Broadway Coffeehouse — Restaurant in Salem

I had gone to this coffeehouse here and there over three years (2015-2018). I kept returning because it’s a pretty great place to study! Sunday mornings would get a bit busy because it used to draw a big religious crowd before/after/around the mass/church times. During those mornings you might have had trouble finding a table, but they always had lots of seating options. 👍🏼

Okay, one month after my initial post (which I hate doing)... I’ve never sat at the coffee house without buying a drink. I did that today because I had a bunch of coffee at home (I’m broke and studying for the bar exam). Really I just got carried away with studying and was in the zone. I had been there for a full two hours without buying anything which is, objectively-speaking, a long time to forget. Usually, I buy something within the first fifteen minutes. But whatever the case is, I hadn’t bought anything by noon. An employee came around and asked me (and everyone else studying) to buy something. He was polite. The concept just left a bad taste in my mouth. I went and got a drink like sixty seconds after that. However, I despise being told what to do. It also made me think oh yeah I am just a consumer—they don’t care that I’ve been here fifty times and have probably spent like $350 here in total. Don’t forget, self, that everybody has gotta make a dollar somehow! Like, duh.

Probably will never return because of this exchange. Personal preference. And I don’t want to see that employee’s face again—I’m a little embarrassed I guess. 😐 If you’re going to make your employees troll the establishment for violators of this rule, post it on the door..maybe? Or the website? Maybe they already do that, I don’t actually care enough to check..

Also, I realize that it’s not proper etiquette to not buy something right away, but shoot I’m studying at a coffeehouse in the middle of the day on a Monday. Do you think I have money to blow? Furthermore, I was going to buy something because thats just what I do at coffee houses and other businesses. By telling me to buy something, they assume I am a freeloader that’s bumming a table, chair, space, heat, etc. off of them. Additionally, what happens when the staff changes shifts? Do I have to go back and buy something every shift? Do I just make sure to get something with an opaque container and drink it slowly? Is the protocol every hour? Can I open a tab? Is there anyway to avoid six different purchases from the same place throughout a Monday? Why don’t coffee places offer to leave your tab open like bars do? Am I the only person who has ever wondered that? I don’t know these unspoken rules! I’m not originally from Oregon! Post them on the wall for our (the freeloaders’/stupid people’s) sake.

Also, s/o to Salem Public Library for not being open on Monday! You da best! And now I’ve wasted so much study time to do a...

Broadway has some of the best coffee in Salem. Believe, me, I've tried them all and I'm very picky. The staff are mostly very friendly and the space is bright and airy with lots of options both inside and out for sitting. My one bugbear is that they insist on using plastic knives with toasted bagels. It's virtually impossible to spread ice cold butter with a plastic knife and when I asked for a real one I was told (I may be paraphrasing) that the risks were too great. When I questioned this the very nice woman I was talking to behind the counter explained that sometimes people walk off with them. She also intimated that they might be used for weapons. I had no idea I've been risking my safety in such a way when eating at all of the good restaurants I've ever visited who regularly serve food with metal cutlery! I've even been to other coffee shops - some of them in quite dodgy neighbourhoods - who serve food that might require cutting with a real knife. I had no idea the risk I was taking!

All joking aside, apart from anything else, single use plastic really ought to be a thing of the past by now. Please guys, update your customer-unfriendly policy on this one small thing.

One other but very important thing I discovered lately that has caused me to stop going to Broadway: Apparently they are part of or are supported by an anti-LGBTQI church. So they don’t get any more...

Pre covid I liked coming down here. They do have good coffee when you get it.

1. super busy - this matters later

2. order system is currently wonky - most places take a name because yelling out an order for a single coffee doesnt identify whos coffee it is in a room with 50+ people talking.

3. The order calls are pretty quiet in a busy room. Standing right there I could barely hear them enough to understand the order they called out. Also, just proclaiming Scone! Doesnt indicate who's order it is, not to mention orders get stacked up in the same spot unlabeled.

4. I never got my coffee. Waited 10min in line, ordered, and waited 15min as everyone else got their coffee, including those in line behind me.

Now Im not trying to sour this business or the employees, this was just a bad experience and I wanted to give some feedback in the hopes that no one else leaves as frustrated as I was. I used my whole break and then some at work to come down there just to return late and with nothing except $8 less in my bank account. So unfortunately id be rating the "food" off memory since I didnt actually receive what I ordered.

I wont be coming back during my work hours again, maybe try again on a weekend or something when I have time to stand around for almost 30min and ask why my order got skipped.

Just make sure that even if you are ordering to go, you make a lot of time...