The Governor's Cup Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Salem

This place is one of the few in town that, for me at least, define the soul of downtown Salem. It's welcoming ("We filter coffee, not people"), has really great coffee drinks, tea options and bagel sandwiches (the Sweetheart and Lox are my two favorites) and the vibe is carefully maintained but still very much organic. The owner has made a deliberate effort to highlight some excellent artists from around the area and I really appreciate that. It's a great place to grab a coffee with a date, or get a breakfast and do catch up on some reading on a Sunday morning. It's also a place where you'll find a beautiful cross-section of the community.

I'm incredibly grateful to the owner, who has stuck it out over the last few years during some incredibly difficult challenges. They've had to deal with COVID and some terribly unfortunate events related to the building. They survived those and kept the lights on. I can only imagine how tough it was to keep this place alive through those challenges, but I'm super grateful they did. I genuinely love this place.

Lastly, and most importantly, the people here are genuinely excellent humans. They are truly kind and caring people who work hard to make guests feel welcome and taken care of. Even when it inevitably gets super busy, the staff work incredibly hard to make everyone's experience a good one. The owner and the people who work here make this one of the best things about...

I really love the setup of the Governor’s Cup cafe, with its old timey feel and two story structure. Their bagels and legitimately good, as is their coffee, although as a self-diagnosed coffee snob, I can’t give 5 stars.

Top tier coffee shops know their stuff. They know what coffees are being served, where they’re from, and how they’ve been processed, because this stuff really matters. You don’t go to a wine bar and order “one wine, please!” No. You’d look like a freshly deconverted Mormon or something.

A washed coffee and a naturally processed coffee are completely different, in the same way a Pinot Grigio and a Cabernet are completely different. And when I asked if they had any natural coffees at the moment, they stared at me dumbfounded. Not only had they not been asked that question before, they clearly hadn’t been taught the difference, either.

So this review is really directed at the owner. You have a roaster in the front of house. You roast IN house. I’m sure you know the different processing types; make sure your staff and your customers know it as well and elevate your game. Or, maybe you’re not that serious about coffee, which is totally fine, because most coffee drinkers aren’t like me. Still, if I’m in the area, I’d go back here. I...

I've always liked this place, but the blonde lady who works there is always pretty crass with me. Today I was having an off day so I decided maybe a coffee would help. My heart kinda sank when I saw that the blonde lady was taking my order. She was rushing me and had an attitude, which made me uncomfortable. I made my order (which she asked no clarifying questions about, if she had any) and she added milk when I didnt ask for any in my americano. I told her I didnt want milk in it and she snatched it off my table and said "okay!" In this sassy, aggressive way that made me feel so incredibly uncomfortable. I didn't ask for milk...I should be allowed to tell her that. She didn't ask if I wanted milk, either. I just really wish she could be nicer. I get that you're busy, but people going to get coffee just want to be happy. Not anxious about someone's attitude. Next time I go in there, I'm going to request a different barista take my order who can just be kind to me. I don't think people should be subjected to someone's bad attitude all the...