Vic’s

I walked in, turned around, and walked out. Unfortunately this has been my experience the last several times so I won’t ever be back. They are consistently out of bakery items by eight or 9 AM. Which is ludicrous. Say what you will about Starbucks, but they understand inventory. Starbucks is never out of anything, they’re able to move the line with lightning speed, and they don’t charge for ice water. I won’t be back

are we talking about vics on 28^th st? because if so then i find the comment about enjoy people watching in the outdoor seating to be ridiculous. the only thing that can be seen from that outdoor seating location is the horrible traffic on 30^th st, the rude yuppies in their ridiculously wasteful vehicles as they pull right up to the curb. not to mention smelling their exhaust, and being right there in the super hot sun. i dont even think the umbrellas work very well. but the worst thing about that coffee shop, now that i’m on a roll, is the clientelle. i can’t even walk within ten feet of the place without having some condescending yuppie glare at me as if they dont approve of my clothing or attitude or simply my presence. 99 percent of the people i have seen their are wearing pant suits, or something similarlly confining, and the worst part is walking inside. everyone looks at you. it’s like everyone is there to be busy bodies and gossip inside to themselves (and to each other secretly with winks or other minute body language gestures) about the person who just walked in who is not up to par. the coffee is good, if average in price. and the trees on the edge of the parking lot are pretty and offer a bit of shade, but you have to walk across the parking lot and risk becoming roadkill at the hands of a yuppie in a humvee in the process. there is air conditioning inside too, which is adequate, but then again, being inside that place, unless youre dressed like James Bond, forced everyone to witness your steping out of a 40 K plus vehicle in the parking lot outside, and have no care for the good of the world and the equality of all people (basically if you are a cold hearted loser and worth less than nothing), than every moment of being inside that place will be a nightmare. So unless you fit the previosly described criteria, (god forbid and i pity you) then my review for vics coffee on 28^th is, if you can’t find another place to get coffee of that quality (which is not bad), and you cannot brew something to your liking at home, then Vics Coffee on 28^th st boulder will be suitable for a walk in coffee pickup, as long as you can stand being in that hellhole for the minute or two that it takes to make your purchase and get out the door. Note– i apologize if this review is not posted for the 28^th st location, as i have never been to the other location in boulder and have no idea if it is as bad or even similar. So if that is the case, please bear with me until i transfer this article to the other site. coffee shop rating in summary: 0 stars out of five. Quality coffee but possibly the worst clientelle and environment and outdoor seating of any coffee shop i have ever visited. thanks for reading. look to me for your future reviews!

I’ve just been reading the reviews. Oddly, my experiences with Vic’s have been dissatisfactory lately, yet in a way that is dissimilar to many of the one star reviews here on Unilocal.
i have been a customer from the beginning. There was a time when Vic’s was the closest espresso café to my home. I had pretty much always enjoyed Vic’s on Broadway. Love the art shows that change monthly, the music on Sundays, and the décor.
The owner who so many have mentioned being rude has always been nice to me. Always.
That’s one way my experience differs.
However when I go to Vic’s these days is usually on weekends, for the last hour or so before closing time. The owner is not there then.
Lately there seem to be different (perhaps new?) employees. Today I got there at 3:45 pm. The place closes at 6. One of the employees was taking down the umbrellas from the tables out front, during the time when the sun was beating down on the front of Vic’s is brightest and hottest. Why do that? Why not wait until closer to closing time? And then she stacked up all the chairs from the tables in the front. All stacked up and cleared up by 4pm. People who wanted to sit outside had to pull a chair from a stack and sit in the bright late afternoon sun. They didn’t seem to mind, but this is a new thing on the weekend. The tables used to remain out there with their chairs and umbrellas until much later. Also, the umbrellas do a good job of blocking the bright sunlight from coming inside the window into the front room. It’s a lot easier to work on the computer there when there’s something blocking the western sun in the late afternoon.
All of this, although it did not really directly affect me, was bothersome. The rudeness of the barista did directly affect me and was rather disturbing. She asked if I wanted a small, medium, or large iced tea. But according to the board above her head, there are 4 sizes of iced teas. so it was unclear which of the two middle sizes are medium. When I asked for clarity with that she acted like I was the most stupid person on earth. I just have a really low budget at the end of the month and wanted to know how much a 12 ounce iced tea would cost. How difficult is that? I suggested that they change their board if there are only 3 sizes of iced tea. She just kept saying «I’m telling you what we have.» And I was explaining why the board made it confusing. Why not change the board to reflect what is actually offered? Geez!
This is it for me. It was the last straw in a series of declining experiences, some not detailed above. I am not a masochist and I will not patronize a business that does not seem to value their loyal customers very much.
So, my dear Vic’s, thanks for the memories…

Slow service.
I mean, slow slow slow.
They have heat from the cold, but you’ll
Get terrible service.
If there is a line of more than 2, you might not have time to wait.

This place sucks. The baristas are always rude, the owner works at the north Broadway location and after I purchased 40.00 worth of fancy coffee drinks he had the nerve to tell me I needed to wait at the counter for the drinks, rather than coming back for them. This was after I waited for him to finish up a 10 minute long conversation with the customer before me in line who was middle aged, boring and unaware of the line behind him and the owner didn’t seem aware of the other customers either. Don’t go to Vic’s it’s the worst café in Boulder!

The absolute worst experience we have ever had at any kind of café in the world. Ever. If you want to see the meaning of bad business head out here in the middle of the day and use your computer and you’ll instantly draw the attention of the establishment’s miserable owner, Vic. He has some major issue with proper usage of his electrical outlets, stating with determined defiance at his patrons that this is not an Internet café. Here, you can enjoy, as we did, being yelled at by an overweight elderly white Boulder dude, who will oh so rudely reassure you that his gruff dismissal of your presence is not, in any way, discrimination, because he is the owner. And as Vic loudly says in your face, when asked why we are not given the privilege of using his outlet as a paying customer, «I don’t have to tell you why.»

The other day my 2yr old son and I met a friend for coffee at Vic’s. It was 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon and virtually no one was inside and very few people sitting outside the coffee shop. My son was bored so he had taken one of the Vic’s plastic chairs and was pushing it around and had left it in the walkway for a moment to come back to the table to get something from me. Next thing I know, a tall blonde woman walks out the coffee shop, asks the woman sitting at a table next to us if she was using the chair, she says «no», and the tall blonde woman proceeds to take the chair and stack it upon the many other chairs that were sitting next to the door front. It seemed so unnecessary. In most occasions, I probably would have said something yet in this case, I am deciding to not go back… Obviously not a kid friendly place.

7am on a Tuesday and the place was nearly empty, then I found out why. Wifi is not available ’til 11am. What the … ?? I’ll be spending my money and time elsewhere, what a joke.

If his mission is to open a coffee shop for every trumpet player that played with Bird, he’s still got Red Rodney, Kenny Dorham, Howard McGhee and Chet Baker to go.
Sorry, I forgot Fats Navarro.

If this place wasn’t so close to my house I probably wouldn’t have ever come here. The manager, an older plump man with grey hair, or the only person I can assume to be the manager has always been very «soup nazi» like, as others have said in their review. He seems to seek out those trying to do work and ruin their day by saying condescending things in a manner that could infuriate even the late Mother Teressa. I’m only writing this because this is the 3^rd time he’s ruined an otherwise pleasant coffee shop experience for me. I just don’t understand being rude to your customers. I’m sorry I had to run my computer cord around the table, but you only have one outlet in the entire back seating area … pretty smart decision on your part.
The coffee isn’t as overpriced as some have suggested, which is why I kept coming back. However, it still is just okay. But after today, I won’t ever be coming back here again. I suggest you spend your money somewhere else. People who run a business with the attitude of «the customer doesn’t know anything» should not be kept in business.
Go to The Cup on Pearl, or Laughing Goat. Avoid this place like the plague.

Thought I’d try a new place for coffee as I’ve been frequenting the Ideal Market strip for some time but had not tried Vic’s. Ordering a coffee is much like being on the Wall Street trading floor, there is a large counter with seemingly no line, but a crushing mass of people yelling their orders to «baristas» who place unmarked cups on the counter. It’s unclear which is yours and paying for a single coffee was a frustrating ordeal.
Coffee was overpriced, but hey, that’s Boulder. I’m fine with paying a little more for good coffee, but Vic’s coffee was tepid, weak and bitter. Much like the coffee you’d find at 2am at a roadside diner in Pennsylvania.
The best part is that in the morning, Vic’s doesn’t turn on the wifi until 11am! Apparently they don’t want people buying things, and getting work done. Sitting there with my terrible coffee and no wifi, my rage built and built until I exploded and died.
My ghost will never go back to Vic’s.

In my search for a decent daily «coffice» I had high hopes when I walked into this Vic’s today (good location, lots of seating, free parking). Alas, it looks like this will not become my regular place. The baristas were ok, and the tea selection is decent, but the lighting in the back sucks and there are about two outlets in the whole place. On top of that, some old guy was rather rude about asking me to take my feet off the chairs, (I mean, come on dude, I get it, but they’re vinyl and it wouldn’t have been hard to ask that nicely, rather than barking orders at your patrons).
Ultimately, grumpy old dude, you are be the reason I won’t be coming back. No one needs to spend $ 2 for a tea bag only to be barked at, and there are quite a lot of other places where I can also pay $ 60 a month and for tea leaves and wifi that don’t come with your grumpiness. Just think, that’s comment just cost you nearly $ 800 this year. Sounds like a bad business plan if you ask me.

I have been coming to Vic’s for years, all their locations and including the failed ones (we saw those coming). The coffee is fine. The staff attitude is measured friendliness. The owner attitude is awful. He seems to resent people who bring their computers into Vic’s Holy Ground, forgetting that Mac-​toting customers are the underpinnings for today’s coffee scene. I’m in Vic’s on a Sunday morning at 6:15 trying to get an Internet connection being told that no WiFi until 11:00 AM. What? Oh, and there’s nobody else here. I asked one staff person about this and he said «the owner wants it to be like it was 20 years ago.» Alrighty, then.
There are always Ozo (better coffee anyway), Boxcar, Trident, Amante and others, all of whom have great coffee, welcome people needing Wifi. So hurry to one of those before they go out of business as a result of too many people with computers.

Neighborhood favorite that’s gone downhill. What kind of a coffee shop doesn’t turn their WiFi on until 11 A.M. «It’s on a timer»? The coffee is good but the shop is dark and the layout is awkward. Staff are pretty friendly. I am guessing management has a bug up their nose.

I put up with the prices because the shop is within walking distance of my apartment and is a quiet place to study.
However, today I witnessed a man, who identified himself as the owner, being aggressive and rude to a customer — not cool.
I’ll be taking my business elsewhere from now on.

Overpriced coffee. Uninspired interior. Owner is insanely rude in a way that is not even vaguely amusing. I think he spends his days sitting around the café, waiting to ruin people’s day. The baristas are nice– only redeeming quality of this shoddy, overpriced place.
Give your money to someone who isn’t a raging hemorrhoid. Two rotten thumbs down.

Vic’s used to be a staple when I lived in North Boulder, so when I found myself with a little extra time this week after dropping the kiddos at summer camp, I decided to relive my «youth» with a bagel from Moe’s and a latte at Vic’s. The bagel from Moe’s was just about what I remembered, but Vic’s seems to have lost its «edge».
While the management at Vic’s has never had a reputation for friendliness (think Seinfeld’s «Soup Nazi» episode), I think they’ve taken a couple steps in the wrong direction.
Let’s face it, people hang out at coffee shops to sip their joe and surf the web (otherwise known as «working»). But apparently that is no-​no at Vic’s now, at least not until 11 am. Big deal? Probably not in the grand scheme of things — maybe we should all spend less time on our electronic devices and more time journaling, engaging in philosophical conversations with our fellow java-​philes, and reading actual printed newspapers. But I couldn’t help but notice that no one at Vic’s was actually doing any of these things. In fact there was practically no one AT Vic’s! Granted… it’s a single data point, but to have only 5 or 10 tables occupied during what is arguably the busiest time of day for a coffee shop does not bode well.
Oh…and they may not have noticed this yet, but they could do a lot better than Allegro coffee — or maybe they could simply prepare it more carefully. Burnt and bitter really does’t cut it for me.

I have been here one time and will never go back. Here’s why.
I went to Vic’s to do some work/​reading one afternoon and ordered an Americano. It was fine. I was on my laptop near the back of the café and because my battery was shot I had it plugged in. There was very minimal foot traffic in that area of the store because it was about 2:30 PM, well outside of peak hours. I received a phone call, and while I was unobtrusively talking on the phone, a man came up without identifying himself and ordered me to unplug or move my computer because the cord was in the «thoroughfare.» He promptly walked off without my responding. When my call ended I went back to what I was doing because I did not think the computer cord posed a realistic trip hazard and the guy had not identified himself so I had no reason to react to someone who was at best mildly rude.
About ten minutes later, the same guy came back in a huff and (once again, without identifying himself) basically harangued me for not moving or unplugging my computer. There was a couple who had just arrived sitting at by the wall who also had their laptop plugged in, although the cord was not in a thoroughfare. Nevertheless, he scolded them like they were fourth graders for having their cord in a «thoroughfare» even though they were two feet from the wall and weren’t positioned where anyone would need to walk between them and the wall to get anywhere else in the café. They were a bit flustered by his abrasiveness, but politely nodded and unplugged their computer.
I looked at him and asked «Who are you? Are you even a manager here?» and he said «I am the owner. Do you want to pay my insurance? I asked you to remove your cord from the thoroughfare ten minutes ago…» and went on for a while. I told him I was never coming back to his restaurant, and I never will.

I like this coffee shop. Haven’t experienced the nasty owner… Did see the signs in the past that say no WiFi till 11am. I assumed that was because they are so busy that until then they don’t have space. Last time I was here I noticed that the signs are taken down, so maybe the rule has changed. I always like the Cambrik’s here. Yummy. However it is a heavily used coffee shop so it appears that way. Its less ‘eclectic’ and more functional. I do like the flower arrangements they have on the counter everyday. That warms things up a bit… However, I don’t get a warm, cozy, clean feeling while I’m there so I’m offering them 3 out of 5 stars for that reason.

I like this place. It’s got some strong positives for me:
— bakhti chai — the spicy gingery kind
— sugar cookies
— quick and nice baristas
Not sure about the WIFI situation or the coffee (don’t drink the stuff often enough, sorry), but overall the shop is nice.