Awakenings Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Cincinnati

Please consider this as constructive criticism for the owners so they might improve their business.

If I were the owner I would definitely have a talk with everyone. I would certainly ensure everyone was familiar with the website, especially the management. And I would provide clean disposable masks for employees who wished to wear them. And those should be replaced every four hours and whenever they might be contaminated, such as when going to the bathroom or being removed for lunch/breaks. When working with food you must be careful regarding hygiene. Filthy fabric masks worn continuously and repeatedly should not be used. Yuck!

The staff is not friendly. Actually they seemed quite condescending.

One barista was wearing a dark mask that not only looked dirty and unprofessional in a food service environment, but obstructed his ability to clearly communicate. And his attitude seemed disinterested and impolite/fake polite. And, unfortunately, while I didn’t actually meet the management in person they seem quite inept and seemingly share his same attitude.

I reached out to the manager more than one month ago, before ever having visited this business, I had attempted to communicate with the manager about scheduling an after hours event. Believing from their website that this would be fairly easy inquiry and hosting an after hours event would be an option, I made early dinner reservations at a neighboring restaurant.

Unfortunately, after responding, five days, two emails and two phone calls later, the manager was confused about my inquiry. She actually asked me “how would they do that?”

She didn’t understand how to respond to an inquiry about hosting a private after hours party, which is very odd considering I found the information suggesting “after hour events” and link to her email on their website.

When scheduling an event you obviously need permission/agreement from the venue prior to the initiating the planning and invitations. When Katie did finally respond via email she literally asked me how they would do that, “an after hours event”. Confused by her response, I politely replied with the details we had in mind for our party, hoping that was the information she was concerned about (seemingly confused about).

This time she never responded for two days, until after I sent a screenshot from their website that showed “contact us about scheduling an after hours event” so that she might understand that this is something the coffeehouse offers and not some unusual/random request.

This time she promptly responded, stating: I got your screenshot from our website. We don’t have the staff. Have a nice day. By her email I got the impression she was offended. I suspect she would not have responded at all had I not sent the screenshot. Weird!

We did keep our reservations for the neighboring restaurant, hence the reason for today’s visit to the coffeehouse.

We were a bit early and decided to enjoy a coffee. We entered and sat at the bar. We were not greeted, though only 8 or 10 feet away from the counter. I had to ask if we should order at the counter. Then we were never told they were ready and waiting for us to pick them up, or even that we should pick them up after they were prepared. The experience was unbelievable, especially considering I had paid for the coffees and left a gratuity upon ordering. The barista wasn’t even busy. No other customers arrived or approached the counter for twenty...

Review for Awakening Coffee Shop, Hyde Park

I rarely write reviews, but my recent experience at Awakening Coffee Shop prompted me to share. I visited the shop alone with my certified dog, as I was out for a walk in Hyde Park. My dog is trained, obeys commands, and is certified—though not a service dog. I made that clear to the barista, who responded that if my dog wasn’t a service dog, I would need to leave.

I understand the importance of accommodating customers and respecting policies, but I felt publicly humiliated and unfairly judged simply for being honest. I don’t believe in emotional support or certification as a reason to bypass the rules, but I also believe that responsible pet owners who have invested in their animals’ training deserve respect.

I chose not to educate the staff at the moment because the shop was busy and I didn’t want to cause a scene, but I hope this feedback reaches the management. If a customer is honest about their situation, they should be treated with courtesy, especially if they’re paying for their order.

To the staff: Please be aware of how to handle these situations professionally and kindly. Customers who spend their money deserve respectful treatment, regardless of the certification status of their pets. Additionally, I will not be returning. I plan to continue getting my coffee at Roebling Cafe in Newport. Heads up: although they do not allow dogs inside their shop, they have a clever system for pet owners—a metal hook that hangs from the outside wall for leash attachment, with a water bowl nearby while owners go inside to order. That’s a smart solution, and it might be worth considering for Awakening Coffee Shop as...

Great coffee and wine selection. Four stars instead of 5 because I compare everything to Collective Espresso. This place is probably the coffee shop that appeals to more as they offer flavoring and a great espresso drinks. Maybe I shouldn't compare this place to Collective Espresso the more I think about it. Awakenings is a slightly different market. Awakenings offers drinks, greeting cards, wine, wine tastings, and maybe a cheese plate. I know they used to do a cheese plate, not sure if they still do. Awakenings and 1215 Are very similar in their offerings. The great think about Awakenings is every time I'm in there I feel like I'm in a small town. Not only is the staff friendly so are the clients. ...