Southern Grounds & Co. — Restaurant in Neptune Beach

Been coming to this coffee shop for 10 years now (before it was owned by Southern Ground). The point is, I'm loyal to it because it's a great location and I prefer small business rather than going to Starbucks (which is just a few blocks away). The coffee and food is great and isn't the problem I've seen the last several visits. One staff member I continue to encounter is extremely rude and openly shows distain for customers. I don't know her name but I'm pretty sure whoever owns/manages this place knows exactly who it is. As another reviewer stated, it's like I'm bothering her every time I order something. On my 2nd to last visit, she took my order then got on her phone. No other customers were around and I waited at the bar by the register. 13 minutes went by and then she looked at me and said "oh did I forget to make your drink?". I was patient and respectful and didn't complain at the time. Usually when you complain to the person directly nothing happens or they argue about it (which I'm not looking to do). On my last visit she was there again. It was a nice older lady at the register helping a long line of customers. She was very friendly and smiling. It wasn't a problem to wait at all because you could see she was helping the customers and being very pleasant and friendly about it. By the time I got to the register the rude girl came up and talked down to the older women in front of all the customers telling her to step away because she could go faster. I was the lucky person to be first with the rude girl. The mood totally changed at that moment. Instead of getting greeted so nicely by the friendly women, I was basically asked "what do you want?" and quickly brushed aside with no extra pleasantries. Not even a smile or thanks. I tipped her 2 dollars and she didn't even acknowledge it. It's a real problem because I'm considering not going to this place anymore just due to her.

(Follow up after 2 years: Never heard back from anyone about this and I've never been...

Order: Cappuccino Price: $4 Pros: Still have that awesome outside seating area, design is pretty neat, they also serve food Cons: The quality of their coffee/espresso is sub par, while there were a lot of people working behind the counter it still seemed a bit chaotic

Thoughts: Given the coffee shop Southern Grounds replaced it honestly had a lot to try and live up to and unfortunately I don’t feel like they got anywhere close. I'll start with what I think they did well. I do still really like the outside seating in the courtyard very cool it's awesome to be able to relax there on a summer day drink some coffee and just relax maybe read a book. I also really did like the atmosphere inside of the coffee shop, they seem to have gone for like a modern fancy clean look and it's pretty cool.

Now for the downsides; in my opinion, a coffeeshop should be all about the coffee, and I was completely unimpressed with the espresso, I would probably rate it just slightly above Starbucks. My go-to drink is always a cappuccino and this one was weak, had way too much foam on top, and just didn’t even remotely do it for me. My wife and I took a look around and while they had a lot of people working in the shop it still somehow seemed chaotic and frantic even though there wasn’t a long line.

I realize that I am a coffee snob but I was highly unimpressed. I’m sure I’ll be back due to its location and their amazing outdoor seating; but I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way...

We never come to the Jacksonville area without at least one visit to Southern Grounds & Co. in Neptune Beach. This is hands down Cherrie Dean's favourite place in town.

This is one of those places that is made great by the atmosphere. It is located on First Street, just steps from the ocean. It has a great courtyard which is shared with some very quaint shops and everyone wants to sit out there in the sunshine under the palms (I have to get some shade due to my Lupus, but I still enjoy the courtyard).

Today's visit was for breakfast before a few doctor appointments at the Mayo Clinic. We started out with an espresso brownie and a gluten-free pecan pumpkin muffin. I didn't try the muffin, but Cherrie says it was awesome. The brownie was out of this world.

My coffee was HOT and fresh. Cherrie got her traditional unsweetened iced tea with lemon, which she said was delicious and had just a hint of lavender, perhaps.

Our main dishes were avocado toast, which was awesome, and I had a meatless egg and cheese bagel ( no meat because it's Friday in Lent... I usually get sausage on it). It was great, filling. I enjoyed it.

This place is clearly a local gathering spot and pet friendly, so there are frequently dogs along with their owners. I promise you...if you come here once you certainly will come back. I know we'll be back next week when we are back in town.

See our complete review at (including pictures) on Facebook...