Coffeebar — Restaurant in Reno

I have been a regular customer of the Coffeebar. Often working on my laptop and enjoying the ambiance. I also enjoy meeting new people. Occasionally engaging in conversations with other guest, including women that I found interesting and attractive. I always strived to be respectful and considerate in my interactions.

However, while talking to two girls waiting for their coffee, Ruby, one of the baristas, called me over. She expressed concerns about me approaching women, emphasizing the importance of making everyone feel safe. I tried to explain that my intent was never to make anyone uncomfortable and that I would leave if someone felt uneasy.

The situation escalated the following month when I approached a girl sitting at a table. After a brief and seemingly pleasant conversation, another barista with green hair intervened, insinuating that I should leave. I later realized both girls worked at the café. Feeling the need to clarify things, I went to the front and requested to talk to the green-haired barista again. She claimed her colleague felt uncomfortable, although I had asked for permission to join her, and she had agreed.

During our conversation, the manager intervened, warning me not to “hit on” or ask for numbers from any more girls, threatening to call the police if I did. This response seemed extreme and uncalled for, especially since I was simply trying to have friendly conversations. I didn’t feel comfortable staying there so I left shortly after.

I later called the café to understand what had happened. An unknown female barista answered the phone, claiming that some customers had left early after I talked to them. They also have been interviewing guest about their interactions with me. This indicated that the staff was very paranoid about my behavior. I suspect they might have believed that Ruby had told me to stop approaching women and I ignored her, which was not the case. Ruby had only expressed her concerns and never explicitly asked me to stop. It's also worth noting that I also have some Autism and generally don’t socialize very much because of the nature of my work. Which may have made me appear awkward at times to other guest. The girl on the phone seemed dismissive of me as well, which just added to the negative experience I had with the staff.

Additionally, it felt like the staff was gossiping and making fun of me behind the scenes at my attempts to meet women, much like high schoolers. For instance, when I requested to talk to the green-haired girl again, she and the barista who retrieved her appeared to be laughing amongst each other, probably about me. Instead of addressing their concerns directly with me, they opted for this immature approach. It's not unheard of for men to approach women in cafés and engage in friendly conversation, which makes the staff's reaction seem even more unreasonable.

while I understand the importance of maintaining a comfortable environment for all customers, I believe this situation could have been handled more appropriately. The manager's reaction was extreme, and the staff appeared afraid to address their concerns directly with me, opting for reactionary measures instead. I hope that they can find better ways to address such situations in the future, ensuring that everyone...

Don't be fooled by their listing for Gluten Free food. I indicated I needed my food gluten free, and told the server that - in these words "This is an allergy, just so you know." Sure, they explained that they can't guarantee there isn't cross-contamination, but they didn't warn me that they might actually serve me the non-gluten free toast that I warned him I didn't want - couldn't have - in the first instance. Somehow, getting a Gluten Free order of Avocado Toast, even with a stated allergy, is too difficult for this place.

I'm not one of those people who takes my Celiac disease out on everyone, but in those instances where restaurants offer Gluten Free food and they explicitly assure you that they have Gluten Free toast in order to make the order Gluten Free, it's a health liability when they can't be bothered to remember or follow through. You are impacting people's health with your...

I'm intimately familiar with this place, both as a customer and as someone who has done work on the building. I've gotten to know some of the staff and seen how things work up-close, and I'm impressed by the level of commitment to training, quality of both food and service, and attention to detail. Greg and his crew have created a place with great coffee AND delicious food, and they also offer beer and wine, so although it's first and foremost a coffee shop, it's also well-rounded, which means you can come in anytime and find just the right thing in the moment. If there's a downside, it's that they've done such a great job with everything that it can be hard to find an open table at times, but that's obviously a testament to the positive vibe of the place! And it's definitely less of an issue in the summer because of all the outdoor seating on both front and...