Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

I am a traveller for work. I always frequent coffee shops, libraries, and book stores. I have never had a situation such as the following.

Sitting down checking out a book. Get approached by a worker and told "Hey I'm sorry but did you buy this book? You cannot read unless you buy. We have had people spill drinks on books."

"Okay. If I sit there and not drink anything. Can I check the book out?"

"No you'll have to buy it."

Talked to manager. I was friendly and soft. "I am a traveller for work, I always frequent coffee shops and book stores. I really like this place, it's very pretty."

"Awesome!"

"But I've never seen a policy such as this, about not being able to check out books without buying them."

"Yeah it's there for a reason, because"

"Yeah she told me, to not spill coffee on it, but I did ask if I can check the book out over there without a drink."

"Yeah it's policy though, it is what it is" and shrugged me off.

It pains me to give a coffee shops and a book store a negative review. But this is ridiculous, even the worst chain bookstores allow you to check books before buying them. Let alone a literal coffee shops / bookstores.

Edit: Responding to the manager - the above is literally exactly how the conversation went. At no point did I say he was rude or not calm. No shaming, just the truth. My wife was even on the phone and heard the conversation.

I started by complimenting the place, he was happy. I then told him about that policy and he turned cold, explained it verbatim as I said. Then shrugged me off.

You can tell by how defensive he is that something is off. This a 1 star for the policy, not for the interaction. And the interaction did go verbatim as I mentioned. He was calm and polite, but he did shrug me off coldly at the end when I critiqued the policy.

Honesty is honesty. And the response shows you the attitude at the end of the day. He did not offer a correction to how the conversation went, just tried to gaslight me with "public shaming of a small business" part and mentioned his calm demeanor, which I did...

I need you to understand that I have never written a review for an establishment in my life. I stumbled across Epilogue while shopping online for a book I was having trouble finding, and was delighted to discover it was just one city over so I could go pick it up.

I needed a small adventure in these strange & isolated times. I browsed, smiling, picked up a few more books, and stood dazzled in front of their absolutely delightful coffee menu before the barista asked if I would like their recommendation. I ordered exactly what they specified - lavender sea salt mocha, oat milk, whipped cream. Large. Iced.

Friends, I stepped outside, pulled my mask to the side, took one single sip, and immediately stopped dead in my tracks. I had to lean against a nearby railing and gaze into the street, awestruck, agape, hand to my heart. I got some looks.

This was not just a mocha. This was a beacon of hope in an otherwise increasingly dark existence. This was a spiritual experience. This coffee replenished my serotonin. This coffee buttered my toast, did my taxes, and watered my crops. Fellas, this coffee may have saved my life.

Anyway the book selection was great and they pay their employees a living wage so 10/10 I will be back a...

I was excited to see a store like this here in Chapel Hill. My wife and I were out for a walk and decided to take a look. I'm not going to lie, everything looked perfect. People were enjoying coffee and my wife was going to look for a book. Things were off to a good start. I mean, we have to support independent book stores and this one looked to be a gem BUT then it happened.

A gentlemen came from outback and barked "you have to have a mask to shop here". I'll be the first to admit the idea of being forced to wear a mask angers me and would influence my reaction BUT this gentleman was point blank rude. Which doesn't make sense at all. None of it makes sense. Policy inconsistencies in the shop clearly outline the lunacy behind their current "mask" stance but I really didn't have the energy or desire to join their circus. I let my wife know and we promptly left the establishment. To be fair, the nicer gentlemen behind the counter let us know they had masks but it was too late.

I'm not going to be a hypocrite and publicly degree that my dollars won't be spent there because the truth is, once their policies thaw out and the store is a bit more welcoming I will probably make it my preferred bookstore and...