Aimee L.

We've been coming to Woodlawn coffee since they opened and absolutely love their coffee and breakfast plate. Kelly and most of the baristas are absolutely wonderful as is of course Gretchen the owner. We love this place so much that we actually rented it out for our wedding reception last year and had a phenomenal time. Gretchen's pies were amazing! However there are a few things lately that have really irritated us and we are slowing down our formerly two to three times a week we usually come in because : 1) the new-ish male barista (NOT Brandon, Brandon is great) has got a real attitude problem... he is frequently making snarky comments, he rarely pays attention to your food order and there for half the time you don't get it and have to come back up to the counter to ask him for it, and with every other barista it takes almost no time at all to get your drink but sometimes I'm done with my breakfast before my coffee is done when he's behind the counter. My husband doesn't even want to go in there now if he is behind the counter thats how artificial and a pathetic this guy is. Also being unable to digest regular milk, I'm pretty sure he also doesn't pay attention to what kind of milk goes into the drinks, as I've gotten seriously ill several times after ordering an almond milk based drink which never happens with any of the other baristas . Everyone else there is so awesome and genuine, but this guy unfortunately represents the snobby hipster stereotype of baristas that give baristas a bad name. 2) we had really appreciated it when they had the sign up saying they were no longer powering the outlets along the main wall so they could control the massive amount of people who come in just to use their laptop and drink $1 coffee for 3 hours in a row... It seems like as soon as that sign went away we were once again unable to find a table half the time when we went in, because whenever you go in there at least half if not more of the tables are taken over by solo laptoppers who often give rude looks if you dare to speak to the person you came in with that more than a whisper. Well I don't have a problem if people want to spend a brief amount of time there with their computer this place is unfortunately known with people who turn it into their office because they're too cheap to pay for wifi themselves. What's wonderful about Woodlawn coffee is the interaction and family friendly environment. They would do well to not have free wifi and instead give a code so that people could have it for an hour like Peet's does so they are respecting the fact that other customers actually want to sit down and eat and drink there as well. 3) The lack of food in the afternoon is really unfortunate. They serve breakfast and lunch yet today I found out that the kitchen closes at 1 o'clock so I can no longer have a late lunch there even though they're open until 6 p.m. I could deal with this if they had more than four or five cookies left during the afternoon but unfortunately you're just picking up scraps by that time and essentially the cafe turns into an espresso cart. They used to have a wonderful simple dinner service and cocktails - something that was such a nice alternative to the other places on Dekum ( not to mention the only place that you could go for dessert in the evening in this neighborhood) and while I see that they offer cocktails still, its not that tempting to come later in the day for a beer or a drink when there's no food to eat. I would love to see them bring back some basic foods later in the day and market themselves better to get more people in who don't want to go to a pub or pizza place, the former which we are inundated with (3 in 3 blocks). 4) they have a guy who plays on Sunday afternoons who has his amp turned up so high you can't even hear yourself think much less talk to the person you're in there with... It's a small cafe - you don't even need an amp! And while I'd be excited to have his guitar playing quietly, unfortunately the guy's voice is absolutely horrid - he actually sounded tone deaf when I was there a couple weeks ago. We are still huge fans of Woodlawn Coffee and love having them in the neighborhood. We are still loyal but hope that some of these changes will be made so that they are able to take better care of their longtime as well as newer patrons - and not just those who have a laptop in front of them. UPDATE: after writing this last review the owner Gretchen made sarcastic and rude comments to us as we walked in. Rather than try to understand the constructive criticism, she proceeded to tell us to not bother coming in when that barista was working and criticized us rather than trying to understand the negative feedback & make it better. Horrendous business practice and we will NEVER be returning.