New Roots Coffeehouse — Restaurant in Town of Greece

The coffeehouse is right next to a Starbucks, and was open on Columbus Day, which I was positively surprised about. I had an early doctor's appointment and had to get some work done online, desperately trying to find a quiet place to do so. I didn't necessarily feel like frequenting the Starbucks next door and picked the New Roots Coffeehouse, which seemed a good choice. It's quite cozy inside. The baked good seemed to have been homemade. I was looking forward to a Cappuccino and a Muffin... Let's say it that way: For a quite 'proud price' of nearly $12, coffee and muffin were both of mediocre quality and I was disappointed. Also disappointing was the slightly grumpy mood of the lady behind the counter. Since I had work to do and kept working, I was watching the local seniors walking in and out and she seemed to know quite a few of them. All of a sudden her demeanor changed entirely. She became friendly, open, chatty, and funny... quite the opposite of how she behaved with me. it seemed that pattern repeated with people she didn't know. Now, the entire coffeehouse is small, clean, 'cozy', but a bit 'helpless'. It seems someone just fulfilled themselves a dream of opening a coffeehouse, without actually really having neither the budget, nor the taste to do so. Also, very unlucky, is the location, of course. Sitting wall-to-wall with Starbucks, just off West Ridge Road can't be easy. According to my research, The New Roots Coffeehouse has been located here since 2013. It must have hit the 'New Roots' owner like a ton of bricks when Starbucks opened in 2018 only a few steps away. However, it also cannot be easy to compete with a highly professional coffeehouse chain when you have mediocre coffee and not less mediocre homemade bakery to offer, and a slightly sour expression for new customers in...

This used to be my favorite coffeehouse, but they’ve become wayyyy too expensive. I had to stop ordering gluten free sandwiches from them a few months back because I was paying $11 for a bagel sandwich with one thin egg patty, one single piece of bacon, and a piece of cheese. I used to be able to get a large iced latte and sandwich with lots of toppings (double egg patty, 2-3 pieces of bacon, and cheese) for $14, but my order being $20 with a sandwich that was 90% bread (and when the coffee was $6 and cents) was my last straw.

Now, they’ve raised their prices on the coffee from $6 and cents to almost $10. I ordered their fruit loops drink and not only was it almost $10, but it tasted like plain coffee with milk and a sugar packet. No flavor from the three syrups they supposedly put in there.

Even worse, I ordered just the drink and had to wait fifteen minutes for the barista to make sandwiches for customers who ordered after me. My sister had ordered a coffee before me and got hers immediately. When the barista finally gave me my coffee, she contaminated it with gluten by touching the entire top of the cup (where you sip from) with her gloved hand covered in wheat bread crumbs. For absolutely no reason because she could’ve held it from the sides like normal people do. Needless to say I probably won’t be back here again. Sad to see how much it’s changed...

This is one of my favorite coffeehouses and I’ve been going here for a while now. The atmosphere is so cute and the staff is very nice.

However, they have recently raised their prices beyond what is reasonable. For a large coffee that is a little bigger than a Starbucks grande, I paid almost $10. Not only was that atrociously expensive when I can get a bigger drinker cheaper everywhere else, but the entire drink was jam packed with ice. There was so much ice and barely any coffee that I couldn't even move my straw around to stir the drink and finished drinking it in five minutes. When I looked at the cup, more than 3/4 of it was packed with ice. When you used to get a large iced coffee here, they would fill half of it or less with ice.

The combination of raising the price from $6 to $10 while limiting the amount you get sincerely makes me hesitate to come here again.

For context, at Starbucks, Gloria Jeans, and Layali coffeehouses, you can get a bigger drink for cheaper or the same price as the New Roots large (which is smaller). I suppose they aren't doing competitive pricing here.

They also do not make the drinks in order which they receive them. Instead of making my sister's coffee who ordered right after me, they made someone else's sandwiches which came well after we did. So we ended up waiting around 15 minutes when we...