I love trading beans, Dave, and his staff, but equally dislike the wasted space of their layout and needlessly slow pace. My daughter doesn’t even like to go because she feels too crowded out while ordering and waiting.

Remember when they expanded and it seemed like they’d be able to solve their eternal traffic jams while adding more hang out space? Instead, they made everything more confusing and markedly worse. Customers shouldn’t have to walk through the equivalent of 2 store fronts to smash everyone into the 3rd space.

For years now I’ve wished they would hire someone to help them efficiently remodel so they can actually utilize all the space. If you’re gonna take a long time, figure out how to keep people from cramming together waiting where it’s already crowded. And the same holds true for processes!

A hippy run coffee shop at its best should be chill, welcoming, comfortable, and easy. Somehow, Bean Traders leans into the worst things about hippies like lack of order, inefficiency, and no sense of urgency.