PJ's Coffee — Restaurant in Rome

PJ’ Coffee of new orleans – Rome, GA on Sat 8/16/25 @ 8:49 AM. My first visit to PJ’s Coffee was almost perfect. When I arrived, there was only a single couple ahead of me in line. The young lady quickly took my order of a large Café Au Lait and 3 Beignets. This was a first for me on the Beignets, as I have never had the experience before, so I was excited.

The building before was the old Shimp Boat. I was sad to see it go, and I wasn’t so excited to see yet another coffee shop come to town. However, here I am waiting on my first order, more excited about the Beignets than the Café Au Lait. I quickly found a table and got on line with the free internet. I set up my laptop in a quiet corner in the front to catch up a little with some work and a browse of my sports teams.

Now it’s been 20 minutes, the coffee shop is full, tables are filled with customers, and a good-sized line at the “Order Here” sign. Note: Only one register seems with a line like that; they would open a second register. Anyways, I figured surely my simple order was ready, as I saw multiple folks that came in after me enjoying their orders. No sir, sorry for your wait. OK, so I went to sit back down to wait. Then, after another 10 minutes go by, I am now frustrated, as it’s the longest I’ve ever waited for food/ coffee after I placed my order. The young ladies at the “Pic-up here” sign were very apologetic, sorry, sir for your wait. They weren’t waiting on my beignets, as they were still there, with my ticket, just like they were the last time. This time I just stood there and waited, and another 5 minutes passed by, and I saw someone look at my ticket, and she finally started making my coffee order. 5 minutes later, or a total of 30 minutes, I finally have my order. It’s a good thing I didn’t need to be going anywhere this morning, as I would have asked for my money back.

Off to my table, and I finally tried my first Beignet. Wow, it was amazing, I’d come here for sure just for these. The coffee was as expected and was as good as I’ve had in other places. If it weren’t for the extremely long – 30-minute wait, I would have gave them the maximum 5-star rating. But because of the wait, I can only give them a 3 out of 5 Overall. Atmosphere 5, Cleanliness 5, Politeness 5, Wait 0. The owner needs to set expectations if they want...

Side note - we own coffee business and we will stop and try local coffee shops! Pros - super cute atmosphere, very clean, lots of areas to sit inside and out! Love the layout! Cons - baristas are not baristas.. they know nothing of the menu nor what goes in the coffees. I first asked for their special bananas foster iced… looked great on the menu. As I watched them start to make it, I realized the espresso was not being pulled from the machine. I asked and they said it was premade concentrate. I said no thank you and that I would like to have my latte made with fresh espresso pull. They said that most everything on the special menus and their lattes are all concentrated premade… I asked what items on the menu were not concentrated and premade, and they had a very hard time explaining which ones didn’t. so, I asked her for a latte with vanilla, honey and cinnamon. I asked if her honey was fresh and local and she indicated yes. However, when they went to go make the drink, I noticed that they were doing multiple pumps for multiple bottles. I then asked what flavors that they were Using and they indicated that all the flavors, including the cinnamon and the honey syrup. So no real honey And not real cinnamon. So therefore this is pretty much a place where you can get coffee flavored syrups. Coffee tasted decent , but left...

I had a positive first experience and will return! I ordered beignets and a cup of Southern Pecan coffee. Both were great! The beignets were hot and the consistency was perfect. There was a bit more powder sugar than I like, but that’s a matter of personal preference. The inside was clean and spacious with seating options perfect for working, coffee dates with friends, or just relaxing while enjoying a hot or cold beverage with a sweet or savory treat. There are also small bite breakfast options available as well as PJ’s Coffee souvenir items.

My review is based on my experience and with the understanding that this is a recently opened business. There will always be growing pains and learning opportunities. Overall, I was thoroughly impressed and definitely recommend visiting...