Always on the trail of a good story (and a great cup of coffee), Bill Friday reveals the unthinkable about the South Bay's coffee Mecca.
Peet's Coffee. The day I found Peet's is the day I became a One Coffee Man. Since February, rain or shine, regular or decaf, you could find me one, two, three days a week sitting in the cafe of Peet's at the corner of P.C.H. and Avenue G in beautiful Redondo Beach. I believe the glow that comes from the brief case of Marsellus Wallace is really a one pound bag of Peet's Anniversary Blend.
Until last week.
It was a busy week in Friday World - long hours pounding the keyboard for the man (not Ariel - the day job), even longer hours building the self-serving blogspot at night. Without Peet's, life would have been as unwatchable as a Godfather 3, Jaws 3D double-feature hosted by Robert Osborne and Rose McGowan on Turner Classic. So on a rare day off last Friday (It's Always Friday, right?), after breakfast at the landmark Original Pancake House (another review for another time), I dropped by my Best Little Joe House for a fresh cup Major Dickason's Blend to wash down the "Dutch Baby and sausage".
And use the facilities. Big mistake.
To say the restroom looked like two guys named Vincent and Jules had made good on a contract by taking out some snitch with a colostomy bag was probably an over-statement. But I thought it. And to say that by the following Tuesday - that's right, TODAY - nobody at Peet's had put in a call Mr. Wolf to get a mess that monumental cleaned up, was a Bonnie Situation that would have made Jimmie Dimmick give up his U.C. Santa Cruz tee-shirt.
And yet, TODAY...
There it was. As it was. Untouched by human hands, gloves, toilet brushes or whatever else Mr. Wolf tells you it takes to clean up that mess before Bonnie gets home. Of course the guy with the colostomy bag had been mysteriously removed, but the rest of the evidence was still firmly in place.
Well I said, "Got DAMN"!
So if this rant gets published will I lose my L.A. privileges with Peet's in Redondo Beach? Maybe. Maybe it's time for me to just walk away, become a wanderer, going from new coffee house to new coffee house in search of more than just that next great cup of Joe.
Or if they let me live, maybe I'll just pick me up a Royale with cheese and take the next cup to go.
Copyright © 2008 Bill Friday
Wait....the bathroom hadn't been cleaned? BARF. Peet's has a high enough markup on their coffee that they should be able to afford janitorial service.
ReplyDeleteI once walked into a bathroom at Sears that looked like a hospital had dumped all of its patients' waste in there. Blood, vomit, bowel movements...not much freaks me out, but I actually gagged and backed out of the bathroom slowly. I've NEVER been able to get that image out of mind.
First of all, thank you for that visual. I obviously earned that. One of my kids (I won't say which one) was a childhood projectile vomiter... and I was the designated cleaner. And I've been a janitor. Go figure. And I promise to keep the BARF moments to a (necessary) minimum.
DeleteFor now.
Poor Jen. I have had some experiences sadly like that. I use to work at a video store (managed it) and sadly we all had to clean the restrooms. One day, one of my coworkers came to me and said that the night before they had gone in the bathroom, and I kid you not, someone had crapped in the sink. Yeah.. my co-worker had to fish that out. disgusting! This is why many public places don't want to have bathrooms because people are disgusting.. euwwww
DeleteGlad I no longer have to clean public restrooms!
Bill, my heart goes out to you. Nothing is worse than loving a place you visit and then seeing their bathroom. Someone told me once that when you visit a new restaurant you should always go to the bathroom first and if it is dirty, then you shouldn't eat there, cause if they don't keep the restroom clean, how clean might be there kitchen where they are preparing your food? Food for thought.
DeleteEwww! Now I'm going to have nightmares.
ReplyDelete