Lili's Cafe — Restaurant in Kitty Hawk

My wife & I tried here to get her usual morning latte as we like supporting mom & pop businesses first. The girl at counter spent about ten minutes on the phone trying to answer a couple's question in line about a painting hanging in their shop for sale. (Okay, fair enough - I waited). When she did take my order (small latte & smoothe) I paid & waited....and waited... and waited - while she spent nearly 15 mins shoving vegetables into a large commercial juicer & even more time opening, cleaning, & doing it all again as I continued waiting with two others behind me. My wife (who's Russian) sat waiting for me when this same young girl walked over to her with 2 bags of food & asked her if they were hers (which my wife didn't understand her) as I advised the girl she was with me & may not understand you as she's just learning english. The girl immediately started yelling at us,'she could have answered me - I just asked her a question & she just *(curse word) ignored me!'. I was totally shocked & said to her,' apparently you're not listening - She doesn't understand you & that's not our order! ... I'm trying to let you know this if you'd stop yelling'. She then yelled again ' 'she still could have answered me!!' (Huh??!?) Obviously, at this point, we're done with this treatment! We asked for a refund, but neither person working knew how to do it, so I asked for the manager (who wasn't there) & had to wait until she arrived to get a refund. Barely an apology & out the door we went! If this is the way you allow employees to talk to your customers, good luck this upcoming season! I guess it's back to the corporate coffee house for us from...

Coffee Shop No. 410 Outer Bean Kitty Hawk, NC September 5, 2024

If there is one thing I have learned over the last two in and a half years it’s that a genuine smile and a warm greeting goes a really long way. It can transform an ordinary drink into something special. It makes the magic of coffee last throughout the entire day.

I was immediately welcomed when I walked into the Outer Bean. Initially, I was bummed because cortados were not on the menu. I asked the barista if she would try to make one. She said sure. I gave her general directions and she walked to the espresso machine. A couple of minutes later she handed me a cup with two shots of espresso and a stainless steel pitcher with steamed milk. The barista said, “Why don’t you add the milk in so you get it just the way you want.” I thought this was a thoughtful gesture. I thanked her and made my cortado. We chatted a bit. It turned out she is Thai and my husband is Thai; and I love to talk about Thailand. I took a few pictures. We exchanged goodbyes and I exited the cafe with a genuine smile and a very positive impression of the Outer Bean.

Smiles are free and they can elevate and/or improve any situation. Plus, folks always look better when they smile. I hope you make this world a better place by sharing your smile with someone today.

Enjoying life one...

Don’t be fooled by the name, this is NOT a coffee shop. I found this place after a quick google search for…”coffee”…and stopped in desperately needing a good cup of coffee after a long trip. When I asked for coffee, the person working the counter rather apathetically pointed towards the wall at one of those hotel type carafes, which I served myself from (after paying at least TWICE what a cup of 7 Eleven cup would have cost me. At least the 7 Eleven coffee would have been warm…). Maybe my overdramatization of this encounter directly hinges on my grossly unrealistic expectation that a place with the names “Bean” and “Cafe” in the title would somehow focus itself around a decent cup of coffee……but still. Definitely NOT the case here. Maybe everything else is phenomenal, but I’ll never know because you’ve hurt me now oh Outer Bean Cafe; scared for life I am. Oh well….guess I’ll go to 7 Eleven...