Snohomish Bakery at First & Union — Restaurant in Snohomish

I REALLY want to like...or even LOVE this place. It's a great location, beautiful building, when I indulge and have gluten despite the war it rages on my body...the chocolate croissant and other pastries I've had were delectable! The brand of coffee for espresso is different than the 4 or 5 other places around town who all use Vista Clara. I appreciate the different product and it is good! I know there's good days and bad days, I've been a barista for nearly a decade now and sometimes it's hard to put your good face on. But besides the one time when I personally knew the girl behind the counter, it's been a consistent thing to feel like an inconvenience when ordering espresso. But I still try hoping things have changed...and come back, only to be disappointed again. And this morning was a morning I decided to give it another try. I had my blinker on to go to Proper Joe's when I got down first street, but I decided to take a left instead as it was more on the way to my work. I got inside and there was no one in line...there wasn't even anyone behind the counter. There were 3 employees talking in the back, one kneading dough...and a couple tables held other customers. I wasn't sure how or who was supposed to help me, so I kind of paced back and forth hoping the sight of a customer in line would hit the peripheral of one of the ladies in the back...no such luck. So I searched for a bell to ring, some places have one to ring that it may strike the attention of a worker doing other things in back. After creepily looking for one and thinking there wasn't such a device, I noticed it in between the registers blocked out of plain view. I rang it...just as the lady who would later help me came around with her arms full of food to take to a table. It was kind of slow, so I figure she saw it as an opportunity to get the food ready while no one else was needing help. I was okay with that. I ordered my drink...a triple 12 oz americano. It ranges in price from 2.50 to about 4ish. Starbucks is $3. I just checked on the app to order via mobile...and that is WITH tax. The lady at the counter told me my total came to $5 and some change. I had to make sure she heard me correctly that I just wanted an americano...not a latte..you know the one with just shots and hot water and a bit of cream if so desired...She heard me. So, I asked how much for the extra shot... $1.75!!! Seriously? I'm sorry, but that markup right there is on the lines of thievery, in my opinion. That extra shot alone, I'm sure, is more than your cost to even make my drink. I stuck with a double shot and it was 3.26. Still high for just water and shots of espresso.. And I understand that some businesses greatly markup the things they don't want to do or make in hopes to deter customers from ordering...and if they do order, the ridiculous price makes up for the burden of having to do what they want you to do....and maybe that is why it was over $5 for a triple 12 oz americano, especially since I have always felt like an inconvenience when ordering espresso over the years from this establishment, but if that's what you are going to do...why even offer espresso??? As a local of Snohomish who also works at a reputable small-business in town, I want to support and recommend the Snohomish Bakery to my customers when they ask for a place close by that they can walk to for food and drink. But I cannot do that with a pure heart if that is how they run...

I had heard good things about this place for brunch/breakfast on the weekends. My husband and I decided to try it. We waited at the hostess stand for 5 minutes without being acknowledged, although several staff members walked by. They looked like they were at the end of the their breakfast rush with people getting up. Several open tables not cleared. We decided to sit at the bar so we could get someone to notice us. I waited there for about another 5-10 minutes without being acknowledged. My husband went to the bathroom and came back and still, no one had talked to us. There was a "bartender" who turned out to be the owner, standing behind the bar talking to her friend sitting right next to me. Several other waitresses also ignored us. I literally felt invisible. After three or four desperate "excuse me's" with no replies we decided to leave. My husband went back to the bar and told the woman (owner) we'd been there for nearly 20 minutes without acknowledgement and she was very dismissive and rude and then went back to her conversation with no excuses or thought to how her customers had been treated.

Despite this experience last month, two weekends ago I decided to go back with a couple of girlfriends in town to give it another chance for Sunday brunch (my husband refuses to try again). There was a 10-15 minute wait, which was fine. After we were seated, the waitress gave us drinks right away but then took another 10 minutes to come back and take our order. The menu was very large...which always worries me for quality. After we placed our order, we waited, and waited and waited. Two other tables who were seated after us were served and ate their entire meals and got their checks, and still we waited. I finally went up to the bar after about an hour and asked about our food. It came out ten minutes later and my tarragon chicken salad sandwich was just warm. The grilled chicken sandwich my friend got was also barely warm. The honey mustard salad was okay, but uninventive and certainly not worth the wait. The flavors were unimpressive and after the initial drop off of our food, no one came back to check on us. Overall I would say this place is just average food with really terrible service. Too bad, because the location is perfect, and I love Snohomish and cozy restaurants...

They do not honor medical exemptions for mask mandates, and are not willing to entertain the option of providing reasonable accommodation to customers who can not wear a mask and qualify for exemptions. The pollen season has my respiratory condition severely flared up and I can not wear a mask, even with maximum doses allergy drugs. I have tried to before, and needed a rescue inhaler. Rude girl behind the counter claimed it’s “the law”, and started screaming at me, without ever letting me get a word in edgewise. A governor’s order or mandate has not passed the State Legislature. It is not the law, it's just Inslee lording over the state with no scientific grounds, especially after the Stanford study came out saying masks are useless, and he British Medical Journal referred to them as "totems as useful as a rabbit's paw". The United States Federal Government has actual legislation in place under the Americans With Disabilities Act, and a business must offer reasonable accommodations to customers with disabilities. I have enjoyed this place in the past, but in stead of try to offer a reasonable accommodation of any kind to a customer with a disability, such as "can you wait on the patio and I'll get you your order?" the girl started screaming that "it's the law" and that I have to leave. I had a baby with me and the screaming was upsetting for both of us. Because I'm not a confrontational person, I left. Please refresh your staff's training on behavior, and review the actual laws and mandates pertaining to this. It's been more than a year, and there have been several studies showing that masks do diddly squat to prevent spread of disease, and can cause real harm. This company could offer phone orders with patio pickup, in stead of scream at a mother who missed lunch and was ready to pass out from hunger with a...