Column 15 Cafe and Roastery — Restaurant in Williamsburg

We so desperately wanted to love this place. We're the kind of people who celebrate and support small business. It was a Saturday morning and not very crowded. We walked in and we were completely confused by the ordering layout but they quickly helped us understand. We were helped by a lovely young lady named rae, who ended up being the only positive part of the experience. We ordered two breakfast sandwiches and a drip coffee. They give you a pager and they say it's really annoying and you won't miss it. They give you coffee at the front and the food comes out at a little bar in one of the rooms. I had to wait 10 minutes just for a drip coffee because they stick the drip coffee orders in the same line as lattes. So I spent 10 minutes waiting for that and was pretty sure that by then, maybe my boyfriend would have picked up our food since he had the pager. Now we are 10 minutes into this experience. But no, the pager had not buzzed while I quite senselessly waited for a drip coffee and had to wait through three orders of espresso drinks before they would just push the button on the cambro. So poorly organized and everyone was chaotic. Anyhow, I went back to my seat and noticed that all the tables around us had been served their food. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited 10 more minutes before I got up to go see what was going on. Again, giving them the benefit of the doubt for being busy, I was quite surprised when I looked in the main dining room and it was empty. Even more surprised when I realized that the one table that had been seated 10 minutes after we arrived had already eaten their food. What the heck was going on? I went to the front and told the cashier that it had been almost half an hour now and our food had not been served and the buzzer had not gone off. She came back out with the kitchen manager. She said to me that she didn't see any tickets in the back for our food and I promised her I'd paid for it. She was able to pull up my order and see that indeed it had been taken and just not been sent to the back somehow. Excuse me? How does that happen? The worst part of this experience was the lack of empathy and apology on this woman's behalf. We had waited half an hour for literally nothing. She handed me coupons for two free drinks. I was kind of shocked. At this point, I wanted my money back. But she said no I'm going to hurry and I'll get these out to you as soon as I can. It took her 10 more minutes to get them orders out to me with nobody else in the line. She was so incredibly lackadaisical about the fact that they had completely screwed us over. The lack of apology was very unprofessional and disheartening. I don't know who owns this place but I hope you read this. You have potential there in a huge way. Your systems are not connecting or something. We went half an hour without our food because somehow supposedly our order didn't go to the back? I don't know what the heck happened but if that's what actually happened you guys have some serious maintenance to do on your system. And some serious work to do with your employees on making amends with customers who have been that seriously wronged. and after all of that, this very half invested kitchen manager handed off a bag with two sandwiches in it and said sorry have a great day. All like it was nothing and it happens all the time. The food was very mediocre. She actually even got our order wrong. I'd asked for some cream cheese on the side and it came slathered on my sandwich very messily when the intent was to share it with my partner. I do not recommend this place until they get their act together with the ordering, the coffee, and the communication between the register and the kitchen. And maybe a kitchen manager who has the ability to show a little focus on customer service in satisfaction. Half of a star if that. It was a cruddy way to start a...

We've been trying all the coffee shops around Williamsburg, and were excited and optimistic about the atmosphere in this shop. However, employees make or break the experience, and the person working the front clearly felt inconvenienced by having customers.

My wife wanted to order the Sweet Potato Souffle latte, but when we got to the register it was out. She looked to the employee for guidance on what to get instead that might be similar, but the employee literally shrugged and did not say any words at all. My wife, feeling pressure to order said "I'll just take the same thing he is having." I pointed out a different option that seemed like something she would like and asked "Would you like this instead?" but the employee just continued ringing up totally indifferent to my now visibly frustrated wife, and presented me with the total.

Sadly, we had paid extra for large and left a tip only to be handed half empty large cups. I am guessing since we both ordered the same thing, she just made the maximum that the machine could at once and split it between our cups with total indifference to taking our hard earned money.

Won't be back, I highly recommend Tipsy Bean over this place, the staff there seem to care and the...

We came once and both got coffees off the summer special menu. We also got a gluten free fudge brownie and panini board. Every single thing we got was delicious. The panini was hot and fresh, the chips and dip were delightful, and the brownie so moist and rich (hard to do for gluten free!). Also, they have plant-based/non-dairy milks available free of charge. I've literally never not been up-charged for that- until now. The coffee is the best I've ever had. I loved that the iced coffee comes with an ice ball so it doesn't water down as quickly. On top of that, the cafe atmosphere was very cozy and aesthetic, the wifi was great, and there were free board games. We loved it so much we came again (we are on vacation) and got a flight in latte form. So unique and fun! We got to try so many flavors. To top it all off, the staff were incredibly friendly. It was raining the day we came and we accidentally left our car lights on. Three of the employees helped us jump our car battery and they were super, super nice about it. If we are ever in Virginia again this place will definitely be on our list! I'm so sad I won't get to experience this place on a...