Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters and Petite Cafe — Restaurant in Gloucester Point

I am copying and posting as a witness to these events and in support of the mothers and children who were so badly mistreated by the owner, Celeste.

The owner of this establishment, Celeste was mean to a group of moms and their very little children. She accused them of stealing because an 11 MONTH OLD was playing with a plastic lantern left on a picnic table outside. Despite the mother apologizing and offering to pay for the lantern, Celeste was cold and mean. She blocked the mother, a paying customer, from using the bathroom to care for her baby who had fallen on her property and was bleeding. Though encouraged to sue, that mother just wants to move on. Let me tell you though, Celeste bc doesn’t deserve the support of our community. She banned all six women and their children and caused 2 toddlers to cry. Banned? How about boycott?

In response to owner:

Look, we all have bad days and make mistakes, clearly this was yours. How about just admitting you were wrong for accusing a baby of theft? Don’t you have security cameras that can show you what actually happened? Because an entire group of respectable adults explaining it to you isn’t enough?

A normal response, even if you had truly believed it was theft, would simply be to warn your customers to be more careful and please not let the children play with the lanterns. Done. Your reaction was EXTREME.

The National Park Rangers were called by the families involved and Celeste’s story does not align with what is documented, the wording left below would make it sound, again, extreme and dramatic. The report simply states Celeste called to inform them she asked a customer to leave because she believed they were trying to steal a lantern. All business owners in the park are required to call in any such incidents. No charges would ever have been pressed because this accusation is laughable. The complaint against Celeste is now also on file.

Again, that mother has been urged to do more but remains staunch in not wanting to be involved. As witnesses we are upset because we too were mistreated and our young children upset by it. No one made an account to troll you, Celeste, but yes, we have the right to voice our experience, that’s what...

As I see other reviews have written, the boss or “owner” Celeste is extremely rude and lacks key customer service skills. Arrived here with a group of friends visiting Yorktown for a bachelorette party. Was looking forward to trying this place out until it was ruined. We ordered our food and coffee and were guided to sit and wait with seating upstairs. It was a small room with long tables each having only 2 chairs at each. Since we had a group of 6, we decide to slide 2 tables that were only around 1 foot apart together to accommodate better. Behind us sat a table of young kids and toddlers running around in the middle of the room at a table with at least 5+ chairs at it. The owner, Celeste, comes upstairs shouting at us “Did you not read the sign? You cannot push the tables together, YOU ARE RUINING THE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE ELSE. Move it all back now!” We say we did not see the signs and comply, moving everything back very carefully, as she shouts “WATCH THE FLOORS.” The sign she was referring to? A small piece of paper at the BOTTOM of the steps in tiny writing saying “Please do not move the tables.” While the sign was in a horrible place, we understood when she said we could not move them. We moved everything back and headed outside. On the way out she starts saying it’s because of the floors, which like I said, we understood. However, the biggest issue was her terrible cold, rude, attitude. Before leaving we addressed these issues with her and how that is not how you should conduct yourself as a business owner. Her response? “Well did it not occur to you the tables shouldn’t be moved?” With your tiny sign at the bottom of the steps, not to mention multiple employees walking up there and not saying a word to us about it made us unaware. We were apologetic about the tables, but this owner needs a wake up call or maybe this place just needs new management overall. Coffee was good, Chicken Pesto Panini was extremely soggy and had no actual pesto. Cute building, but if you are worried about your floors maybe a coffee shop/ restaurant was not the best idea for this place. The younger kids serving did a fantastic job, it’s terrible they put up with this woman. Fix your...

Mobjack has been one of my most favorite respites the past several years, serving outstanding coffee, delicious pastries & offering a unique & welcoming ambiance. We always engage with staff & have always had positive experiences. Today my husband & I arrived for a much anticipated kid free date to enjoy our favorite coffee together. While there were patrons seated upstairs, it didn’t seem particularly busy at 1:30pm on this Friday afternoon. We placed our orders & went upstairs to await my espresso drink order. My husband was given a cup of coffee, literally the dregs of the pot being tipped up to try & fill the cup- no surprise, the quality was not up to standard & tasted old & bitter. He opted to wait for my order to arrive & then ask for a fresh cup, not drinking his cup. We waited upstairs for almost 20 mins, still awaiting my iced latte order when he finally went downstairs to enquire if he could get a fresh cup of coffee. He was told by the young lady/cashier that no fresh coffee was available so offered to make something else. While my husband appreciated the espresso, he had looked forward to a cup of freshly brewed dark roast coffee (his favorite) so this was a disappointment. My drink finally arrived after a 25 min wait (no apology or explanation was given for the extended delay)- the oat milk wasn’t cold (I ordered iced) so my drink was tepid, despite some ice & not enjoyable. This was all just a huge disappointment. We will come back but because we have been loyal patrons, sharing our love of Mobjack with friends & strangers we meet across VA & bringing our out of town family to visit, we wanted management to be aware. If this had been our 1st experience, we would never return & been left with a very negative experience. We look forward to better...