Colonial Cafe — Restaurant in Mount Holly Township

I came in today looking forward to viewing the different options of breakfast sandwiches. Sadly, I was informed Colonial Café no longer serves breakfast sandwiches. Upon further discussion with one of the shop employees, he tells me there has been a change of ownership since July, 2023.

What can be improved? [Atmosphere] - have some sort of low-volume calming music consistently going. I walk in and it is completely dead quiet like I am in a library.

[Variety] - From a professional standpoint: coffee, smoothies, tea, bagels and few other small things is not enough to ensure the longevity of this business (The previous owners were able to run this business a little over 3 years). Since breakfast sandwiches has been removed, it makes me inquire what other things have been removed/added since the new owners have taken over in July, 2023?

[Pricing]: I paid almost $6 including tax for a small chai tea. The pricing is similarly comparable of 12/16oz drinks to Starbucks & Dunkin. I understand you are a small business that needs to make profit but having similar prices to your competitors does not do well for your business. Being the "little guy" is not enough for people to choose you over the mainstream coffee competitors.

[Website] - The website is bland, does not showcase the full menu, the "order online" button takes you to a blank, black page but ironically the gift card section seems to be operational.

[Brand Recognition]: This place is called "Colonial Café" but upon loading up their website, there is a cat with an army helmet smoking a cigar, a multi-colored frog and lastly another cat with giant glasses (This is from the previous owners). These should be removed and the website updated because having random tacky pictures maybe amusing to some but odd to most. This makes people, including myself, wonder what is the point of this in reference to the colonial theme of this coffee shop.

[Lack of Competitive Advantage]: Overall, I struggled to find what Colonial Café does to separate itself as another coffee shop from other competitors. Although being directly located within Mount Holly serves as a convenience to drive business, I believe this is not enough to ensure the longevity of this business.

[Parting Note] - In conclusion, there is nothing that stands out to me that makes the new ownership of Colonial Café unique. I was informed by the employee today that he knew the previous owners and he said "they no longer had time for the business" as the reason for the change of ownership in July, 2023. Please be aware I want you to be successful, however there needs to be rapid changes done to ensure the reputation of this business flourishes. For now I will leave an average review because my experience today was nothing good nor bad. Just a standard experience in a coffee shop.

[Statistics] - According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or...

I feel very sad about this place. I also feel very sorry for the new owners. They probably saw a successful place and wanted to get in on the hype, but they didn't quite understand why this place was so successful.

I kid you not, last year my family came for a visit from Syracuse, NY (5 hours away) and this was the only coffee shop I took them to besides Victoria's bagel bistro. They are big breakfast snobs. They loved this place, cause there were such unique coffee drinks here. Things you would never even find at Starbucks. It seemed like the previous employees had put the effort into trying very strange concoctions and putting the best ones on the menu!

And then for us regulars, there were these sweet, energetic young people who played cool music, and would have conversations with everyone, and were quite pleasant. The guy from b-unos would be there a lot too.

Now you go in there and it's just boring and empty.

I hope that the current owners relax into this place and perhaps allow some of the previous employees their jobs back. And advertise for local events and care about what's going on around them. Are they from Mt Holly? Or do they live in the area?

If they can't figure it out, may they give up eventually and let this coffee shop return to its original greatness. In historic Mt Holly. God bless them all and God bless...

The photo doesn't look like anything what the Colonial Cafe looks like. The photo looks 100% better than the actual shop just to start with. I think they grind fresh coffee beans, and the coffee was good. The baked goods looked unappealing. The hot chocolate was the "Great Value" brand (the big can was prominent behind the counter). The place is in great need of housekeeping and cleaning. Even a quick vacuum of the rugs in the indoor seating areas before or after closing should be manageable, as well as going over the restrooms to make sure they are cleaned and stocked. My friend had to use it before and after we met up and mentioned the need for "housecleaning" in it. And it's just my preference, but sitting on upholstery furniture is a no-go, especially when the place already needs a good cleaning. My friend and I sat in wood chairs instead, and when I got up to leave, my pants were sticking to the chair. The staff were friendly. When we left we agreed there wasn't any...