Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The flow at the coffee shop

I stopped at the coffee shop at the Central Library to have lunch between appointments today.  I hadn't been to the shop since they remodeled it about a year ago.  I like to give the place some business since it is run as a project for a nonprofit organization. 
 
I was surprised to find they either didn't have sandwiches any more or they only had some in the refrigerator case.  I wasn't sure which because the person behind the counter didn't make it too clear.  I figure if the shop is a project one of the lessons to learn is clear communication leads to more sales than mumbling.  I ended up having a cup of coffee and reading for a while.  As I was sitting there I heard people ordering soup.  I thought it odd the person didn't mention the soup as an option. 
 
After sitting a while I decided I'd have the soup.  I ended up waiting to order because one of the regulars was chatting with the counter person.  The soup was week and expensive. 
 
The shop is more of a fixture than a business.  The rhythm of the shop includes regulars who know the menu and occasional stragglers.  It fulfilled its mission of being a nonprofit project.  As a producer of good, fast, food it was marginal.  next time I'll stick to the coffee and find another place for lunch.
 
 

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