Coffee Shops in Cincinnati (Hamilton, Reading: for sale, 2015, houses)

[WillM]

Anyone here frequent coffe shops in the area?

The small private ones seem to be the best. I was in the Bear Claw in Dexter Michigan wishing we had a local place near here. The newest one I just discovered is the Juju Beans on Vine Street in St, Bernard, Ohio. The friendly Mosley family owns and operates it. The couches and chairs make it very comfortable and the owners and their entire family work there and may sit and chat with you.
I am hooked on their Servatti's pastry, Holtman's donuts and freshly made sandwiches. I've seen Starbucks employees in here so they must be good.

[h Steve]

Not that I frequent them but Pleasant Ridge has The Coffee Exchange on Montgomery Rd. The Coffee Exchange of Pleasant Ridge

[Wilson513]

If you are looking for the lounge type with the same regulars hanging around and socializing for long periods of time, try Lookout Joes in Mt. Lookout, or Luckmans at the bottom of the Beechmont hill.

[goyguy]

What really makes for a good coffee shop is actual socializing in an atmosphere conducive to it. Do any of these places carry a laid-back vibe where people are gabbing with each other and receptive to new arrivals' joining in? (This can still be found at many a Frisch's, since these days a youth magnet they're not!) Or do they fall in line with Starbucks and the majority of independent spots, where 'most everybody has "ear buds" jammed in while they let their laptop or "tablet" or phone monopolize their attention?

For something not completely different but not run-of-the-mill nonetheless, there's an intriguing business flourishing amidst an otherwise depressing (and fairly deserted) commercial environment on Reading Road between Section and Galbraith. If you go to the BMV office in that area you're a hop, skip, and jump away from what used to be called the Gospel Coffee Shop but now has "Cafe & Grill" in its name following "Gospel." (Their address is listed as both 6 Sunnybrook Dr and 7990 Reading Rd.) Chances are they kept their java menu, like that of an ice cream parlor, intact after relocating from the same block as Song Long.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gospe...27685720617940

[mimi in cinci]

I have several favorite coffee shops.
Cafe DeSales in East Walnut Hills is the perfect little neighborhood joint where I can almost always find a neighbor or two. Great coffee and a warm welcoming staff are big pluses.

Awakenings in Hyde Park Square is great for meetings with many tables. Good coffee and lots of locals.

I have also enjoyed countless hours hanging out at Coffee Emporium on Central Parkway in OTR reading and eating amazing treats. I think of it as the "family room" of OTR. Get a coffee, a snack and relax either with a group or alone.

College Hill Coffee on Noth Bend is one of my favorites but it's pretty far out of my daily loop. You can usually count on great food and live music in the evenings.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by mimi in cinci

College Hill Coffee on North Bend is one of my favorites but it's pretty far out of my daily loop. You can usually count on great food and live music in the evenings.

Excellent addition! But they're on Hamilton Ave AT North Bend Rd (SE corner), facing Hamilton. The distinction's petty only unless you've never been there and are driving up and down the wrong street trying to find the place.
Hopefully progmac or another Pleasant Ridge dweller will join this thread and let us know whether "Pleasant Perk" in their neighborhood and the aforementioned "emporium" are one and the same (or if one replaced the other.)

[h Steve]

Originally Posted by goyguy

Excellent addition! But they're on Hamilton Ave AT North Bend Rd (SE corner), facing Hamilton. The distinction's petty only unless you've never been there and are driving up and down the wrong street trying to find the place.
Hopefully progmac or another Pleasant Ridge dweller will join this thread and let us know whether "Pleasant Perk" in their neighborhood and the aforementioned "emporium" are one and the same (or if one replaced the other.)

As I said, I don't go to Coffee Houses, but I'm pretty sure the Coffee Exchange is where the Pleasant Perk used to be.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by h Steve

As I said, I don't go to Coffee Houses, but I'm pretty sure the Coffee Exchange is where the Pleasant Perk used to be.

Yes, exactly. Pleasant Perk was an adequate coffee shop and has since changed owners and is now the Coffee Exchange. Perhaps part of the reason for the change was that a second coffee shop (and wine bar) opened in Pleasant Ridge for a little while. This place was a welcoming spot called Beans & Grapes, opened c. 2012, in the eastern side of the brick two-store box next to Walgreen's. It was a coffee shop and wine bar run by the Episcopalians as a community outreach effort. It was a promising place with decent coffee, but also unique community meeting space and programming. They made a real effort at bringing together different strata of the community and had a few interesting talks on housing, diversity, and similar topics. Ultimately this shop closed after perhaps two years of operations, if even that, presumably for the same reason that something like 50% of food service places fail -- that is to say, not enough money coming in the door.

The then-owner (or manager, was it?) of Pleasant Perk was none-to-happy about the competing coffee shop in the neighborhood. The rumors were that Pleasant Perk was struggling anyways, and after a couple of semi-public rants by the owner (or manager, was it?), Pleasant Perk closed its door for good, leaving Beans & Grapes as the sole neighborhood coffee shop. Pleasant Perk's door remained shut for a few months before reopening as the Coffee Exchange, a comfortable and charming neighborhood coffee shop that besides the rack of branded tee shirts for sale, was identical to the one it replaced. However, the service was strikingly different. It was excellent and enthusiastic. Over the coming months the coffee and food offerings became more adequate than ever. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Beans & Grapes closed for good.

Recently, the Coffee Exchange seems to have really hit its stride. Perhaps 2015 will be its banner year. It is now also open in the evenings, offering local beer and various coffee-alcohol drinks.

[goyguy]

Always good to know when you're in that invisible minority which hardly ever drinks coffee.

[Chemistry_Guy]

Originally Posted by goyguy

Always good to know when you're in that invisible minority which hardly ever drinks coffee.

I have had some pretty intense 'flings' with coffee, but I seem to always end up coming back to tea.