Keep It Simple

When we opened Taproom in the spring of 2014, the menu board was a $10 piece of plywood that we put some chalkboard paint on and threw together in half an hour so that we could have something on the wall when we opened. It was the stereotypical coffee shop chalk menu - filled with drink names, descriptions and prices all laid out in a grid.

Coffee customers usually know exactly what they want and the general ballpark of how much their drink costs, even if it's their first visit to a shop. We found out over time that it actually doesn't matter too much what's specifically written on that coffee menu board - people end up ordering what's on their mind anyway, or they end up asking the same questions regardless of whether or not the board already provided that information. A huge, detailed menu board, then, only serves to confuse or bog down the barista/customer interaction rather than make it more efficient. 

So we got rid of our clunky menu board. We narrowed down a list of the top items that we do best and that most people order, and we chose to highlight those items with individual menu tags. The local artists of Maplanta helped us produce the clean and simple laser-cut wood boards.

Now, when you walk in for the first time or the 50th time, the new slimmed-down menu will either quickly direct you to a delicious drink that we do well, or will nudge you towards a Taproom barista for more info - and they'll gladly walk you through what we have to offer and can answer any question you may have. 

And the pricing? We made that more simple too: We made slight price adjustments to the most frequently-ordered items, and now the final amount after taxes ends in a nice number rounded to the nearest quarter. That means we don't have to spend time dealing with dimes, nickels, or pennies in cash transactions. It also means that we no longer say, "That'll be $4.02," and then you either go digging around your wallet for a couple pennies or we load you down with eight more coins in change.

These little changes hopefully brighten the shop and help to improve every experience at Taproom. We always strive to consistently deliver quality drinks with quality customer service. If you ever have a suggestion, comment, or concern, please don't hesitate to contact us. I'll likely personally respond to your messages!

-Jonathan