JACOB ALEJANDRO — Restaurant in New York

I contemplated writing this review but I feel as though I need to. However, it requires some backstory. I have been a long time regular at JAs, I know almost every worker and I greet and get greeted by name whenever I stop by. As a small business owner about 4/5 blocks away from JA, I frequently send clients, friends and family. Every time my mom has an appointment, we stop by for drinks and pastries. If I have a meeting with my business partner, we stop for JA. If I have visitors from out of town, I take them to JA. JA is the ONLY coffee shop I suggest in Troy as I believe in supporting small local businesses, especially LGBTQ+ owned businesses, being a queer business owner myself. I go to JA A LOT. I also have JA stickers and information IN my shop to truly show my support.

As many know, JA had their coffee club start last year, a program that was originally going to be finished last year, however they only achieved 9 maybe 10 drinks out of the 20 promised. Which is fine. I would show up, ask about the coffee club drink, and be told multiple times that it is unknown when the next drink would be, I would then still make a purchase. And let’s make it known that these Coffee Club drinks are higher priced than the usual menu items. Well after 2 maybe 3 months of no Coffee Club drink, and no notice of when it would be released, I naturally stopped focusing on making sure I get that Coffee Club drink.

Today, I stopped in and saw that there was a new Coffee Club drink, #12. Surprised, I immediately ordered the specialty drink along with my usual order. When I took out my punch card that was given to those participating in the coffee club, I realized I had missed drink #11. (Let it also be known that these Coffee Club drinks show up randomly with only an instagram post to notify those about its release. There is also no set time frame that a Coffee Club drink will be available.)

Anyway, I had expressed to the barista that, if possible, I will PAY for drink #11 to stay in the coffee club. As a regular, who has seen and spoken to Alejandro himself, many times, who has given JA consistent business and support, I figure maybe he would let me pay for the drink that I missed in the hopes of staying in the coffee club. I was wrong. The very kind barista had asked for Alejandro’s help as he was sitting at the counter. After looking at what I assume is my profile in their system which tracks the Coffee Club drinks, Alejandro said to me “Sorry. You missed 1 drink. I cannot stamp your card. But you did get halfway.” (I ALSO ALREADY PURCHASED THE #12 DRINK AT THIS POINT). And that was that.

I feel disappointed in Alejandro, especially because he has not held his promise of what the Coffee Club would entail, with inconsistent scheduling of the coffee club drinks as well as lack of letting people know specifics of when/how long they will be available.

Now, I will never go to JA again because of this interaction with the owner. The coffee club feels lazy and greedy. I will no longer personally support this coffee shop and I will no longer speak highly of it or send people there.

Not that those actions will greatly impact JA, but it shows how little they care about customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and also supporting and uplifting the group of local small businesses owners, again, about 5 blocks away.

When JA started, you could feel the LOVE poured into it. Now that it has made a name for itself, that...

I worked at Jacob Alejandro for two years and a lot of these reviews here either mention me by name or reference me indirectly. It became a second home to me and i was very proud to work at a small LGBTQ+ owned business as a member of the community myself. JA became one of my main personality traits and i loved my time there along with all of the interactions i’ve had with everyone in the troy community. However, within the past few months I first hand noticed a drastic fall in the environment. Once JA had become a very well known coffee shop in the capital region and opening a second location (along with acquiring an office space in the rice building) something shifted. What felt like over night JA became very “corporate” and it seems as if both Jake and Alejandro have lost touch of reality and what it’s like to be behind the counter. Work had quickly become a place of anxiety for me as the owners were never shy of telling us they’re always watching us on the camera and would text me personally about every minor thing happening. It felt weird, uncomfortable and as if they didn’t trust the staff to run their shop. Working there for two years and basically becoming the main face of the shop you’d think i’d get paid a living wage. But alas, that was NOT the case. Charging $2 for almond milk and a almost $10 pourover that isn’t correctly dialed in and being told to “just guess. The customer won’t know” is actually insane when a barista starts at $12.50 in 2024. They make the excuse of it by saying “tips make up for it” but why are we expecting the generosity of others to afford to live? I’m very disappointed and saddened to see what has become of JA. once a very great coffee shop has now become no better than a starbucks with the illusion of “small lgbt owned business”. I hope both Jake and Alejandro learn a lesson from firing me (yes, despite what they say, I was in fact fired for putting in my 2 week notice- retaliation, which is illegal in NYS). What is meant for JA will come to them. And I advise anyone who reads this to reconsider going there next time you’re in town. They’re two very narcissistic, passive aggressive, and selfish men who only care about the “aesthetics” of it all with showing of employer entitlement. being told “you’re lucky to work for us” is actually disgusting and incredibly disrespectful. Does not matter how much of a critically acclaimed barista you are or not. that is NOT a way to treat your staff. Again, please second think where your money goes as it is not going to the baristas but straight into the owners pockets so they can eat at a fancy restaurants every night while their employees are struggling to pay their...

Edit: the owner replied shortly after I posted my review below, which I found commendable and kind. However, I would still like to believe that a simple decaf pour over can be achieved without much fuss. Sadly, the response also added some salt to the wound. It is hard for me to see how helpful it is to tell me "we, at times, do offer a decaf pour over option when available". It really isn't encouraging to present a decaf pour over as if it is some kind of Easter egg surprise. Also, why torment me with the news of what I just missed out on at their other location in Albany: "In fact, we have a great one roasted by Passenger at our JA. Pequeño shop right now."

I have changed my rating from the original (2) to one star higher (3) based on the owners kind words and prompt response "Hi Kevin, I'm so sorry to hear about your experience, we work hard in both our training and in our neighborhood hospitality. And while we do not offer a filter decaf on demand, we, at times, do offer a decaf pour over option when available. In fact, we have a great one roasted by Passenger at our JA. Pequeño shop right now.

We will take your comments, share with the team for improvements and we wish you well."

Original review still stands:

So sad. I only drink decaf and they do not serve any decaf coffees, only espresso. I had to order a cafe Americano, which is what I have to do at basically every basic coffee shop I go to. What I don't understand is why a specialty shop that does pour over can't do decaf?!?

I like the ambiance and the service was kind although very very slow.

I will not waste my time returning. I can't be any more...