Great Expectations Bookstore Cafe & More

Last year I stopped for lunch and wifi and promptly left when the owner decided to raise her voice in a bigoted rant with another customer. I recommend you keep driving.

I stopped in here this week on my way to West Virginia. It’s located on a desolate stretch of road in a country-​esque strip mall filled w/​guaranteed tourist attractants: mini golf, 50’s diner, antique mall, ice cream shop, etc. I was excited that I’d be able to get a latte & looked forward to hopefully finding an independent treasure to share w/​fellow Unilocalers. Sadly this was not the case. The ambiance was nonexistent, it smelled faintly of grease, & the only books available was one sad shelf of new books written by Ohio authors. As for the latte, I ordered a double shot latte as I always do, noting the price is $ 2.75. I expect to pay 40 cents for the extra shot in the small. Imagine my surprise to hear it’s $ 4.50. I inquire as to why the price jump & am informed that it’s.get this. $ 2.00 for each additional shot. What??? I complain stating that I’ve never heard of such a thing. She (I’m guessing the owner.) offers to remake it & then proceeds to tell me how she gave me both shots she brewed & then gave me 2 more. Uh, that’s not how it works. I just wanted to be guaranteed 2 shots in my small. If you’re going to sound condescending about coffee, make sure you know what you’re talking about. I’ve been the manager of a bistro, have tasted espresso/​coffee all over this country, from Seattle, WA to Portland, Maine, & my in-​laws own a coffeehouse. I know coffee. Now, I bet you’re wondering how it tastes. Well, McDonald’s makes it better. The drink barely tasted of coffee, which to me says they’re using cheap/​weak coffee there. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t even espresso they were using. Really disappointing considering there was 4 shots of coffee in this drink. Anyway, I went ahead & paid for it, along with a tip, mainly because it seemed like a Mom-&-Pop venture & I like to support them, as both my parents & my in-​laws are restaurateurs, but it was a $ 6 lesson to me to just wait for the Panera down the way, which is saying a lot as I hate their weak-​ass coffee.