Labor Street Cafe — Restaurant in San Antonio

The Lavaca Bowl and Eggs Benny are the perfect breakfast plates to start the day, and if you want something lighter, the Avocado Toast is always a safe choice. The food is tasty and the café itself is a cozy spot near downtown. Big thanks to the hardworking staff !! ♡

I'm giving this 0 stars because of based on what I've seen feels like a top layer of a deeper issue. On food and atmosphere I'd rate this 5 stars, but I really can't ignore what I've seen and the question it raises on how staff are treated here. This is why I'm writing a review to raise awareness on this. The way management act towards staff, doesn't always match the friendly picture presented to customers.

I imagine management might respond to this review with something like "we treat staff with respect and ensure they are supported" but from what I personally have seen, they do not. I've seen the high turnover rate at this cafe, and it makes me wonder if the employees truly feel supported here. It even makes the owners overly friendly greetings feel a little eerie once you start to notice the contrast -

Here’s what I’ve seen over multiple visits: owner leaves mid day to get groceries or supplies, leaving one front of house worker alone, managing busy lunch rushes solo — and still providing excellent service. Even when it's busy I've noticed he wouldn't step in to help with orders when the server is juggling tables. The owner sit on the blue couch chatting with friends and watching the cafe for quite some time. He greets everyone and comes by your table to chat and takes your plate the moment you're finished, it feels less like attentive service and more like hovering, which adds to the pattern of behaviors I've noticed from the owner. On one visit, I even overheard one of those friends make an inappropriate comment toward a staff member, and the owner just brushed it off.

I’ve also overheard the owner himself make comments toward staff that I’d personally deem inappropriate for an employer to say to an employee, I'm also posting this on yelp and saw another Yelp review that even mentioned hearing him talk about women’s bodies to a customer — so it doesn’t seem like an isolated incident. If that’s what customers pick up on, I can only imagine what employees hear behind the scenes.

The café has good food, and yes, the space feels cozy — but is it sweet behind closed doors? From what I’ve observed, management needs to step up, support their staff, and show the respect they deserve. The staff are the true backbone of this café

It is nice that the cafe feels like a neighborhood gem, right in the "backyard" of downtown. And it's small so that adds to the atmosphere, giving it a welcoming vibe. Though at times the owners version of "welcoming" has come across differently, with behavior and comments that didn't feel as comfortable. And I support the cafe because I know it provides jobs to hardworking people who really do keep this place running and they deserve the recognition!

When you visit, look beyond the surface — the real reason your meal is enjoyable is because of the team working hard in the back and front. Take a moment to appreciate them. They’re the heart of this café, and the reason the food is good and ones who make the...

Ken with Offline - As a 15 year plus downtown resident, this is our backyard. With 30 plus years in the hospitality field (now retired) I feel I can bring you real insight into our locations. The good, the bad and the ugly. If we run across a serious issue, I will always go directly to management and not post it. I truly believe you always must give management an opportunity to correct a serious issue. If not corrected and or just ignored, then I feel it is correct to inform the public – professionally. No establishment is perfect. I will bring to you smaller hiccups we may have come across. I will rarely comment on the taste of food – being bad, as that is a very personal thing. My wife and I disagree on taste of food and wine, no one is wrong or right. Now if the food is on fire, burned, under/overcooked to our requests, that would be mentioned.

I’m always here for general downtown questions and possible recommendations.

We went to the café about a month ago. This time we went using our OFFLINE membership. Nothing changed! The food was so good again. This doesn’t happen often, but I didn’t take any pictures! That first bite must have been off the charts lol. Again, the service was fantastic. When we entered, was asked if this was our first time trying the café. The customers behind us, it was their first time. They went over the operation of the café and then the items and suggestions. HOW REFRESHING! Again, the owner/manager was asking the customers how everything was, even small talking with folks. Again, HOW REFRESHING!

The coffee was empty, but the server offered me to wait for the fresh pot or get a fufu coffee from the expresso mention. Nice!

HIGHLY suggest trying this neighborhood gem off the...

Nestled on a quiet street in Lavaca is this wonderful new restaurant!

We love to support our local businesses and have been excited to try them out when we saw their Instagram posts that they opened 😁

Very spacious seating with thought and intention on areas for people to sit and work in more private booths or a nice bench area with multiple outlets on the bench table to easily plug into. What a great idea!

We sat in a nice corner table.

The restaurant was very clean and nicely decorated with local art displayed on the walls.

We were greeted so warmly by Sara! She was enthusiastic and had such positive vibes! She was so awesome!

Sara brought out our food and was very attentive and checking on us. We had pancakes, bacon and soup, latte and a blended fruit/vegetable drink.

The food was so delicious that we ate every last bite!

A man came over to the table to see how we were enjoying everything. We learned his name was Eric and is the owner. We thought this was such a nice touch!

We understand that owning a restaurant is a tough business. Labor Street Cafe is doing everything so exceptionally well!

We look forward to going back soon and telling our friends =)

10 stars food & 10...