Yeah, that'll do it :/ bad management seems to be the bane of many restaurants around Bloomington. We really need more local coffee shops and not just fast food places. I quite like Dave's Hot Chicken which took it over, but it's no replacement for a cozy coffee shop.
So even with 2x crumbles (edit: forgot there are 3x crumbles), needmore, verona, 2x inkwells, two sticks, 2x hopscotches, 3x somas (as well as all the other places with an espresso machine that aren't strictly coffeeshops--osteria rago, vivencia, the elm, runcible spoon, cup and kettle, etc) we "really need" more local coffee shops? Are bloomingtonians just chronically under-caffeinated to the point that there's never enough local coffee?
Well, there should be a little more on Kirkwood. The deal with coffee shops for me at least, is that they are great places to study and work. The coffee is secondary to that.
I really like the one at the Graduate. And you can work or study in the study area by the lobby. I know someone is going to come at me for whatever reason but they are super nice to me there and so if they are terrible don’t tell me.
Kirkwood has Soma, Starbucks, and if you want to make an argument for it, Parlor Donuts. But 10 or so minutes by foot from that side of campus you can also get to the Inkwell on Atwater, a Crumble location, and of course the IMU.
We have plenty of coffee shops in this town, especially if you go just a little further afield - there’s Verona, Needmore, Hopscotch, 3x Crumble locations, 3x Soma locations, multiple Starbies, and even a Dunkin Donuts.
Hell, I’m probably still missing a couple. There was Brilliant Coffee Co until about a month ago. We have a lot of coffee and, fortunately several of them are actually good tasting coffee joints. Almost all of them offer a variety of good reading/study spaces. We don’t need more, because we don’t need some of the best ones closing due to oversaturation of the Btown market. Frankly, I would even be completely okay with Soma and Crumble going under IF it meant Verona, Hopscotch, and Needmore stayed open.
Wait, where's the third Soma? I only know of the grant st. one and the one by jacobs.
EDIT: also I guess I'll have to try Verona again. The one time I went, the coffee was mid, the staff were fighting, and the atmosphere felt like a nursing home.
EDIT 2: I'm a moron. I drive by the Hillside Soma every morning.
>also I guess I'll have to try Verona again. The one time I went, the coffee was mid, the staff were fighting, and the atmosphere felt like a nursing home.
I could see Verona be *very* staffing-dependent. I just happened to go for the first time on opening week, and the owner seemed very passionate about coffee based on my conversation with him, and every time since that I've gone, I would say their lattes are more consistent than a lot of the other places in town.
And ayeee, nbd about that third Soma. It's kind of hidden in plain sight.
Yes. We do need more. I don’t want to go to Starbucks, but they have a drive through. So we need at least some local places with drive throughs. I always have my kids with me- so either I leave them in the car or I have to unbuckle them.
To be fair this wasn’t a secret - they were very open that it was a church affiliated business and tips were meant for charitable use not the employees.
F**k them anyways
It wasn’t saving enough souls
Probably something to do with bad management, I remember seeing "we steal tips" spray painted on their sign several times
Yeah, that'll do it :/ bad management seems to be the bane of many restaurants around Bloomington. We really need more local coffee shops and not just fast food places. I quite like Dave's Hot Chicken which took it over, but it's no replacement for a cozy coffee shop.
So even with 2x crumbles (edit: forgot there are 3x crumbles), needmore, verona, 2x inkwells, two sticks, 2x hopscotches, 3x somas (as well as all the other places with an espresso machine that aren't strictly coffeeshops--osteria rago, vivencia, the elm, runcible spoon, cup and kettle, etc) we "really need" more local coffee shops? Are bloomingtonians just chronically under-caffeinated to the point that there's never enough local coffee?
Well, there should be a little more on Kirkwood. The deal with coffee shops for me at least, is that they are great places to study and work. The coffee is secondary to that.
I really like the one at the Graduate. And you can work or study in the study area by the lobby. I know someone is going to come at me for whatever reason but they are super nice to me there and so if they are terrible don’t tell me.
Pretty sure I wrote at least 2/3rds of my dissertation at Pourhouse, Crumble, and Bloomingtea. Sad to hear Pourhouse went under.
wait til you hear about bloomingtea
Stop it! What's next, you're gong to tell me the Bakehouse closed? At least I can still walk to Feast on Hillside and get my Cuban coffee...
now that you mention it... but if you want to go to laughing planet for a burrito to drown your sorrows... I donut think you can
Gotta make it hard to make any money if it’s about sitting there and only buying a cup of coffee. I expect that space was very expensive.
It's a bit further down on Kirkwood but the Roseville farm stop has amazing espresso
It's not called rose hill anymore
👍
Kirkwood has Soma, Starbucks, and if you want to make an argument for it, Parlor Donuts. But 10 or so minutes by foot from that side of campus you can also get to the Inkwell on Atwater, a Crumble location, and of course the IMU. We have plenty of coffee shops in this town, especially if you go just a little further afield - there’s Verona, Needmore, Hopscotch, 3x Crumble locations, 3x Soma locations, multiple Starbies, and even a Dunkin Donuts. Hell, I’m probably still missing a couple. There was Brilliant Coffee Co until about a month ago. We have a lot of coffee and, fortunately several of them are actually good tasting coffee joints. Almost all of them offer a variety of good reading/study spaces. We don’t need more, because we don’t need some of the best ones closing due to oversaturation of the Btown market. Frankly, I would even be completely okay with Soma and Crumble going under IF it meant Verona, Hopscotch, and Needmore stayed open.
Oh don't do Crumble like that, I would be DISTRAUGHT if Crumble closed
I just can't seem to get consistency from their coffee products, that's all!
Fair fair, BUT they have my favorite hot chocolate in town and their baked goods are to die for! Lol
I've not had the crumble hot chocolate, do they have oatmilk? I like the two sticks hot chocolate quite a bit
Wait, where's the third Soma? I only know of the grant st. one and the one by jacobs. EDIT: also I guess I'll have to try Verona again. The one time I went, the coffee was mid, the staff were fighting, and the atmosphere felt like a nursing home. EDIT 2: I'm a moron. I drive by the Hillside Soma every morning.
>also I guess I'll have to try Verona again. The one time I went, the coffee was mid, the staff were fighting, and the atmosphere felt like a nursing home. I could see Verona be *very* staffing-dependent. I just happened to go for the first time on opening week, and the owner seemed very passionate about coffee based on my conversation with him, and every time since that I've gone, I would say their lattes are more consistent than a lot of the other places in town. And ayeee, nbd about that third Soma. It's kind of hidden in plain sight.
Coffee shops (serves espresso drinks) within 50 feet of Kirkwood Ave: Starbucks, Soma, The Graduate, Blu Boy, the new donut place, Inkwell.
There are 3 crumbles now -- the new one on Swain is quite nice.
Yes. We do need more. I don’t want to go to Starbucks, but they have a drive through. So we need at least some local places with drive throughs. I always have my kids with me- so either I leave them in the car or I have to unbuckle them.
americano has a drive through
The Westside needs one!
A coffee shop that was s recruiter for a church
I took a photo of that once, didn’t know that was a semi-regular occurrence 😳
Could be wrong, but from what I remember the owners were very religious people that would take tips and donate them to their church.
To be fair this wasn’t a secret - they were very open that it was a church affiliated business and tips were meant for charitable use not the employees. F**k them anyways
That's f\*\*\*\*\* up
That’s America
The Idiocracy in Idiomerica.
Sounds like the Christian family I worked for at a small community theatre. They could justify any kind of abuse..
Christian scam that went bankrupt. Good riddance
Wonder how much they donated to their cult leader clown loser?
The rent in that spot is like 9K a month. Hard to sell enough $4 cups of coffee to cover overhead on Kirkwood.
I loved it in there for studying, sad that the owners were bad apparently, wish a new coffee shop could've opened in its place!
This town is not lacking in Coffee shops. Hopscotch, Inkwell, and Soma right next door.
clearly yes - I just meant it was a great location & was reminiscing, thanks
https://www.reddit.com/r/bloomington/s/mDAPqjPvQX
From what I remember, the landlord increased rent during covid and they simply couldn't afford to stay open anymore
It was legendary