Bean Bar — Restaurant in Florence

Edit: Thank you for responding to my review. I've updated my review to reflect your response. I've visited Bean Bar about 6 times in the last 2 months. It's hard, really hard, to find a good latte anywhere in SC. So the first time I visited I was happy with the quality of my latte. Most of their syrups are made in house, I tried the caramel and it's very good. They use an absolutely phenomenal roaster and get an incredible bean that's full and rich. However it's the atmosphere, staff, something that is just very unfriendly, extremely unwelcome feeling. Their whole process is ridicule from the moment you walk in. You are greeted by an employee when you walk in. You tell that person your order. They will question you multiple times as they write it down. It's so much back and forth. While someone else ,#2, stands there looking at you. They 1st person yells "order" and hands the card the #2 person who was standing there looking at you the whole time you are telling #1 your drink. #2 then pulls your shots and stops. A third person now get involved and starts making, building the cup. It's been at least 7 min by now. EVERYTIME it's like this. By 12 minutes you have 1 iced drink. There's one much older lady there that is very sweet and kind, I don't know how she stands to be there with the rest. It's so unfriendly. This week we were greeted by a new sign on the door. And it just topped it all off. We will never be back. The sign says they will now be closed on Wednesday. Ok fine. Your closed 2 days a week now. But you had to put up a stupid sign up. "Every Wednesday we will be closed to make sure our full time staff doesn't get over worked" What a joke! I never laughed so hard in my life. I was a barist for years, worked 60+ weeks. Easiest, chill job I've ever had. I don't know if the owners are looking for a pat on the back or what but if your barista can't work 40 hours a week with two days off and be okay then something's really wrong. And I don't want to support that. I can't even finish writing this cause I'm laughing so hard at that stupid sign. I can't even with...

Wow! I love this spot! I was visiting town from the west coast, and was brought here as I'm known to absolutely love great coffee spots that are not Starbucks. I was not disappointed one bit!

First, the staff were phenomenal! The lady who rang me up was friendly, knowledgeable, and super helpful with my order. Second, there was a lovely woman (I am embarrassed to not be able to recall her name! 😭) who talked with guests and asked everyone if their drinks/food were up to par. She is such a lovely lady whom I enjoyed conversing with during my time in, which really added to the friendly and welcoming environment. (For management, she has been with you for some years even prior to the coffee shop and is also originally from out of the area - please relay my thank you to her!)

I ordered an everything bagel with the homemade sundried tomato cream cheese and an iced lavender latte with oat milk. They were phenomenal! The coffee was a perfect balance and was not too sweet, and still maintained its coffee flavor - compared to other coffee shops that overpower their coffee drinks with flavored syrups. I was really impressed with the bagel, and especially the cream cheese. I did not anticipate that they made the smear in-house and that they offered a variety of flavors. The bagel and smear definitely can give any local bagel shops a run for their money.

The location itself is wonderful. Ample parking, located right by a trailhead, and co-located with other (what I assume) are local eateries/breweries, which makes for a great community spot to enjoy a day with friends and family. There's plenty of seating inside and out, and they feature both a corner to feature local artists and art throughout from one of the owners.

Next time I'm in town, I'm 100%...

This is the best coffee experience I've ever had in my life. There is plenty of parking. As soon as I arrived I was reading the menu outside. Someone came outside to greet me and ask me if it was my first time. When I said yes they were so kind and explained how they make all their syrups and house and every product is organic. I went inside and the cashier let me know that she was in training and gave me the same spill, and when I went to order cold brew they recommended not adding additional milk to it if I was a coffee person. I asked for my milk on the side and for my coffee to be half sweetened, and I will tell you I was able to drink that cold brew without any creamer. I ordered a shaken vanilla espresso as well and it was a combination of cream soda flavor as well as sparkling water and coffee. It is delicious but you definitely don't want to let it melt. I came back later in the day and ordered another cold brew as well as some iced tea. They make the tea as you order it so it is so fresh and they deliver it to you if you are eating in house. The Wi-Fi password is on every table which is awesome. The bathrooms are spacious and clean. The only thing is it does echo a little bit in there but if you are needing some quiet time you can probably just go out on the porch and get that (unless there's a customer who has no idea they're in a public space or no "inside voice") but they can't help that. I recommended this coffee shop to everyone I've talked to since I went last Friday. I was traveling when I went otherwise I would go there every single day. What a neighborhood friendly coffee shop. I watch them greet their regulars by name as they came through the door. It...