Serious Coffee is a local roastery based out of Duncan. Each location is a franchise so is independently owned and operated. Support Local! Buy Local!
They had their Grand Opening on Thursday last week and I walked in and had a look around and promised I would be back. So here I am.
The Good
Local - yep, definitely local. So I am supporting a local business. Theoretically. I am not sure who actually owns this franchise. It would be some rich tycoon who lives in Vancouver.
Walkable - I've never lived so close to a coffee shop. So being able to walk here in the mornings is a definite bonus.
Wifi - they are piggy-backing on the next-door restaurant's wifi. Which, according to my phone is 200 Mbps. So that is good wifi.
Seating - lots and lots of seating, with a couple of booths and a long banquette... with cushioning!
Electrical Outlets - They have at least 2 outlets so I can sit here and plug in my aging, tottering laptop (8 years old) with it's failing (failed) battery).
The Bad
Working out the Kinks - the credit card terminal was hiccuping this morning and the server didn't know how to fix it.
New Staff - the server couldn't find "tea" on the terminal and was going to charge me $4.50 for a small tea, even though the wall menu says "Loose Tea" is $3.39. I ended up paying cash so she calculated the advertised price. But still... that price is MORE expensive than a small Starbucks tea. But... I am supporting local. Yay.
Chai Tea Syrup - even though the wall menu says "loose tea", which to my mind means loose leaf tea, what I received in my cup was sweetened which makes me think the server made my tea out of the chai tea latte syrup. I've had this happen in another coffee shop. And I could see the server mixing up something with water in a little container. I will have to double-check what is going on tomorrow when I come again.
The Meh
Opening Hours - their opening hours are... meh. 7 am to 7 pm is not bad. I really like the earlier hours that Starbucks has - 5:30 or 6:00 am. But I am trying to make the 7 am work for me. Get up, have breakfast, then head out to do my thing at the coffee shop. We'll see... If I get up super early, I could also go for an early walk, have breakfast and then come here! We'll see...
Growing Pains
It is a new location, with new staff. They are still getting the kinks worked out and I understand that. We'll see how the rest of the week goes.
On the plus side... I am trying a local coffee shop! And not going to Starbucks and supporting a global mega-corporation. Small steps... I am committing to this week and we'll see how it goes.
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