Somethings Brewing — Restaurant in Grayslake

Something's brewing, well that's for sure. I stopped by here 2 weeks ago Sunday morning for an iced Americano. The fresh aroma of breads baking and the indistinct scent of french pressed coffee carried my taste buds back to Snoqualmie Pass , Washington ; when I was making my way south on the PCT. Now I'm in a state of mind that brought me much pleasure. Transactions passed with smiles and in the corner of my eye there sat a man whith the early morning sun outside. I immediately made my way to the outside seating area. Upon choosing from the three possible tables to which I felt I could start a possible conversation ; I was struck with the subtle sweet scent of warm vanilla which in my opinion brought a relaxing vibe to my over analytical perspective. I chose the middle table. Wrought iron bistro tables and chairs, I made myself comfortable within mere moments. Intrigued by the old man legs crossed , fidgeting with his wooden tobacco pipe to maximize his position in which he seemed to be balancing with ease . A black leather cowboy hat shading his eyes from the sunlight as the early mid morning sun made it's way( as it always will ) ." What an interesting hat you have. " I exclaimed , showing enthusiasm as I stared at this wounderous accessorie. It takes a certain sort of man to wear a black sun dried leather wire rimmed cowboy hat with style. I know this because I had one just like it a few years ago. I was expecting something more from his response as to how he had acquired it. He started by saying "I picked it up while I was at--- ) just then the village day crew began using their gas powered leaf blowers to clean the sidewalks. Full throttle I could not hear anything coming from the place he'd picked up this hat! The sound stopped. I said please continue, just as he opened ... Again the obnoxious over powered leaf blower screaming back and forth , echoing the main stip adjacent to where I sat. Get a broom I thought to myself. It's Sunday morning , you'd think they'd wait until 9 am at Least. Anyway it was the timing that added to this conversation brewing. I picked up my Americano and motioned myself to sit at his table. He waved me in . Dang that's loud I said in relief that I no longer had to yell through this conversation,. yeah there was a function that took place here last night . Is that so ? Please continue. where did you get this hat? I picked it up at Disney world , he said. Oh did you now I thought. Instead I continued to show interest. Best part of his lengthy overly descriptive explanation was that he put the hat on while waiting in line to purchase something else to blot out the sun. The man went on jawing his tobbaco pipe, then proceeded to ask if I've ever been. "No, not me" , I said. "Well if you don't like lines , you probably wouldn't like it" . Who likes standing in lines I thought? I could see that this conversation was nearing an end . Just then a woman who looked shy , late sixties a bit nervous to be in public outside. Taking the table I just left. I turned my chair to face the street so I could easily accommodate interacting between the two .My intuition told me she needed someone to talk to . She did in fact . Good morning my name is Jimmy and this is .. as I turned to look at the old man hoping he had enough sense to introduce himself, while I made it look like I didn't forget his name . I'm Tom he said, I turned to the woman because I didn't have time to get her name ; while thinking Tom may feel a bit overlooked, I had to include both of em simultaneously in order to eliminate the dreaded moment if silence. I'm Catherine , Oh that's my sister's name I blurted out with excitement of having more in common other than coffee what not.there is more ,but I can't exceed 4,000...

Today was my first day going to this place and upon arrival I was not greeted by either of the two girls behind the counter. After taking a minute to look around, I was ready to order and notified one of them for service. The friend went behind a wall to text on her phone and the other one helped SIX WALK-IN customers before me. We made eye contact about 5 times and I patiently waited as she wiped counters down, and then turned her back to me. I waited for about twenty minutes until her friend said “she needs help” as she pointed to me. Instead of friendly and eager, she rudely grabbed a bag and I calmly tried to find some patience within myself to get my order done. No words in our interactions just me telling her what I wanted, so awkward. I then asked for 1 lb. of chocolate covered strawberries ($20) and she looked at me weird. The sign was right between us largely written on the counter. Again, no words from her, just rude looks and the sound of plastic gloves. After all that, we make it to the counter, I ordered shy of under $50 of goods, and she asked me if I need a bag. She gave every other customer a bag before me?? So I signed the e receipt and before we finished the transaction, she quickly started another order for the group behind me on the second register and her friend got up to help them. She didn’t hand me a receipt, my bag, say thank you, goodbye, no nothing. Weirdest rudest interaction I’ve had that I couldn’t shake off. I walked to the door and opened the door for a customer walking in and she didn’t even say thank you. No smiles to be found. I thought it was a great day to be nice, I wished more people could...

I’m disappointed with the poor attitude that was given to me today over soup. Yes, I’m aware it’s 9:45 AM and you couldn’t have soups ready until 10:30. I was waiting to hear that. I was waiting to hear that it was a mistake about the gazspacho not being available (literally the reason I came and not what I was told) but I wasn’t ready for the miserable attitude of one of the baristas (the one standing close to the one taking my order, and clearly ready to yell at me for no reason) who was soooo bothered and soooo annoyed that I was struggling to pivot on food options because of the social media post that brought me to the shop in the first place. I have been coming here for years. Years. And this isn’t the first time someone has had a rude disposition. Every one has bad days. But it seems like many employees are always having a bad day there. I want to be treated with the same kindness I see regulars receiving. I belong to this community as much as they do. I am sorry that the employees didn’t look at the social media page this morning and see what was being shared versus what they actually had. But I’m not sorry for being upset over being treated like I should just stop...