Deja Brew Coffee & Bakery — Restaurant in New Oxford

I was in regular contact by email with the manager when I ordered cupcakes and sugar cookies for my daughter's baby sprinkle. The manager was extremely responsive and offered suggestions to work with me since they didn't have "baby shape" cookie cutters. I offered to buy said cutters so they could make the cookies. She requested I drop off the cutters on Wednesday (the sprinkle was Saturday) and I figured she just wanted to have plenty of time in case I didn't get there when I said I would.

She was very polite by email, however...when I got to the store to give them the cutters, she didn't even crack a smile when I asked if she was the one I had been corresponding with. It seemed like the exact opposite of the person I had been emailing. I changed the order from 18 to 12 cookies and handed off the cutters. I was disapppointed and felt like a bother to her.

When we picked up the order on Saturday - the cupcakes were really pretty and the cookies were so-so but I was fine with it. At the sprinkle I watched our guests take one bite and set the cupcakes aside. They gave the cookies a little more grace and took a few more bites but mostly everything went in the trash. I was embarrassed and sad. In hindsight I should have taken the remaining product back to the store and had them taste what they sold me. The cupcakes were stale and dry with no flavor and the cookies were very doughy tasting. Instead I sent an email to the manager and here it is

"First, I would like to thank you for the quick responses and helpfulness of taking our order. On the surface everything looked very nice and the order was ready when we got there on Saturday two hours earlier than planned.

However, I am writing this morning to request a refund. I believe the order was served to us was a few days old. In addition to providing our own cookie cutters, I was very sad to have paid higher prices than typical for our area only to watch our guests take one or two tiny bites and throw them out. Both the cupcakes and cookies were inedible. It was actually very embarrassing.

Our family always tries to support small businesses and we have frequented DB in the past so this is very disheartening and I wanted to give you to chance to make it right.

I am unavailable by phone today until after 4:30 but I encourage you or the owner to contact me to discuss what happened. I look forward to a response."

I waited a few days for a response and when I didn't get a response I found an email address on their social page and forwarded the complaint to that email. About a week went by and again no response.

I emailed the manager again and requested a phone call from the owner with a one line message. Instead I received this from her "I have forwarded this to my boss. Before sending my last email I met with him to discuss the plan of action pertaining to your order. We were both on the same page when it came to refunding you for half of your order total. There may have been a difference of taste when it came to the cookies but that is how our bakery makes the decorated sugar cookies and even the cupcakes. We rarely receive complaints and when we do, we make it right. Seeing that my boss tried the cookies and they were not stale or bad we can not refund you for your total order, that is why we refunded you for half as we didn't taste your cupcakes specifically.

If you would like him to call you, let me know. However, it will be the same information as I have mentioned before."

As of the date of this review, there was still no call from the owner. I did receive the refund of $58.58 quickly and I am satisfied with the outcome but I won't return to this store. Keep in mind this was HALF of what I paid for 18 cupcakes and 18 cookies which I provided cutters for so you can judge the pricing...

tldr; They have a dizzying amount of baked goods on display. I think this speaks volumes as to the quality you can expect to get here. Only order their brewed teas, and you’ll have a pleasant experience.

Deja Brew is a far cry from the original New Oxford Coffee Co, which started off in this space. If you’re a longtime customer, you’ll know why I, unfortunately, have to give Deja Brew a low review.

Let me start off by saying I have no complaint with the staff and service. It has always been great. My only complaint is that the quality has only continually gone downhill with each new owner. What started off as a charming, relaxing space with couches, a harpist, and fresh baked goods served on real china, has turned into a turquoise, pun-filled nightmare served up on a styrofoam plate. It’s no longer a relaxing space that I have a desire to spend any length of time in. While some of the baked goods are the same original recipes, there’s now an OVERABUNDANCE of desserts on display. There’s no way they can be very fresh with THAT much available at once. And that’s why, sadly, most of the baked goods are dry and stale. Having a smaller selection that’s kept fresh would do wonders!! The coffee has also changed over the years, and is not as good as it used to be. Every time I’ve had it since it’s been under the Deja Brew name, it has tasted watery. I do know that they have switched to using a local roaster, which I like. However, I think they need to maintain their machines or get better at brewing/pulling shots to get a nice tasting coffee. The only thing that has stayed consistent are their teas, which are still the same blends since NOCC and still just as tasty. I highly recommend.

As there’s not much else around, Deja Brew does have its place in the community. However, as it stands, it’s nothing to go out of the way for, which is sad because I would often make trips and take visitors to New Oxford Coffee Co. The only reason I go here now is if I’m passing through and don’t want to go to a fast food place. The teas always hit the spot and are really the only thing I can recommend. I’m sorry. 😔

Deja Brew is your typical small town coffee shop owned by someone with no passion for coffee and only stays open because there’s nothing else similar around. If you’re a fan of Britton, I’d say this is on the same level of quality, but with a less aesthetic atmosphere and a better selection of...

11/14/21: I regulary check my junk folder and there has only been one there that I received from you; it was an initial apology concerning the error. I have not received any additional correspondance from you since I reached back out to ask for a more fair resolution. Perhaps you did send them but they were never received. What a shame you did not return any of the phone calls I left for you, requesting that you call me. We could have worked this out personally. And for the record, I never provided an incorrect order date. I specifically remember your employee checking your calendar to see if there was any availability for 2 dozen cupcakes for that particular WEEKEND because custom order availability was limited at that time for the month of October when I ordered in September. The incorrect date on your order form was 10/19 which was a Tuesday.

In September 2021, I ordered 2 dozen custom cupcakes for a party I was hosting for a friend of mine that was moving to GA. Deja Brew came highly recommended and I was excited to be placing my first order! The order was placed for 10/16/21. A friend of mine stopped by Deja Brew 1.5 hours before the party to pick them up. After some confusion as to "where" the cupcakes might be, it was discovered the order was dated for 10/19/21. There was no time left at that point to correct the error so my friend had to puchase some random cupcakes from the display case. She was offered a small discount. I was so dissapointed not to have the custom decorated cupcakes I had ordered. I understand that people are human and we all make mistakes, but I just didn't feel like the resolution was quite appropriate. So I reached out to Deja Brew on multiple occassions to ask for a more customer friendly resolution. I stopped by the store twice hoping to catch the owner so we could chat, dropping off emails with the 10/16 order confirmation date; I have called and asked the owner to call me back, I have sent several emails, and also sent a FB message, and the owner has not responded to ANY of these outreaches. I'm posting this Google review to share my experience since Deja Brew has no interest in resolving the...