There is a café in my town that recently expanded from a simple coffee shop to more complex food choices. It started with some fancy sandwiches, but quickly grew to have a fairly expansive menu. They offer breakfast, lunch, and even serve ice cream. Overall, the food is pretty decent. They’re not going to get a Michelin star anytime soon, but what they offer passes. The atmosphere is nice and it’s great to have someplace to spend time that isn’t McDonald’s or Starbucks. The prices are a little high for what you get, but outside of that I really have no complaints. I’m glad they’ve gotten enough business that they can branch out and offer more as time has gone on.
What’s puzzling is that in addition to breakfast and lunch they also just got their liquor license and are now serving alcohol. Shouldn’t seem too puzzling, I know. Most places that serve food also serve alcohol because sometimes you just want a glass of wine with that grilled cheese sandwich. But it’s not just wine. They have a sign espousing their wide variety of Irish coffees and they also serve cocktails.
The thing that vexes me is their hours. They close at 3pm every day. Every. Day. There’s no dinner menu, only breakfast and lunch. Even with such an early closing time they still felt the urge to go through the hassle of getting that liquor license which isn’t exactly easy around here.
My question is, what kind of drinkers do they think we have in this town? Obviously, the day-drinking afternoon brunch variety. The kind that wants to tie one off in the early afternoon and then go back to work or home or wherever they might be headed, because come 3pm they kick you out.
I realize the need to add to your services in whatever way that will increase revenues, but it makes me wonder about the people in my town. How many of them have a buzz on when I’m passing them in the aisles at Walgreens after work? Who wouldn’t be able to pass a breathalyzer test by the time Ellen comes on? The hell with “it’s five o’ clock somewhere.” Come 7:30am all bets are off.
Jimmy Buffett should visit my town. He would be proud.
Musings from a Tangled Mind 
Behind every sleepy little small town in rural America there’s some artisan coffee shop pushing those 07:30 Bloody Marys, the 09:00 mimosas, the noon PBRs, and the 14:55 last call margaritas. See, we were already great!
Obviously, I’ve been living in the wrong small towns all this time… but NOT any more! 😀
Irish coffee… make it a triple, please. 😀
Oh my, they have such a variety! One with just Jameson, then they have one with Baileys and Jameson, and another with Jameson, Baileys, and Frangelico. And more. It’s an irish coffee lover’s dream.
Mmmm…. and Frangelico always makes me frisky! 😀
I’ll have to keep that in mind…
😀 LOL 😀
why fight em? join em!!!
I think you may be right…
I had an 10am Irish Coffee at a coffee shop on St Patrick’s Day. That same coffee shop also serves a wonderful Expresso Martini, other adult and not adult beverages, and some tasty vegetarian food. Mostly I go for the lattes though.
Having a liquor license, but closing at 3 P.M. comes across as sort of “defeating the purpose”.
Change the closing hour to 3 A.M. and it makes more sense.
I can see your point! I wondered right away if there is a factory close by? As I head into my warehouse job there’s a group heading to a local bar where they can sit at picnic tables, eat eggs, toast or biscuits and bacon and have also “tie one on!” They like to drink at the end of their third shift. Probably helps them sleep during the daytime (?!) 😀
Now see, I can understand that and it would make sense. But no, no factories around here. Farms. And water. We’re in a small, somewhat rural, historic town. Not historic as in Annapolis or Alexandria where there are a ton of restaurants, pubs and such…we’re very small — a one road in and one road out and one stop light kind of town.