Juan Valdez Cafe

Oh, what a disappointing cup of coffee. The name had some promise but the coffee itself is barely 7 – 11 quality. Having been fooled once before, I vowed never to return again, but walking directly past it today I was drawn in again. I paid $ 5.50 for a below average coffee and a supermarket-​quality sugar cookie. No, sir, I don’t like it.

Many Center City office buildings have their own little cafés/​markets in the lobby so many of us office-​dwelling 9-to-5’ers can get our caffeine and snack fix quickly. Since the coffee in the my lobby market blows, I make sure to hit up the Juan Valdez Café for a strong cup whenever an early meeting mauls my weekly calendar. The address is Broad St. but look for a single door on Locust St. for the street entrance to this closet-​sized café. Often there’ll be only one person behind the counter brewing drinks and serving up muffins so you might wait a minute but the line is short and the drinks are good. I usually get a red eye or black eye and they always hit the spot; good muffins to boot. I’m not a fan of Juan Valdez from the grocery but for tasty caffeine, their little café comes through big in the clutch.