The Exchange On Tejon — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

As someone who grew up in Colorado Springs, I have frequented the Coffee Exchange regularly over the years. Though I do not find their food particularly tasty and oftentimes get a coffee that ends up tasting burnt, I have looked past this in the name of convenience and ambiance. The expansion of this coffee shop allows plenty of room for those looking for a good study location with a moderate amount of sunlight. However, on my most recent visit, the limited positive qualities of this sub par coffee shop were over shadowed by a hostile and targeted experience with a staff member.

On this most recent visit, I was with a friend after taking a yoga class next door and we decided to divide and conquer with my friend getting us coffee and a spot at the overrun coffee exchange, while I ventured to a nearby food truck for breakfast tacos. After an unexpected 45 minute wait in the cold for our order, I was grateful to return to the coffee exchange, join my friend at our seats and begin eating. I was incredibly hungry and well overdue in taking a bit of yummy food. But before I could do so, I was interrupted by a staff member who said that outside food was “not allowed” here. I reassured them that we were paying customers and had bought coffee in an effort to justify our presence. The employee pushed onward stating that outside food wasn’t allowed in case we “got sick from that food” and presumably placed the blame on the Coffee Exchange.

Now, let’s imagine this is a valid policy meant to protect the business from unjust lawsuits, am I to believe this applies to ALL outside food as was being argued by this employee? Would I have been reprimanded for eating a protein bar I brought from home in this particular coffee shop, or even more absurdly for drinking water from my own water bottle? If that is not the case, then what the employee ought to have said is that any competitor’s food is not allowed because it threatens the profit of this business. Which, as a frequent customer and paying customer during this visit, seems both uncalled for and targeted. I offered to move to a table elsewhere to be leas visible and was told that doesn’t matter. I was further patronized as I was told that I wouldn’t bring outside food into a McDonalds and that this is a “restaurant”.

At this point, I was frustrated and incredibly hungry. I explained that I understood what they were saying but that I had been waiting in the cold for 45 minutes and that I just wanted to eat my food and would do so quickly. I was rebutted with “If you got it, then you wouldn’t do it,” by the overly intent employee. I made it clear that this was unnecessary and packed my food to go elsewhere.

In this case, Coati next door served as a safe haven as they do not have such outrageous rules for their “restaurant “ or at least are not as aggressively enforcing them. I was able to eat in peace despite having not ordered anything from any of their establishments.

As a result of this experience and other more subtly negative experiences here, I will no longer be giving my business to this coffee shop. To be so flagrantly treated and forced out of this business is unacceptable and despicable...

if you’re looking for a banger coffee shop that has a huge selection of pastries, coffee, AND food, COME HERE. if you aren’t, come anyway. you won’t be disappointed. unless you despise being happy. i came here at around 9am and it wasn’t too busy. at 11am this place was hopping. i ordered a cafe au lait (3.00 with tax) and it came out in like three seconds. woa. i only give this place a four star because the cafe au lait was not hitting. it was a bit bitter. im wondering if i’m just am not a fan of that particular drink because i’ve ordered it before at other places and it made me sad face. i want to come back to try their espresso! they also have a lot of variety coffees. different drip options (light and dark roasts). and a cubano! the only coffee shop i’ve been to in colo. springs that has cubano coffee. they value the quality of the bean. they respect the bean :) PLANTS they have lots of viney plants all huddled around the place. this makes the aesthetic all the more wow. philodendrons to go along the background of your instagram posts ;) the customer service was exceptional. they really make people feel comfortable and taken care of. they have two levels of seating options. if you like to spy on people from above you can take the top balcony area. or if you’re a more grounded person you can sit inside or outside on level 1 (sitting by the plants) their wifi password is written on little placards all around the shop, so no need to fret about workie on computer. they have a water section too and merch like stickers and coffee cups. i think they also have free parking down a few blocks (if you want to park in neighborhood area and walk a bit) but i’m not all too sure. just stop reading this long review and walk your happy little soul to the exchange. who doesn’t want to sit next to a plant and have coffee made for...

Update 7/22/21, 4 stars: I wanted to update my review as we have continued to eat here/order from here and have noticed some positive changes. The last 3 times our food has been consistently delicious, and the orders have been correct each time. The owner or manager has been very apologetic and has comped our meals that were wrong in the past, and I see that he is determined to make this right - that is super appreciated and all that any customer could ever ask for. I have updated my rating to 4 stars. I love the exchange and will continue to support this restaurant. Great job, whatever is changing is working.

6/15/21, 2 stars: I have a love/hate relationship with The Exchange. Their food is delicious, simply put. They have vegan options that are actually good. Where things go wrong for me is they are never consistent with getting orders correct. We’ve been here/ordered to go/ordered via Grubhub multiple times and nearly every time, the order is messed up in one way or another. I just ordered via Grubhub this morning (6/15/21) and my vegan tofu scramble has a piece of bacon in it. Absolutely unacceptable. When we called to inform the restaurant of this mistake, they insisted that this is impossible to happen. Well, here’s a photo for proof. The food, when it’s correct, is 5 stars. I have left two stars for this review for the handling of this issue/inconsistency within...