Coffee House Realty Cafe — Restaurant in Florida

I didn't even get to try to the Key Lime pie (initially what drew me in) because I was rudely YELLED at by the owners.

First off, I live in Florida not to far from St. Augustine, so I do not consider myself a tourist. I also am always willing to pay for a drink or snack to use a restroom, I totally respect that policy.

I was having a bathroom emergency and needed a restroom ASAP. My friend and I had passed this place and mentioned how we wanted to come back from coffee and a slice of key lime pie. Well, as I said I had an emergency so we went back, knowing they had a bathroom. My friend got in line to start ordering and I made my way to the bathroom.

A very rude, older male behind the bar, who I presume is the owner and a real estate agent, stopped me. He asked, in the most condescending tone, " Can...I help....YOU?" All while looking me up and down as if I was some degusting human. I politely stated, I was going to use the restroom. Rolling his eyes even more, he stated, "Those are for paying customers only." I politely said, "I know, my friend is in line ordering" and gestured to my friend who was still waiting to be greeted at the counter.

He continued to look me up and down and glare at me and I said, "I guess I won't be using the restroom after all." Mind you, I am minutes away from a personal disaster happening in public.

I turn and walk back to my friend, almost in tears and told my friend they won't let me use the restroom so I need to go find another one. She was confused as she was still waiting to order and the other very rude, older women behind the counter asked the older gentleman what the problem was. He proceeded to demean me in front of customers telling her how I needed the restroom but I had not paid for anything-then my friend cut them off from gossiping about me, noting that she was in fact waiting to order, but no one has taken her order yet!

The older women swiftly shifted the blame to us, calling us tourists and that we don't deserve the use the restroom and that's how we'll get treated everywhere else and if they allowed all the tourist to use it then it would be a problem. She continued to sling words at us and berate us and we promptly left. I was raised in a generation where I would never raise my voice at someone in the service industry and this couple made me do so.

I have never been treated so rudely in my life. I am very glad we did not give them our money, but also the fact that these owners were complaining about tourists giving them business, where other parts of Florida who also rely on tourist dollars have been decimated, is very tone deaf. Not to mention they still have "plantation" in their website name. I did not feel welcomed as a women here and will never return.

If you are tourist, a women or someone who believes treating EVERYONE with respect, then STAY AWAY. There are much better local establishments that will welcome you and appreciate your business. A 1 star review is...

The owners are incredibly rude! I went to give this place a try, ordered my coffee, and went to sit on the porch. I knew beforehand that they did not have Wi-Fi which is not a problem for me, and they do have signs saying no Wi-Fi. I opened up my laptop and within seconds the female owner comes over and tells me I cannot have my laptop out. I am confused because I don’t see any signs about laptops, only wifi. She is very rude to me and says there are signs posted clearly everywhere. I tell her I saw signs for Wi-Fi only and asked her to clarify. She then tells me I need to leave and so I asked for a refund on my $7 latte that I didn’t even drink yet. As she’s processing a refund she is badgering me about how it’s her café and she can do whatever she wants. I told her of course she could but that the signage wasn’t clear. She pointed to the same sign that says no Wi-Fi where there is a picture of a laptop and a slash through it. I told her that still wasn’t very clear to me that laptops weren’t allowed because it doesn’t specifically say that and from a customer perspective I was just trying to let her know it wasn’t very clear. She continues badgering me about how she can do whatever she wants, her cafe, her rules. At this point I am in tears because she is publicly humiliating me in front of other customers and I’m just trying to get my refund and leave. Absolutely horrible experience. Juniper across the street and Sunday a few spots down both have excellent customer service and will be much more...

❤️ Coffee House Realty Cafe. Stopped here after teaching Sound & Ground yoga at Uptown Villa and enjoyed the beautiful music, vibrant paintings, great food & bev, and amazing and warm energy of the owners, Theo & Diane. 🙏🏼 Thank you for this gem. Also note their motto: " We do not have Wi-Fi. Talk to each other and pretend it is 1995." 😆 It was so refreshing to have this space without a laptop. Originally, I came with my laptop to do some work but when I found out about their no laptop policy, I took it as a sign from the universe that I need to take a break and unplug. It was so nice to be surrounded by the beautiful artwork painted by Theo. As I gazed into the paintings, I felt a connection to the scenery as if I was there on vacation. A great stop if you are visiting St. Augustine on your vacation or are a local just wanting to connect with people face to face and have an actual conversation. They also have some great classic games like chess (with an awesome wooden set) and checkers. There is also a tic tac toe board with little gnomes as pieces. This place is awesome and I can't believe it's taken me this long to find it. Also, you will find a ton of great books to peruse. Great energy, food & bev, incredible art, and a great mission to get back to communicating in a real way with one another face to face. Definitely come check out Coffee House Realty Cafe if you haven't yet. It will become your new...