Park Bros. Bagels & Coffee — Restaurant in Town of Potsdam

So I'm a writer, and I'm always looking for a place to sit and write with a decent cuppa coffee. Moved from New York City to the area, which means my array of choices narrowed considerably. Here's my observation, coming from Manhattan.

Price gouging. A small peppermint mocha was nearly 7 dollars. Literally just a peppermint mocha with oat milk. This is more expensive than the ritziest cafés in Manhattan. I suspect that Park Brothers know they are one of only two gigs in town (the other is Jernabi's, and they close ridiculously early), so they know that they can get away with taking advantage of local students and the good people of the north country.

"Eh" coffee. The coffee isn't even that good. Not sure if it's because these are robusto beans or if they're roasting them too long and they're burnt? Very tough to get a decent espresso drink. However, as you just heard, a small, non-modified drink is seven bucks. So get your drink first, and then ask for more milk/syrup/ whatever-you-need-to-make-it-palatable afterwards. Otherwise that small drink will end up being 10 bucks.

Freezing cold. It's 80° outside, but it's so cold in here that your fingers can barely type. I put my computer bag over the vent in the back which helped some, but it's still bitterly cold.

Playlist is wretched, with repetitive and massively annoying songs. Most people are here working on some kind of assignment, and this music is not conducive to cognitive activity. Staff said they cannot change the playlist because the owner has "mandated it." If they are trying to get folks to get their coffee/food and get out, this is one way to do it.

There's not one thing on the menu that a gluten sensitive person can eat. It wouldn't be that hard to keep some gluten-free bread in the freezer so they can choose to make the sandwiches on it for people who can't eat gluten.

Otherwise, the atmosphere is great and the staff are...

This has become my favorite coffee shop in Potsdam with their new remodel. Great food, service, and atmosphere at reasonable prices.

Update on 11/13/22: Still awesome! Just had an open-face California on garlic with a hot London Fog tea...

Update on 4/14/23: Still awesome!

Update on 8/27/23: Still awesome!

Update on 6/3/24: Just stopped in to get a dozen bagels to go today. Was shocked that they cost over $17! When I remarked on the high price, they kid behind the counter said they increased their retail bagel prices, as they make more money selling bagel sandwiches (implying they are trying to steer you to make that choice). For comparison, you can get a baker's dozen of higher quality bagels in the Rochester area (see my other reviews) for only $10.80. In addition, the kid who bagged my bagels (a mix of sweet and savory types) bagged everything haphazardly in one bag, so my pre-sliced cinnamon raisin bagel tastes like everything seasoning. I appreciate that Park Bros. makes their own bagels, but charging customers 50% more than what a high quality bagel shop charges in a metropolitan area is 🤪. P.S. My wife says she will no longer buy bagels from Park Bros., will literally drive to Rochester purchase in bulk and freeze them to avoid being ripped off.

Update 6/17/24: I started making my own bagels today, including boiling them in barley malt syrup water. They turn out great!...

Great food and coffee!... BUT... Almost ZERO Covid protocol as far as sanitary procedure. There is a high volume of business and customer exchange at every table or station. But nobody is sanitizing or even wiping tables between customers. Staff are busy. When I asked the girl at the check out about our table she hit about 1/8 of the table surface with a dry rag and tiny bit of sanitizer and gave a few meek rubs. I had to take over and show her how it's done. AT LEAST put the stuff out there so that customers can do it! In the last 5 trips (take out) I have NEVER seen a table or customer-surface get wiped down. There is a single pump bottle of sanitizer at the order counter. None at the pickup counter or anywhere else in the place that I've seen. That's it!! This place has 70% college student customer base. It was a known Covid hot spot at the height of the pandemic locally!!! Come on man. I'm not overly phobic about the virus, but the effort at protecting people here...