Propaganda Coffee — Restaurant in Lakewood

Imagine. You come into a coffee shop in a great mood. The associate behind the counter is stone faced, yelling out orders when ready, not a smile to be found. You just walked in, with a smile on your face, yet the barista is grumpy and annoyed that you needed a split second to decide on the food item. She rudely says in a huff “I’ll just start the drinks then”.

You tell her the food item you want. She says, “yeah, we’re out of that”. Not nicely, or apologetically, but like you’re idiot for even suggesting it as an item. So, it takes you a second to pick a second option and she sighs and glares. As soon as you pick a second option, she says (rudely, with a glare in her eye), “just so you know, it’s going to take a while. It’s just us back here (pointing to her associate). Now keep in mind, it was a Thursday at 11am, with no one in line behind us. Even if that was true, would it kill her to just be nice about it? Apparently. So I said, “that’s okay. Is it going to be 20 min? 45 min?” Just to get an idea of if we should order.

“Whenever we get to it” she says, dripping with attitude. Let me remind you, there is no one behind us. Even if it was busy and it was going to be a while, she didn’t have to look at us with disgust and vitriol. It was clear she either hated her job, herself, or us…and I’m not sure what would be worse.

I opted to skip it because….it was clear she didn’t want us to order anything. She seems like someone who would mess with your food. As my husband began to pay at the terminal, she was staring at me with what I can only describe as a threatening glare. I’m not exaggerating when I say I felt a pit of discomfort in my stomach. We paid, tipping 20% (hey, the other guy didn’t do anything) but i promptly asked my husband to leave because the vibe was so awful.

You’ll notice I generally only post positive reviews. The way we were treated here was so bizarre that I feel compelled to write this. If she is the owner, I am doubtful this place will be a continued success. If she’s an employee…I urge the owner to audit her behavior. She essentially lost the shop money due to her lack...

I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not to share this, as I’ve truly enjoyed this establishment since it opened and have recommended it to many over the years. But I had planned to meet a few friends there for brunch this morning, and as I found myself changing those plans because of what happened last weekend, I realized it was still bothering me—and I felt it was worth mentioning.

I stopped in on Saturday morning—always a popular time, understandably. The young woman ahead of me placed a rather large order. She was very polite and respectful throughout the interaction, and after placing her order, she returned to a table where two young children were seated with a few adults. It was clear she was ordering on behalf of her group, likely trying to be helpful and spare others the wait in line.

When it was my turn, the barista who took my order seemed noticeably annoyed, and her expression only became more pronounced once the young woman had walked away. To be fair, she was perfectly kind to me, but I was surprised by how openly irritated she appeared about what seemed like a perfectly normal and thoughtful situation. After all, isn’t a full order from a courteous customer exactly the kind of business we should be encouraging—especially these days?

It didn’t seem any busier than the usual Saturday crowd, which made the reaction feel even more unnecessary. And while I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere and the food, the tone of that moment made me think twice. I ended up rescinding the brunch invitation I had extended to friends today, and that’s really what prompted me to speak up—it’s disappointing to feel like you have to second guess whether you’ll be met with warmth or frustration.

Please don’t take this as a harsh critique. I still appreciate this place and sincerely hope this was just an off day. But it gave me pause, and I thought it was something...

This hidden gem is a must-visit for anyone, but especially for people with dietary restrictions! Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is vegan and gluten free! That said, nothing tastes like it is missing any of those common ingredients. The baked goods were out of this world! Specifically, the lemon pound cake was moist and citrusy with a decadent, buttery glaze. The raspberry coffee cake had a to-die-for cinnamon streusel topping and was equally moist (worth mentioning again since gluten-free baked goods are often so dry). The potato latke waffles were also delicious and provided a nice savory contrast to all of the fantastic desserts options. There was plenty of seating when I was there (5 PM), but I am unsure of what it looks like during their busier hours. The beverage menu was extensive, but I did not try any coffee during this first visit. One last thing to note, they give you the opportunity to sign up for their rewards program at checkout. I highly recommend this, as they give you 25 points for signing up and one point for every dollar spent. At 50 points, they offer you $5 off your next visit. This is a pretty impressive rewards program for such a small shop that already has such reasonable pricing! We are moving to this area in June, and this will definitely be a go-to spot for coffee, baked goods, and...