2000 Sampson St., Westlake
I was running a few morning errands and found myself craving an iced coffee. After a quick Google search that brought me to enticing pictures, I found Grounded Coffeehouse nearby and added the waypoint.
I stepped inside the farmhouse inspired motif and did a double take to make sure I was in the right place. Let me try to paint this picture: in front of me was the register and counter, to the left there’s a chalkboard menu with coffees listed (this confirmed I am, indeed, in the right place). However, I don’t see much else.
The building is completely devoid of any photos or displays, essentially leaving all menu items to your imagination. I did notice in the Google images the iced coffee was exactly what I was craving. So, being pretty straight forward in the expectations of coffee drinks, I asked for an iced caramel frappe with whipped cream and a sausage, egg and cheese croissant. I took a seat at the table and after a couple minutes of whirring, the picture perfect iced coffee and the foil wrapped croissant are delivered.
I’m not going to negatively dismantle the hard workings in this visit because the iced coffee was on point, and the breakfast sandwich was as advertised in chalk. However, I want to offer some suggestions as constructive criticism.
The first: understand that people eat with their eyes. People are genuinely driven by what they see, and it directly relates to what they order. Case in point, that google image of the iced coffee got me to the coffee shop. Take photos of your product, upload them to Walgreens, print them for $.50 a piece and buy some cheap Walmart frames, and plaster them on your walls. Entice people with the visual, let them see what they might be ordering.
The second, add options to your foods. Offer fresh strawberries on top of your muffins, or whipped cream or cinnamon butter. Maybe salt and pepper on the table, or Tony’s, or maybe some fresh tomato or lettuce or hot sauce to enhance the basic breakfast sandwich. This cute little coffee house has so much potential and it was all left on the table. I would love nothing more than to see a line of customers around the building next time.
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