I found another coffee shop in Columbia by chance, just because it is near my grocery store. Ha … when on the road for one of these long projects, the grocery store is an important place. In the small cities, when I am tired from The Dirty Gig, or maybe a long ride, it is a big night out for me. You know … unless the small city has a Walmart:) I digress …
Anywho … Dunn Bros Coffee is only a short ride from the hotel, so on this fine morning, here I am.
Pretty sure I have blogged about these guys — back when the blog was called The Wi-Fi Guy … maybe in Minnesota, way back when.
At first glance, I thought it was one of the best laid out coffee shops I have seen. There are about 8 easy chairs, to the side, near the front, and another large grouping of easy near the back. The little table/seating areas is covered by a rustic overhang of saltillo roof tiles and raw timber. Pretty cool. The ceiling fans and dozens of hanging lamps are all vintage in appearance. The coffee grinder, roaster oven thingy is near the front door. Ha … I even like the floor, stained concrete. So it is my kind of place.
Yes it has Wi-Fi! AndI was equally impressed with the Wi-Fi … at first. As the young man behind the counter foretold, the hotspot is pretty good when the store is empty, but the connection tapers off.
So when I was one of a few patrons, I started out surfing, updating Facebook and having a really great e-conversation with a new friend who has written some country hits and has a record label in Nashville … a great chat until my messages to him started bouncing like a college student’s checks at a liquor store. So one minute I am asking if he knows some old friend from Vega … then I am telling a funny story about the old friend from Vega … then I get an error message that only one of the messages went through. So, my story — which are always pretty detailed and hard to follow anyway — was complete discombobulated … if I understand the meaning of the silly word. I didn’t even consider firing up Pandora …
And my new friend … He wrote a huge hit for Billy Ray Cyrus. Now I know three things about Billy Ray — mullet, daughter who twerks with a horrible haircut too, and that he sings songs by a guy from the school formerly knows as West Texas State. (Go Buffs!) And yes, my new buddy is good friends with one of the band members from yesterday’s blog … The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Ha … his ex-wife is the daughter of a gigantic country icon … If there isn’t a song in there, well … then I don’t know where …
Matt, Zach
So … I f you get to Dunn Bros. early and ahead of the computer crowd, it is a good thing. I had a nice, light roast in a big old “for here” mug and a breakfast burrito, fresh from their microwave. The burrito … not bad, but then burritos are burritos … The coffee? Hmmm … I liked it a lot … either there was a touch of full-bodied fruitiness to the beans … or maybe the dishwasher had just sanitized their hands with a blend of wild berry and aloe scented gel. I am not for sure … but … whatever it was, it worked.
Anyone else remember the old grocery store incentives, Gun Brothers stamps? I used to think of those stamp brothers, rest their souls, every time I passed Dunn Bros.
Now I will think of a great coffee shop with so much potential. I had to go to another hotspot, just to post the photos for this blog. My advice: You spent coin on this place making it so cool. Don’t shortchange the Wi-Fi – 5 pings. A great place, waiting to happen, from my wireless perspective. Make Dunn more Funn.
Know what I sayin?
