Ridman's Coffee — Restaurant in Lake View Township

This review comes as somebody who worked as a barista on and off for nearly a decade, so please understand that I have a sincere understanding for how trying customer/food service industry can beand think I am very empathetic and understanding of service that might be hurried/stressed/not overtly friendly.

My sister needed a glass of water for our walk so we popped in to grab one. In order to avoid being a nuisance she bought a cup of tea she didn’t need and I bought a cup of drip coffee I didn’t need and ofc tipped well on both so that we weren’t just creating work for the baristas. The woman there was extremely nice, made the coffee, tea, and glass of water. At about the same time, my sister realized there weren’t lids for the water cups and I realized the carafe of half and half was out. We both came up to the counter and apologized multiple times before asking for the lid and the carafe to be re-filled. The woman seemed plenty happy to fill the carafe and pour the water into a cup that has a lid and was about to, but before she could, the man swooped in, spoke over her, and very abrasively told my sister she needed to buy a water bottle if she wanted something with a lid. She said she was so sorry and bought a water bottle anyway. Several minutes later (again, whatever, there may have been other stuff to do) he (no exaggeration) slammed the refilled carafe in front of me without a word. Totally get that people have bad days, totally get that it can be stressful, but the whole situation was exacerbated by the woman being totally friendly, there literally being one other customers in the duration of the five minute visit, and the fact that we were extremely apologetic/respectful if the baristas’ time and were still treated this way. Our other sister, who lives within a block, (again also a barista/bartender for nearly a decade) says she is treated the same way every time...

While the coffee and atmosphere are wonderful. I find two particular things frustrating - 1) a person experiencing homelessness came in asking for money and rather than offering this individual a coffee or asking for his name, he was told he “can’t do that.” I think it’s important to do more, to offer a sense of compassion, other than merely tell an individual in this situation not to bother other customers. 2) They are not open about the punch cards. While they are stationed at the front, I’ve been in several times and have forgotten to have my card punched (yes, this is on me). However, today I remembered this for both myself and my colleague (who meet here bi weekly). I inquired if the barista would punch my card and pointed to my colleague (for his to be punched), she punched mine for both of ours. When he then asked about his, she became frustrated and said “I just punched yours for his.” Acting as if we were trying to rip this place off. Actually, we come here every other week and have just now begun to punch our cards. While I understand it’s a business, I think the initial frustration with the worker was disheartening. We’ve both purchased several beverages here, with the same two employees working, and yet we are being assumed as if that we are trying to rip them off. While, sure, perhaps they don’t remember us. But that alone is frustrating. I don’t need them to know our name, but something about this dynamic did not sit right with me. I’m considering to see if my colleague and I can...

| TLDR | Granola Latte (specialty drink) is suprisingly really good, Chicago-styled place to chat & work, and wall outlets to feed your inner-WFH spirit. Now here's the inside scoop:

| Pros | ☕ Coffee: got lots of options to choose from (run-of-the-mill to specialty), so you can't really go wrong 📶 Great WiFi: speeds clocked in at about 55.7 Mbps. Password can be found by asking staff 💲Price: I was actually very suprised by this but a specialty hot latte (looked like either a 12 or 16oz) coming out to a measly $5.95 (price includes tax)

| Things to Consider | 🪑Seating: although plentiful on a rainy Tuesday, tables themselves are a bit small. If you got an MCAT to cram for and need the extra table space, might not be ideal.

Overall, really neat place to get some work done or meet with a friend. Also, it was neat to see a new barista there learning the ropes (you got this!). If you ever wondered which corner Uptown coffeeshop to stop by, check...