Subterranean Coffee Boutique — Restaurant in San Diego

Regarding the Jamie Johnsen-Brigham review.

I was inside the coffee shop the day Jamie was "Loitering" out front with her homeless friend who was smoking. Jamie never entered the cafe and never attempted to purchase anything at any time!

Furthermore, when the homeless man entered the cafe, he was asked nicely to remove his "garbage bag" filled with wet, dirty items outside the cafe so that no "paying" customers would trip and injure themselves. 

(As it was intermittently raining outside and he attempted to crash inside the cafe with all his belongings)

Next, the homeless man stood outside the front door of the cafe smoking a cigarette with Jamie, while the stench blew inside the coffee shop gagging all the patrons. When he was told that the law requires any smoker to stand at least 20-feet from any open door or closed, Jamie piped-in and said, "I was going to buy something. But now I'm going to take my business down the street." And that's when Jamie and the homeless man took off down the street to do "crazy" somewhere else...

 (This particular homeless man is frequently off his medication, refuses to accept services from the city, and has a history of entering coffee houses throughout the neighborhood and creating problems.) He use to loiter outside of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with his friend(s) one block over, until they closed their doors, due to a mini-homeless-camp next to their enterence.

Then approximately 10 minutes later, Jamie's crazy boyfriend came blazing into the cafe yelling and screaming at the woman behind the counter about how his girlfriend had been thrown out of the cafe, bla, bla, bla... (Another one clearly in need of medication!) But of course Jamie chose to leave this fun fact out of her "hate-speech!"

All I can say about the crazy boyfriend is what a total fabrication of a situation in which he wasn't even present! This man was very angry and should have gotten his facts straight before he started accusing anyone of refusing service to anybody. His behavior was totally inappropriate, and captured on video as well.

Jamie, the cafe has a video camera!

Furthermore, your cheap shot at a hard working business owner(s) is outrageous! The streets of San Diego are filled with over 5,000 homeless, and business owners are under no obligation to convert their cafes into shelters for the homeless and their rescued animals. Sorry!

To Yelp/Google: Clearly, Jamie and the homeless man never had any intention of purchasing anything from the cafe, or they would have done so. And all their "hate speech" should be removed from any and all reviews pertaining to this incident.

Jamie, you and your boyfriend owe the owners an apology for your outrageous "hate-speech" and "violent behavior!"

Lastly, to anyone who taken the time to read this diatribe, the Subterranean Cafe is a great place for civilized humans! (No tetanus...

UPDATE 2024:

And finally, after four years beneath the surface, I crawl to the surface, leaving behind the labyrinth that predates America's cowboys, Spain's conquistadors, the Kumeyaay's ancestors who are remembered, the La Jolla's who are forgotten, and even the eldritch shades who were beneath America before humans walked across the Pacific Ocean to claim the skies of this continent for our children to live and die beneath.

The deepest parts of the sub-surface labyrinth, the caverns and passageways carved by humanity's predecessors, who had the capability of sentience, but possibly no reason to bother with it, was what kept me, since they were carved by alien intelligences that do not bother with sentience, according to inhuman geographies that utterly flummox Google Maps and human math.

But after only four years beyond geography, I did escape, and eventually, and above the Spanish mission-era tunnels are some dug by the Mormons in their highly navigable fashion; and it only took a couple weeks to realize that Subterranean Coffee Boutique has moved from Hillcrest to a new location at 30th and University, I climbed a staircase and emerged, blinking and staring at the sun whose light I had almost forgotten, into a comfortable coffee shop with delicious chocolate chip cookies.

The only note I'd give is that if you have a key for the bathroom and leave the stairway to an infinite underground realm of madness behind an unlocked door, you should at least post signage.

ORIGINAL Review 2020:

Subterranean is actually underground. Descending into the depths of an impenetrable catacomb deep beneath San Diego, the path passes through the remnants of WWII shipworks, Mexican-American War fortifications, and the Old Spanish Mission. Then come the villages of the Kumeyaay, and then the La Jolla, and then peoples whose names and Gods are lost to time, though archeologists call them Clovis after a small town in New Mexico where white men first disturbed their graves. Lower still come structures so monumental and architecture so alien the builders can't be known to our history, and perhaps not even our biology. Under these derelict temples is one final chamber, cut into the earth by long forgotten Eldritch powers, there is evidence of human use in a small corner that torchlight shadows and towering obelisks make smaller, human activity: a coffee shop, truly and ultimately subterranean, with really good...

I’m giving them one star because I have to give them something. It might just be the frustration right now because I haven’t tried any of the food we ordered but to say the least of my experience so far. Ordered online at 8:43, said the order should be ready by 9:00am. Get there about 9:05 and let them know I’m there. Tell me to wait the order isn’t ready, that’s fine, 5 min later I get the bagel, wait another 15 and get my other order items… now it’s 9:26 I’m angry and someone finally comes to check on me looked like the owner and he asks what I need I let him know that I’ve been waiting for almost 30 minutes and my order isn’t complete, I was told they were busier than they thought, well the crew of 20 came in after me and about 5 of them received their drinks before someone even attempted to make mine. Not happy experience and won’t be going back. There needs to be an order of drinks especially if one person is making drinks to know whose is first.

In response to your response it has nothing to do with my kids, they drove around with their father before parking because you were taking so long. This is a service industry the fact that I placed an order through your online ordering was told it would be ready for pick up at 9:00 am but nothing was ready and then had to wait until 9:26 and watch 4 individuals who ordered after me get their drinks to actually even receive mine and to be told you were busy. There was one other lady who was waiting for a bagel before I entered your restaurant and those ladies didn’t even come in until about 9:20 and yet I was waiting and I feel rightfully frustrated when watching those who ordered WELL after me receive their drink orders when I hadn’t even seen mine. This is pretty poor...