Brewing Mkt out on 95th
I had posted some reviews and news about The Curious Cup, most recent being that they died. While praising CC, I was basting their 95th and Arapahoe competition, Brewing Market. Well Brewing Market is still in business and CC isn’t, so I decided that I should probably suck it up and go work there for an afternoon.
Since I now live out that direction and I don’t want to come into Boulder every day, I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by Brewing Market on 95th so I could use it as a reliable satellite office. I was and I wasn’t.
First the good: the layout I like. Tables on one end with ample elbow room between them and a mix of table sizes. On the other end is a U-shaped couch and plush chair area that works well. You can work there, but it is more a comfortable meeting spot, and there were two different groups of people having coffee meetings while I was there. The entire east wall and much of the north wall is floor-to-ceiling glass which I think is a good orientation since you don’t get afternoon sun barreling down on you and your laptop.
Now the bad: Brewing Market is still Brewing Market. The coffee sucks and the chai is even worse (hard to think that’s possible, but I confirmed that it is). The internet policy is that you get access for two hours per order. I can see the business logic behind it, but it’s shortsighted. Unless your shop is packed to the gills with laptop zombies all day (ie., Saxy’s), you don’t need to worry about the occasional person who orders one drink and works for 6 hours. To the rest of the people it’s a turn-off.
It’s too bad that CC went down the loser and Brewing Market stayed around the winner, but for a workspace it is decent. Just don’t plan on loving your coffee. If you live in the vicinity, it works.
Curiosity is dead
Long live the Curious Cup, subject of a couple favorable recent posts (although let’s admit it, nothing much has been recent lately on this blog … that’s ok, judging by the stats you’re still reading). An email went out today announcing the immediate closing of The Curious Cup.
This reviewer is devastated. Having recently moved closer to Lafayette than Boulder (although still with a Boulder mailing address somehow), Curious had become my new office. Now I have to go to Brewing Market on 95th and Arap? No thanks! Guess I’ll be hitting Ozo more often now.
the one thing about Brewing Market
The last time one of us wrote about Brewing Market (downtown on 13th between Walnut and Pearl) the review wasn’t overly generous. Comments weren’t either. Today I had to go there because the joint that’s been getting all of my bidness (Sidney’s) is closed on Sundays.
Providence smiles sometimes. I think the coffee gods wanted me to know that BM puts a jar of shaved chocolate in the milk and sugaring area. I had never seen that before, not at BM, not nowhere, and now I’m in love. It just isn’t the same as powdered cocoa you can sprinkle from a shaker. This is shaved chocolate off a bar and it’s a damn fine idea. Enough to bring me back to BM and urge the other faves to pony up for the same treatment.
Brewing Market downtown (13th between Walnut/Pearl)
No plugs. Lots of flies. Enough said.
How a review for one shop becomes a review for another….
See people, it’s called customer service for crisssakes! During a break in a little conference across the street I showed up at Peaberry Coffee (NW corner of Arapahoe and 28th) with the intention of getting some food and writing a review. But instead I waited in line. And waited. And waited. No, the line wasn’t long. In fact, I was next in line the entire time I was there. But even with three people working behind the counter they still couldn’t even acknowledge my presence in five minutes. And since I get a little grumpy when I’m really hungry, five minutes was about all I could stand, so I left. So, Peaberry coffee? Not sure. Food? No idea. Work environment? Looked ok, but I guess I wouldn’t really know. For some people, taking care of the customer just comes naturally. I mean, it is common sense, isn’t it? If you’re in the business of serving people then you maybe should make serving them your top priority?
So I strolled on around the corner to Brewing Market (attached to McGuckins on Folsom between Arapahoe and Canyon) and got served immediately. The coffee is decent. I purposefully ordered a very dry cap to be able to assess the espresso. Started out medium and slightly bitter, got slightly more bitter as time went on but mellowed with the incorporation of the milk. Chocolate croissant was the standard boring chocolate croissant that must be made in some huge manufacturing facility (compare with the Kitchen’s). Work environment is a little weird because of the nature of the shop which is to sell beans and coffee-related chatchtke and kitsch just as much as fresh coffee and pastries, but usable. I’d say Brewing Market is an acceptable substitute to Folsom St when the latter fills up.
Speaking of customer service, we’re hearing some pretty bad grumblings about The Cup, and one of the people offended twice actually has a login to this blog but hasn’t aired his/her complaints yet. So let this be a gentle reminder: if you’re a grumpy person by nature, stay off the cash register and away from the serving line. Hire somebody with a winning smile to take your place. Don’t piss off your customers because you’re in a bad mood. It’s not good for business. Just ask Vic’s.
