Recess Coffee Westcott — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

TL; dr ethical, treat their employees well, so good work within the community. Highly recommend stopping in for coffee if you're looking for a small, local coffee shop for your cuppa instead of one from a giant corporation.

I'll admit, I used to greatly dislike this place. I'd had not so good experiences with employees in the past at other locations, and they seemed like coffee elitists. Instead, I chose Cafe Kubal as my regular place. I loved their coffee and their employees seemed like genuine, happy people that took the time to get to know and remember their regulars. Back then, I really only cared about the customer service end. Since then, I've become much more socially and politically conscious (yes, that matters here).

In the past several years I've watched as Matt (the owner of Kubal) has relentlessly pushed the expansion of his business at the expense of his product, his customer service and his employees. The baristas went from friendly and chatty to quiet and sometimes even kind of mean. During the pandemic, one barista that I had previously thought I had a good relationship with suddenly turned rude and dismissive, refusing to allow ordering at the door versus on their website (the website wasn't allowing me to put the order through and the sign on their door clearly said that you could order at the door if you were willing to wait for your order). I found out about a year later that all of this was likely due to Matt's abysmal treatment of said employees. I won't go into details about that, but needless to say, they had reasons to be upset (though come on folks, don't take it out on customers, please!)

All of that being said, I've spoken with Recess employees, former employees, and customers, and most of them had good things to say. Employees were happy with their treatment and work environment and customers were happy with the service and product. I support them for their ethics, work in the community, and how they treat their customers and employees. I regularly buy coffee there when I'm in the area and encourage anyone else looking to buy local to give...

I normally choose to stop myself from giving a place negative reviews as I believe in positive criticism and second chances, Yet, I just can't take what happened today at Recess. Here's how it went: I'm enjoying my drink with my wife and my legs crossed on the sofa (rehab phase after a severe ankle sprain). This dude , with no prior notice, rushes from behind the counter, tapped on my shoulder and says something which I didn't hear as I had my ear-pods; he then says pointing at my feet "Zapatos!". I loose my ear-pods as my wife tells him that I do speak English. We immediately left the place and made sure we had our shoes on!

So here are my issues with what happened: I understand cafes have different rules but I have been to so many coffee shops and never been asked to put on my sandals/shoes or move my legs! Let's say I'm not abiding by Recess' rule and the guy had to inform me. I don't think that was a proper way of doing it knowing that I had my ear-pods on! May be stand by the table so that I notice him then politely ask me to put my sandals back on. Assuming that I didn't speak English and then using a single word in Spanish is just outrageous! The guy clearly profiled me!

We've been to Recess multiple times since we moved to Syracuse. Today, the place lost...

I know a lot of people looooveeee their coffee. However, I've tried many roasts and most seem overly bitter to me. The Guatemalan was my favorite in that it didn't seem to possess this quality. (Update: Ethiopian is good too.)

I don't mind coming here in the summer, as the place itself is fairly large and spread out. It has a unique vibe and friendly staff. Even though I am not the biggest fan of their coffee, I have tried a decent selection of food items (none of which were disappointing). Food is certainly tasty. If you want any kind of bagel or bagel sandwich, go in the morning. They have run out multiple times.

When the school year hits, however, I avoid this place like the plague. It's a sea of students, most of whom take up the precious seating that exists and hog it for hours on end. It becomes a near anxiety attack just going inside, as it's just filled with people. Forget eating when there's no place to sit down. And since I don't love their coffee, it just loses appeal all around.

The location is good though, and a lot of people really do enjoy the product more than I do. Check it out, but be aware that the college season is miserable. Kudos to the staff for doing such a...