First Impressions: Bonnie's Cafe

 Living close to the current light-rail construction, we are well aware of the effects of the construction on local businesses. We feel a strong desire to support these businesses, and often go out of our way to go to the ones that we like in order to be supportive and help to ensure that they will stay in business well after the construction is completed. After driving by and seeing Bonnie's Cafe countless times, we finally decided it was time to go.

We have read and heard a lot of great things about Bonnie's, and went there with empty stomachs and high expectations. Entering Bonnie's is like a slight time-warp, with a genuine, old-school diner atmopshere, which we found charming. Some may call it dated, but it holds a certain appeal, and it definately fits the bill of a classic, "small town" feeling diner. They have a very diverse menu, with a wide selection of breakfast items, and even  lunch itmes, such as burgers and steaks. We ordered the biscuit and gravy special, a blueberry pancake, and a side order of bacon and a side order of sausage.

For starters, as many other reviews have stated, the food was very good. The gravy was thick and hearty, with large chunks of meat, but the biscuits themselves were small, and the overall dish was smaller than most other biscuit and gravy orders from other cafes. It came with a side of hash browns and two eggs, both done just as ordered. The pancake was light but fluffy, with great flavor. The sides of sausage and bacon were also good, but at $3+ dollars per side, and only 3 pieces of bacon and 3 pieces of sausage a piece, they were fairly pricey.

Overall, the food was quite good, but for the price, it wasn't much food. We both left still feeling hungry, even after a $21+ dollar breakfast. I would gladly overlook the smaller food portions, however, the  customer service wasn't nearly as good as the food. For a business that is trying to maintain and increase their customer base, and openly advertises their desire for new patrons with the light rail construction taking place, they did little to make us feel welcome. It was obvious that many of the diners eating here were regulars, and overhearing the conversations taking place, the staff definately has lasting friendships with many of these customers. But for us newcomers, the staff wasn't overly friendly or cordial, and didn't reflect the customer service or friendliness that I would expect from a business. It's really too bad, as we went to Bonnie's with excitement, considering it as a new breakfast spot that we could frequent often, and left feeling disappointed.

 Personally, there are restaurants that I continue to support not because they have the greatest food or atmosphere that I have ever experienced, (but many of them do have really good food and a cool atmosphere) but they continue to have excellent customer service. Overall, Bonnie's has a very traditional diner atmopshere with good food, but we both felt that it was lacking in the service. Also, they do not take cards, which is fine as long as you know this in advance. We may give Bonnie's another try, but with similar cafes close by that have equal or better food, in larger amounts for the same price, plus great customer service, it's hard to recommend Bonnie's Cafe as a first choice.