Shade Cafe — Restaurant in Richland

I enjoy Shade. Always have. But in the last six to twelve months things have changed. Perhaps these sorts of things have always existed and they are now just more pronounced; perhaps not. In no particular order:

-The prices have continued to climb and climb and climb some more. Today I ordered an iced dirty soda (16 ounce), the same one I have ordered since November. Back in November (with my membership code) it cost $1.65. Today, it was $5.65 (before tax). I'll let you do some quick math, but that is an astronomical increase in just a little over six months.

-Though not the end of the world, they eliminated a drink size. Used to be able to get a 20 ounce; now it is either 16 or 24 ounce. Sort of a bummer.

-Do they serve food or not? Who knows! Over the last few years they have gone from offering lunch items to not offering lunch, back to offering lunch, now back to not offering lunch. Had a meeting there with a guy earlier this year who summed it up best: "It's a cafe but I can't order a sandwich? That's peculiar..."

-Not only do the prices continue to increase, they also fluctuate. I always order the same drink and same size, but depending on who takes the order, the price changes - sometimes rather significantly. I swear I've paid a dozen different totals in the last six months, all owing to whoever is in the window when I come through.

-Finally, the communication between the owner and employees appears to be quite poor. I could give a handful of examples but this is the most recent. I went today, July 3, 2024, to get my drink and inquire about their hours tomorrow, on the Fourth of July. The poor girl in the window didn't know if they were open for the holiday or not, and said she'd have to wait to hear from the manager. Another quick example would be the membership discount, which apparently has expired. This 10% discount apparently expired a few weeks back. Well, I've probably gone to Shade four or five times since then, and every time, the girl in the window can't find the discount code. After a few minutes of inquiry, she discovers the membership discount has expired. Shouldn't your employees already know this?

Shade used to be a cool spot with an inviting atmosphere where you could get a decent drink for a fair price. But now that it is nearly $6 for a soda can, I'm compelled to frequent significantly less, or perhaps, not at all.

PS: I gave a low food score because it is a cafe that doesn't actually...

Update review: 3/22/2022 Same great drinks and service! Suggestions for company: get more stuff to add to the sodas like: fruit purée, popping pearls, syrup flavors, favored creams….😛

Update review: I came back at a different time of day and the service was still amazing! I ordered the Rosebud, a tropical mountain, grilled cheese (again), and a chicken melt. I also ordered their mango smoothie. All very tasty. If ordering anything from their grill, you must consume when it’s hot. If you keep it in the container in the way home it cools and gets soft. (Normal for any grilled sandwich). I’m posting more pictures!

Ordered two drinks and a grilled cheese! The drinks were amazing! I ordered “The Doc” and a “Rosebud”. Oh my goodness the taste was amazing and the blended “Rosebud” consistency was smooth with no chunks of ice(sometimes places blend so fast they leave chunks of ice). The grilled cheese was so good I forgot to get a picture before I ate most of it. YUM I went through the drive through which has a weird turn about that my Ford Expedition didn’t like but I was able to get up to the window ok. The employees were so...

This place caters to the medical professionals near by and it shows. The food is on the same level as hospital food. Cheap microwave bacon and egg patties on dry toast as a breakfast sandwich FOR $12. There's more style than substance here. The place is cute, well decorated and welcoming. The two folks working were friendly and engaging. But paying nearly $30 for a breakfast sandwich and burrito? Nah....

I dug in to the history of the place and found out it's a "daddies money" situation. The owner of the building set this up for their kid. If this is what they pass off as food, they've ever eaten anything that didn't come from a hospital cafeteria or a microwave.

Check back in the future though, they let me know their menu is changing next week and I'm praying it gets better. For now, it's a lot like going to that person's big fancy house on the hill but all they have to eat is Ramen and PB&J's. House...