with this person and went somewhere else while I waited in the car. During that time it continued to rain and I didn’t see one person enter this place. I’m still curious to what line and inconvenienced customers this man was referring to. When my wife returned to the car we really wanted a coffee and some snacks. However, it didn’t feel right and instead of going back in there we just went to Sturbucks. This whole situation left a bad taste in my mouth and we will not be visiting this place in the future, nor I will recommend it based on how they...

I arrived at approximately 4PM and I walked in and the place was very dim and for a minute it looked closed. I approached the counter slowly to find the employee on the side looking down. She looked like she was hiding, and I asked if the store was open. She apathetically replied, "Yes" and just looked at me. Her attitude was very unprofessional.

I had these type of jobs in school and when I did not like working somewhere, I found another job and went on to get more education.

All I wanted was an iced tea with lavendar. The iced tea was mediocre and she overcharged me 1.00 for a "side of sour cream" that I never ordered. Does that make sense ordering an Iced tea and a side of sour cream together??? I looked at the receipt in the car when I learned of that and as it was 2 minutes til 5PM, I let it go.

It was my first time at that location but I know about lavender with iced tea and she hardly put any lavender in it. That is the only reason I came.

She truly deserves a 0 overall score.

I think the owner needs a camera in the shop because employees like her are destroying the business. I shared with a store down the street who kindly recommended other options next time I am in town.

Wondering if the employee is related to the owner? Is that why she felt at liberty to behave in such a rude,...

No WiFi, no public bathroom, grumpy owner who absolutely does not understand the basics of what customers want from a coffee shop: they want good coffee, a friendly atmosphere, WiFi, a bathroom, and yummy things to eat. That’s all. Not sure what in the world makes this owner think that being a Scrooge is good for business. Would love to have the old atmosphere back. It used to be a place where Midland and Dunn students came to cram; where locals came and worked on their business plans. Where real community happened. Where people met up and got inspired by one another. Now it’s an empty pit of despair, where the grumpiness hangs in the air and customers come and go quickly because they don’t want to be there (which I think is what the owner actually wants. He sees WiFi users as loiterers and freeloaders rather than as the valuable customers, and creators of atmosphere that they are). The floors and tables and counters are all dingy and grimy. The employees are scared of their boss and disincentivized. The coffee is still decent, and that’s really the only reason the place isn’t shuttered. So sad for our little town that this once beloved hub of...