Deja Brew — Restaurant in New Haven

As a former employee, who has made initiative to print and laminate menu directions and labels for staff convenience out of my own pocket, covered hours without hesitation when needed, did extra mile of rearranging workspace to create a more efficient and safe environment for both staff and costumers while also witnessing maltreatment and petty behaviors of the owner towards her employees.I feel the need to speak up about this ongoing issue regarding the owner and co-owner of Deja Brew Cafe.

This is DEFINITELY NOT a safe, welcoming nor inclusive environment. This place may have been great back then but not anymore. Don’t get me wrong, Deja Brew has people with different cultural orientations but her corrupt systemic approach of hiring minorities and paying everyone under the table whether they’re undocumented/ documented, while paying below CT minimum wage of $14, then proceed to harassing people of color because of her power trip, is EVERYTHING the outsiders do not get to see. At the end of October 2022, she physically pushed one of my coworkers, a student, who only worked her 3rd day shift for making a minor mistake of not making the sandwich right while screaming foul words, throwing food and pacing everywhere. I’m sure some of our former beloved costumers can testify to that. We have gotten yelled at for using up “so much” disposable gloves and white wax paper used for lining tables to avoid cross contamination… Our sincere apologies to costumers who complained about the food tasting like soap. For those who love the pastries, I cannot stress it enough how the owner herself picks on it and eats with her bare hands while the pastries are defrosting at the back workspace. The list goes on. Nobody should be afraid to speak up for what’s right and call out the wrong. She has verbally and physically abused her staff and inflicted trauma to many. This is not an act of disloyalty rather take this as an awareness of the kind of business you are/ will be supporting. The decision is up to you as the reader. I’ve...

I have to say that I am truly disappointed in my experiences here. As someone who is new to the area, I keep hearing good things about this place. I have been disappointed each time.

The first experience I had…it took twenty minutes for a sandwich that I order from their actual menu. Those workers were less than friendly. But no big deal because it happens. People are entitled to have bad days. During my wait, five other customers came in to order and left with their order. I felt a type of way but I let it go to give the place a chance. I’ve heard so many good things so I was unsure as to why my experience was this way. I finally left with my sandwich and it wasn’t good at all. I threw it out and said I just won’t go back.

Fast forward to today when I decided not to bring lunch to work. I thought I could make it through the day but I got hungry. Deja Brew is a close walk so I thought I would give it another chance. I walked in with a colleague and we both placed our orders. The people were friendly and helpful. Good sign. Well my colleague got his order and the bag was covered in a glob of butter. Two more customers came in and ordered. All of these people left before I even got my order. I finally get my order. Something told me to check it. Glad I did. The order was wrong. I don’t eat cheese and didn’t order cheese. Cheese was on my sandwich and missing lettuce. The friendly person who took my order had to remake the order which took a few minutes but the order was made correct this time. I was disappointed though. The bacon on my sandwich was burned which ruined the sandwich. It was the first thing I have eaten all day so I ate it because at this point in the day….I was starved. Sad to say I’m not going back….I just...

Top stars for lattes, my gf & I shared with an egg sandwich+ pastries. I like to preface my reviews around CT with the fact I'm raised & mostly bred in NY - which means a lot of things, many I do NOT claim. Food snob for basic baked goods, unpretentious coffee, & pizza? Guilty🙋‍♀️. Deja Brew coffee/crumb cake met all my expectations. Almost want to make entire review based on that. Except, I'm also happy many lifestyle snobs (not just BEC snobs) won't be coming here according to other reviews. This was my 1st time, but we stayed a good hour, & not only were we brought our food & beverages with genuine smile, but it got very busy after we sat & felt no stress from staff continuing to bring guests their coffees & food. So 5 stars for service + food quality. (Prices are up everywhere, helloo!?? Also, I'm frugal. I couldn't hack it in NY anymore. I think the prices matched quality of egg sandwich we got) I also have worked retail, up to management my whole life & again, NY just a different world of rush, grind culture. More folks prioritize efficiency over friendliness there. It is not an easy skill to output both with pressure of kitchen service or manual labor (retail) in the equation. I can usually sense when the top-level ownership or boss is screwing up a good business concept with their ego or power struggles among staff. I would also not want to be where the entire "crew of ship" aren't being respected. It felt extremely warm & well managed for my...