Learn Love Live Cafe & Espresso Bar

It was very hard to find any information online about Le Lo Li– they have no facebook page, no website etc. Once I finally located a phone number I called to inquire about their menu. I was greeted by an automated message about an Insurance Company.
I decided to search for the place using Google maps. Even then, it was hard to locate LeLoLi– which was tucked away in a small shopping center off of 113. To make things more awkward, the café not only shares a phone number with an insurance company, they share a physical retail space with them. The shop is split ⁵⁰⁄₅₀.
When I went inside, the place was empty, very quiet. Nobody was at the counter. I stood around looking for a menu but couldn’t find one– only a feel specials boards. A man finally came out and greeted me.
I was craving smoothies and so I asked if they made any. The man nodded and showed me their print menu. But when I asked questions about the smoothies he simply shrugged, looked around the counter and began reading from a label. I then realized that they didn’t offer fresh fruit smoothies but the kind from a liquid mix. Which is fine… but not what I was hoping for.
I realize not every coffee shop or café offers smoothies. The reason I’m offering a one star review is because the place seemed apathetic– they weren’t very interested in answering my questions, offering me an alternative, they didn’t know their own products and the atmosphere screamed «business» not «café.»
Not likely to return

This is one of the few coffee shops in Milford, as the area leaves a lot to be desired. Having been to this shop a couple times while visiting family in the area, I must say this shop offers something unique for all people. I strayed away from coffee for many years simply because I thought the taste was too strong. Out of curiosity, I decided to try it one day and steer away from the normal route of hot chocolate that I usually take. First off, the girl working the counter was absolutely welcoming. She suggested several beverages and even offered to exchange it for something else if I didn’t like it. Their selection of pastries and snacks are enough to satisfy even the pickiest of palates. I give this coffee shop nothing but glowing recommendations.

I really liked this shop, and said so in my previous 5 star review back in January. Then, last week, a user by the name of Ennio N. left me a compliment offering me a gift certificate to Leloli as a thank you for my review if I would send my mailing address to their gmail address. Uh oh. Red flag. Especially since this user’s profile said they were located in Los Angeles. So I clicked through to see his profile, and saw that there were FIVE five star reviews of Leloli Café there, along with another review of a different coffee shop in the area putting that shop down and saying that Leloli was better. All of them were written in a way that made it appear that they were from random objective customers, not from a business owner, but for the unique name that clued the observant onlooker that things were not as they seemed. WTF?
So I messaged back and called him on it. He sent me back a long weird message trashing yet another coffee shop in the area and saying he’d edit his reviews because he didn’t want other people to judge him like I did because of them, and offering to leave me a gift certificate at the shop. And then another shorter equally weird message even though I hadn’t responded.
I stopped by the shop on Monday morning to confirm that this person Ennio N. was indeed associated with the shop and wasn’t just some overzealous fan acting on their behalf. I’m not sure what it takes to claim a business here on Unilocal,or how easy it would be for someone who didn’t actually own the business to do so, and I really had difficulty reconciling this awesome coffee shop I’d been visiting semi regularly for several months with this person’s activity here on Unilocal.Alas, the gal behind the counter did confirm that he was the owner of the shop.
He has since changed his name here to Leo «DON’T JUDGE ME» M. and the name of the LeLoLi manager in their Unilocal profile to Jake L., but they were both Ennio N. when he initially contacted me.
The coffee shop itself is probably still awesome. Everyone I have ever encountered in the shop has been nothing but pleasant, friendly, and professional. The coffee and cinnamon rolls are awesome. But I will not be back because I refuse to condone this kind of behavior by supporting it with my money. I messaged him back and told him I didn’t want his free gift certificate.
*Edited to add: I’m a big fan of local independent businesses, especially coffee shops. I really hate to give a one star review to one. I wish they’d just focused on being awesome and letting people notice that, instead of being dishonest about themselves and trashing their competitors.