I was pleasantly surprised to find a new, modern coffee house in downtown Cloverdale — and I dropped in this morning to check it out. The atmosphere is clean, modern, minimalist which I generally like — although I found the décor could be warmed up just a little to add a bit more comfort. One of the first things I noticed was the free Wi-Fi service from TELUS that my devices automatically connected to. Upon inquiry, I discovered that Cloverdale Coffee offers its own free Wi-Fi service, secured by a password. That said, why bother setting up a new connection when my device is already connected? Pastries, sandwiches and other snacks are available but the food selection is quite small and far from plentiful. I expected more, especially at 9am. I was surprised to find a nice selection of ice creams, which I’ll definitely be back for. I ordered a cup of medium roast coffee. It cost me $ 2.10 which is a little pricey but I was curious about the local Republica Roasters brand so I decided to give it a try. Not bad! One major disappointment — no Splenda sugar substitute available. The Manager distanced herself from the obviously poor decision by stating the owner wanted to keep the product natural(even though I didn’t notice that aspect of their brand anywhere else). I’m not diabetic — I just prefer the flavour of Splenda — but a massively increasing number of people are and I try to stay away from businesses who consciously close their doors to people with special needs. On that note, an automatic door opener would be a nice touch, to better welcome those in wheelchairs and such. Cloverdale coffee has a professional, mobile-friendly website that offers basic information on their location, hours and menu. They also have a presence on Facebook and Instagram and it’s always nice to see a local business embracing technology to help tell their story. Overall, Cloverdale Coffee is a welcome addition to the community. They have far more potential to grow so I hope they’ll tighten up their customer experience, especially for those with special needs, craft their story, tell it well, and think bigger about their opportunity to contribute to and succeed in Cloverdale. I’ll be back for some ice cream. Update: Review upgraded from 3 stars to 4, after I returned today to discover a basket of Splenda on the coffee table. Clearly, Cloverdale Coffee is listening and cares about customer experience. Thanks guys!
Vanessa C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Surrey, Canada
Best London Fog and coffee around. Beautiful comfortable and calming inside if you need a place to study or just hang out with your lap top.