Cafes
Green Beanery
Green Beanery is part coffee equipment store, part cafe. Walking in through the front doors at Bloor and Bathurst, there's nothing but a sea of bodums, home roasters, espresso machines and, uh, a few toasters. But beyond the shelves of equipment there's a number of tables to chill and savour a coffee and one of their basic sandwiches or baked treats.
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I agree with the reader above. The place is boring,coffee so-so, the cups are always dirty, the staff very snooty, and to boot, they are rude to elderly people. Not my kind of cafe, not my kind of Toronto. I'm never going there again.
I was today at this store (Bloor & Bathurst) with my family while waiting for the Santa Claus parade; I understand it was a busy day and I had to wait more than 20 minutes to get my order. I was willing to wait because of the special day, however the lady that looks like the "manager" was totally unable to handle the extra flow of customers resulting in a long line of unhappy customers. What I really condemn is the manager's attitude; she was completely rude and lacks any customer service skills..end of the story we had to leave the store empty handed and frustrated after being mistreated for the lady mentioned above. We will never be back there again.
To whoever the owner or manager is: you need to lighten up on your staff and make them want to work there, they all seem like they dread their jobs and are doing it just for the money. Working in a coffee shop can be fun and rewarding but you're doing something that takes that away from your servers - fix it.
Lastly, your bathrooms are disgusting. Simple solution, have your staff check them at the end of their breaks and clean them at the end of their shift
That's purely because of the staff. I can think of one staff member who's consistently friendly while everyone else I've spoken to has ranged from indifferent to unimpressed to downright rude. I wonder what it is that makes them so unhappy about their jobs?
For example: One time I came in, made eye contact with and smiled at the server who was standing at the cash. He looked me right in the eye, then silently turned around and walked away. I mean, what IS that? Seriously, what?
As a freelancer fighting cabin fever I take my work to cafes a whole lot. I have a strict policy with myself about buying things at regular intervals in order to earn my place when I spend lots of time in one spot; I end up spending tons and tons of money in a single visit this way. But, as many times as wanting to work in a cafe at a later hour of the day has driven me to the Green Beanery, their attitude always drives me back out after about one drink. Today was the same as always. I think it's finally time for me to give up and look somewhere else.
I realize that there are a lot of businesses with even more questionable business ethics, but we'll all be much better off supporting another locally-owned coffee bar. (And one with better service at least.)
Check out this pro-coal article by the owner (and anti-green FP columnist) Lawrence Solomon
http://ep.probeinternational.org/2010/10/13/lawrence-solomon-ontario-power-lesson/
Jason, did you read the article you linked? He's advocating keeping our coal plants running, rather than replacing them with "feel good" wind plants, which are hardly feasible in Ontario. He gives reasons such that, 1, they don't provide enough power; and 2, don't provide steady power, requiring fossil-fuel backup anyway. He didn't mention it, but another factor I'm aware of are the giant environmentally-disastrous batteries required to even out the energy supply that wind provides.
Being a climate change sceptic isn't the same thing as being a denier. I personally think there's probably enough evidence to support man-made climate change, but I think it's silly to just believe everything you're told and not ask questions.
Energy Probe is primarily known as an anti-nuclear organisation (because it's prohibitively expensive in our age). They also want you to use less oil (thus advocating road tolls), and promote other energy and environmental conservation. They might be a bitter pill to swallow though because they often argue from an economics standpoint.
You might not agree with his beliefs, but simply because his conservation and environmentalism takes another tack doesn't mean it's completely invalid.
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AS FOR THE COFEESHOP ITSELF, I've bought various bits of gear from there, the prices are outstanding and compete with Amazon, but stopped buying their roasted beans. For some reason they just don't taste nearly as good as what I get from Moonbean or Ezra's Pound.
I don't know anything about roasting coffee myself nor live somewhere where I could do anything about the smoke, so I can't say anything about their green offerings.
They have a pretty solid website to order gear from and I appreciate that I can just pick it up in store to save on shipping.
The staff have been pleasant and helpful when I've been there, but nothing exceptional.
-The bathroom was clean, so I don't know if they've improved it since all the complaints.
-The staff were nice but kind of clueless. There was a huge line-up and four people behind the counter, but only one guy taking orders and then making the drinks himself. I was third in line and had to wait a little over five minutes. I don't know what the other people were doing, but when I worked in food service, you step in and help clear the line first and then go back to whatever.
- The coffee was yummy!
- The ambiance was nice- I love the bright windows and open space.
- The pastries were mediocre and not worth as much as they were charging. I would still rather go to Aroma a block over for some good cookies or croissants.
So, I guess I'd only recommend going if you just want something to drink and don't mind waiting around. It was a nice place to sit in, though.
i think some of the customers have mental issues learn to relax
Insects and that kind of thing don't normally bother me, but this is the only establishment in the area that seems to have this issue and it makes me wonder why.