Coffee Garden — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

Cute cafe in beautiful neighborhood. NOT the best place for remote workers or students.

Coffee Garden has had issues with people abusing their internet or engaging in other inappropriate behaviors regarding working from a coffee shop (e.g., staying long hours without buying product from the coffee shop, fighting over table spaces to work, and downloading illegal content). It makes sense to me that they do not want to support this type of customer. When I missed the sign because I didn't have my glasses on (the text is about 18 font and only posted by the cashier rather so i wasnt close enough to read it until i was already placing my order) the employee kindly suggested the different places I could get free wifi. I realized i missed the sign because i couldnt read it which was my fault and I decided to stay because I have a hot spot for when public WiFi is not available.

The issue that arose for me was the way I saw the owner handling comments from people who wanted to use the internet but then learned it wasn't available. Instead of a template reply that said the store no longer provides wifi because it was abused and they want a socializing versus working environment for their shop, the owner replied to people's comment with replies like "sorry you didn't read the signs" and "free wifi is dead", in addition to their sign that said "talk to each other. Pretend it's 1995".

The majority of coffee shops in the area offer WiFi especially with the number of remote workers that are around since covid. Half of the people I saw come in after me were remote workers, many of which also missed the sign about wifi. Instead of making it apparent that their goal is not a place to work but to socialize (and thus to decide to advertise as such similar to cafes like the Rose Establishment) they have instead decided to put it solely on the customer as not reading the signs that are hard for people to get close enough to read before they place an order.

I have a feeling that I'm going to get a similar response from the owner which is fine. My goal is to provide other customers who are wanting a place to work on a laptop and who may not be able to read their sign due to visual impairments. Despite the owners responses, sometimes people miss signs because they are unexpected, poorly placed or are unreadable, not just because they "choose" to not...

Coffee Garden's coffee is only subpar. The atmosphere was originally what drew me in, but a recent experience has changed that for me. I'm a regular at this establishment, and I love being able to relax, grab a drink, and do homework--I've never been in without purchasing a drink. The other day I was there doing homework when, after being in for about a hour, a particularly rude and discourteous staff member approached me to tell me that I must buy a drink if I'm going to stay any longer. I typically like to get a good start on my homework and grab a drink a little later on, as I'm usually doing homework for a few hours, so this comment was a little shocking to me. Needless to say, I won't be going back to this particular cafe, as they apparently don't support the community with a welcoming and supportive atmosphere.

If you're looking for a cafe that welcomes the community and supports people in their endeavors, I'd check out Sugar House Coffee. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere makes you feel right at home. The coffee is also crafted with more care, and any drink on the menu will attest to this. The wifi here is also poor, so if you don't have access to another network and you need access to the web, I'd recommend seeking out a...

I have a few friends that go to the Coffee Garden often, so I decided to give it a try. I was looking for a small bite to save room for dinner later, but I couldn't find any vegetarian food items that sounded good. In fact they did not have many food options that looked tasty at all. I decided to go with a drink instead, and sure enough they did not have the green tea mix or powder chai mix that I like(I'm not a huge coffee fan)! I ended up just getting a free cup of water and leaving. About two weeks later I decided to give it another try with a few friends that wanted a late night snack. They were out of the chocolate chip cookies that I was hoping to try! I was bummed, but instead I went with a small bottle of apple juice to call dessert. The employee rings me up and tells me that I owe two dollars, when the same bottle is 97 cents at Smith's grocery store!! I was unsatisfied with the establishment again, and not to mention the awful classical music that was blaring as we sat out on the front patio. It made me so uncomfortable for some reason. Speaking of the patio, I will mention that I enjoy the environment of the Coffee Garden. I also have had zero issues with the staff. But we will see if I ever spend money...