The Bean Exchange Coffeehouse

Just your regular neighborhood coffee shop. Nothing special. Service is anywhere from minimal mediocre (on a good day) to bad (their normal everyday it seems like). The only reason why I even give this place a 2-​tar rating is for their sweet cheese danish and their chai latte — though they are not enough to bring me back. Can totally get those somewhere else. Seems like a bunch of college-graduated-who-still-don’t-know-what-they-want-to-do-in-life-but-know-that-they-don’t-want-to-serve-you work here. I work in customer service for almost 10 years now and never do I dare show up to work and do not at least flash even a fake smile to customers. You walk into work — leave your problems at the door! To the owner — retrain your employees please because clearly, I’m not the only one that feels this way!

As many reviewers have noted below, the service at this place is TERRIBLE.
We’ve lived in the neighborhood for 6 years and always hope that the service will get better — still not the case. With the exception of one guy who worked there a couple of years ago, every barista/​cashier offers up the bitchiest attitude — immature teenage angst style. Coffee and food are not worth commenting on.
To whomever owns this place: PLEASE clean up your act. Your coffee shop is a disservice to our lovely neighborhood.

Beautiful shop. Friendly barista. Weak coffee. Without good coffee, nothing to come back for.

This is the closest café to my house, so I often stop in if I’m in a rush. The run down is, if you have time, go somewhere else. There’s way better coffee, food, and service in this neighborhood.
Any time I’ve gotten a regular coffee, it was fine. Not great, but fine. Anything more complicated though, like a latte or a chai, has come to me weak or burnt. The last large latte I ordered came half full. Why?
The only food I’ve tried there is their pumpkin and zucchini bread, and it’s good.
The service, like the coffee, is also fine. No one has ever been rude to me, so there’s that. But they’re not as friendly as say, Chapterhouse.
You could do better.

This is the closest coffee shop to our new place. It’s generally pretty good for a cup of coffee. The space is clean and modern. As others have said, service can be iffy.

I have been here plenty of times and the experience all depends on who is working at the time you are there. There are a few employees who are AWESOME and I tip them EVERY TIME because they make my day better in an INSTANT and that is what great customer service is all about. It makes me forget about the fact that the place is ridiculously expensive for mediocre coffee (and other drinks).
There are at least two employees who are clearly miserable about life and make you want to throw your own coffee at them because they can be very rude. I don’t think anyone has the right to complain about not being tipped. People receive tips for GOOD SERVICE, and it shouldn’t be an expectation that you get a tip despite a piss poor attitude.
I’ll still go here when I feel like ballin out cause I have nothing better to do than dish out a ton of money on coffee.

I’ve tried this place a couple times wanting to give rude cashier the benefit of the doubt. Confirmed she is permanently rude. She manages to make me feel like I ruin her day by going in there. Average coffee, terrible bagels. I wish this wasn’t the closest coffee place to my house. I sent a couple of my house guests there this morning and the woman was criticizing their order. Won’t be returning anytime soon. Better service would go a long way.

Who plays screamo at a coffee shop? There are SLEEPY PEOPLE here. Also, who doesn’t melt the cheese on an egg and cheese? Totally underwhelmed, there are way better alternatives in the neighborhood.

The coffee is good but the service is horrible. The music is deafening. It’s Sunday, how about a little peace and quiet and some decent customer service. Food selection is limited and served with the charm of a gestapo prison guard. Great décor but in serious need of re-​staffing.

Coffee — Decent
Food — Pretty Solid
Service — Extremely short/​rude
Hygiene — Terrible

Great local coffee shop. Coffee drinks are great, iced or hot. I’ve also enjoyed some of the flavored, unsweetened iced teas. Pumpkin bread, biscotti, flaky almond croissant and egg bagel sandwich all tried; all yummy.
Great addition to the neighborhood. Outside seating is a great lure. Free wi-​fi. The sandwich boards and Drink of the Day board inside are always hilarious.

Another one of my favorite coffee shops in the city. Cool place on and in a nice corner property.

I’m a tea drinker — so I can only review their teas. They have a great selection of teas. I tried their turmeric lemon tea — it was really good! They have a cute fireplace — I’ll have to go when it gets even colder. Cozy ambiance with a nice selection of food and drinks. I didn’t have any trouble finding electric sockets for my laptop.

Average coffee house. Little pricey for the items i purchased (large iced coffee and a slice of pumpkin loaf) ran me a little under 6.00 .
They do have plenty of outlets and tables and outdoor seating if it still continues to be 80 degrees in Oct.

Coffee is good. They run out of their more delicious muffins very early in the day, and are generally left with cranberry walnut, which I guess loads of people don’t love. It’s particularly annoying, bc the breakfast sandwiches are nothing to Unilocal from home about.
Service is slow due to one employee per shift, and swings wildly in terms of friendliness. I’m not saying any names, but the blue-​eyed tall girl with the sprinkling of tattoos doesn’t seem to want to be there, or see you, or make your coffee. Overall, certainly gets the job done if you’re smack in their radius. I am an in-​and-​out sorta joe, so the experience may vary if sitting down. Appears relaxing enough for morning and daytime stuff. No cozy chairs, etc.

I was thrilled to find out I could bring my dog inside to enjoy a chai tea with me!
The shop is clean, the tea was good, barista was nice, and the vibe was a-​ok.
It’s always nice to to find dog friendly establishments in the city!

All i can say is… how rude! I was craving a coffee after delicious pizza from Nomad’s and this place was close by. It was about 6:40 pm Wednesday night. The place looked empty from the outside. There was no sign posted regarding hours hence we opened the door. We quickly asked the barista if they were still open for business. She said «well i guess so». Either a place is open or not. There is no in between. We asked and she said they are open until 7pm. Its not like we opened the door minutes before she closed. There was ample time for her to make us drinks. There were even 3 people sitting down, talking and on their computers. I ordered double macchiato and i received a double disgusting drink! NEVER EVER AGAIN!

Stopped in here on my trek from Washington Avenue after dropping off my car for an oil change. I got an iced coffee, it was fine, nothing spectacular, but what’s up with the plastic cups they use. They are super flimsy. I was trying to put the lid on after adding some cinnamon, and the cup cracked down the side resulting in a huge coffee mess. They were nice about bringing me a towel and a fresh cup, but I was super embarrassed, and it was definitely not a great start to the day. Another customer was standing there and she said it’s happened to her too. Otherwise, seems like an ok place, but just needs better cups.

This is a nice coffee shop to order a bagel and a cup of coffee and be able to eat it inside w/​out being surrounded by computers, hipsters, or dogs– also. the coffee tastes great. The staff are always friendly and I’ve never had to wait in line too long, but I would avoid peak hours because they do tend to get a lot of customers on the weekends (but that’s a positive thing in my opinion!)
Special Note: They also have outdoor seating when the weather permits.

Man, it smells really good in here right now. And not like a coffeeshop either. It smells like I’m soaking in a mint and lavender infused bathtub.
I’m sitting at one of their tables, typing away on my laptop, listening to the ex-​couple next to me awkwardly get back together. They just kissed. That’s gross. I think PDA is gross.
Coffee here is served with speed, the ladies working here are quaint, and I’ve pirated someone’s internet. It’d say this is a lovely place to work. They play music and right now it’s tuned in to oldies. If you’re a fan of quiet study, this may not work for you.
On the other hand, they’re dog friendly and someone I know just sat down with her dog for a few hours. There’s also a patio area you can enjoy.
S’all folks.