Holy Grounds Coffee House — Restaurant in Florida

Went here last Saturday with my family as my little sister was so excited to share one of her favorite coffee places in the area with us. Unfortunately, this was not a good experience for any of us. We went in the morning and got there just before the rush, we had 6 people with us, our order was 6 coffees (which besides the americano were all served below room temperature, but we drank them anyway without saying anything), 3 biscuit sandwiches, 3 muffins and one gluten free avocado toast (which was displayed in the gluten free section). The avocado toast and one biscuit sandwich were served within a reasonable amount of time for ordering them, however, the avo toast did not come gluten free which wasn't a big deal we took it back up and offered to pay for a new one (my mom has a gluten ALLERGY, so she needed it to be gluten free). They told us we didn't have to pay for a new one they would remake it, with an eye roll from the lady in the green sweater. When the toast came out again, she handed us the toast and rudely stated "here is your toast gluten free, since you decided to change your mind". Flash forward 15 more minutes the rest of our food still isn't out after I had been waiting at the counter and made eye contact with green sweater about 10 times, she never once came to see what I was waiting on. I finally asked one of the young boys (who get 5/5 for service), about the rest of our food after people who ordered after us were getting their muffins and biscuit sandwiches. When our muffins finally came out, two biscuit sandwiches were served right after in which green sweater again rudely claimed "these are for my friend Ken", she then brought all of Ken's food to him and his table and sat there for a few minutes whispering in a customer's ear and then glaring over at our table. 40 minutes have gone by, and we are still waiting for our last two biscuit sandwiches, we were given ONE breakfast sandwich served on ciabatta bread and had yet to receive our last breakfast sandwich, when my dad went up to ask for a refund for the food we didn't get, green sweater RUDELY asked him "how much money would you like back?" and he asked just for the amount of the sandwich that we did not receive. Overall, the customer doesn't always have to be correct, however, blatantly being rude to customers who were just trying to get the food they paid for is...

updated Coffee was old. But that wasn't even the worst of it. Owner comes walking in screaming about moving tables or furniture. Chases my mother out of the place and tells her never to come back. Place of worship? More like a place of hatred. Taken from their website: "we are passionate about creating an atmosphere where individuals from all walks of life can come together, connect, and experience the transformative power of community." Sure you can do all of that but you touch one piece of their furniture or move it just a little to talk to the person next to you you'll be banned from the coffee shop. Worst customer service I've seen on the island during my whole life here. Don't worry about banning us, we'd never come back or suggest this place to anyone ever.

Edit in response So it sounds like you were not there either. If you would like to send me the video go ahead. Sounds like you know who I am either way.

edit #2 As my son shared nothing but the truth. My visit was to meet with someone who would recently come to the Lord, and we were speaking about the truth and different situations. When someone behind me walked in screaming from the top of their voice about the chair and the furniture. I did not know it was towards me, and then they came up behind me and scared me to death picked up a sign on the table, imposed it in front of my face “didn’t you see this” screaming again at me. I proceeded to get up. Move the chair back. As I was leaving, I overheard the owner Sue Ellen Smith say to her employee “So she paid on a gift card I’m going to give her back the rest of the gift card”. I exited the establishment and started to get in my car when I notice Ms Smith coming out toward my car, screaming and waving money in the air. I had already been in a situation of being yelled at several times and was very frightened by this time. My friend saw my reaction and stood in front of her and stopped her and told her not to go near me and she said something about the money, trying to throw at me. He pulled it out of her hand and threw it toward the door. He was protecting me and I appreciate that. You and I agree that you establishment is not for us....

I want this critique to be accurate and holistic. While I genuinely appreciated the cleanliness of the space and typically find the black coffee quite good, I was shocked by the way I was treated by the owner.

I’ve been trained in hospitality by the Ritz-Carlton and have owned a commercial cleaning business, so I don’t offer this feedback lightly: I believe the owner’s approach to customer interaction was unnecessarily hostile and unprofessional. From the start, she addressed me with tension rather than courtesy. At one point, she corrected my speech with something to the effect of, “You mean please,” as though I had been rude—despite my calm and respectful demeanor.

What made this all the more surprising was that I had interacted with her once before, about a week earlier, and found her quite helpful—she kindly explained that customers are expected to pick up their own drinks at the counter. That earlier interaction was positive and informative, which made this second encounter feel unexpectedly cold and confrontational.

To give context, I was quietly working on my laptop while waiting for a meeting I had scheduled later that day nearby. Without any greeting or context, she approached and abruptly said, “I need you to grab your stuff and get out.” I understand and respect a business owner’s right to manage their space, but the tone and delivery were unnecessarily harsh. That kind of interaction reflects poorly on the entire establishment.

In the service industry, great hospitality can elevate any product—but even excellent coffee can’t make up for poor treatment. Unfortunately, because of how I was spoken to, I would not recommend this...