Cassius Clay
Google
I stopped by Sable while exploring Wynwood. The concept immediately caught my eye: bagels, coffee and records? As a coffee enthusiast and musician who collects vinyl, I was excited to check it out.
The space itself has a cool, tiny, retro diner feel. I didn’t know the setup, but I figured I’d try something simple. A cappuccino and an everything bagel with cream cheese, toasted. They were out of everything bagels, so I went with sesame instead. I let the cashier know it was my first time there, and she was friendly and gave me a number so they could bring my order out.
After about 10 minutes, they brought out my bagel, which looked great. But I noticed my cappuccino hadn’t come yet. I waited another few minutes and finally asked someone if I was supposed to pick it up at the counter or brought out. She kindly said she’d take care of it. Another 10 minutes later, my cappuccino finally arrived.
The only problem by then, my toasted bagel had gone cold. I politely asked if they could reheat it slightly, nothing crazy. Just to bring back some warmth. They said yes and then I waited again. At this point I was well past 25 minutes into what should’ve been a quick bite and I had to leave. So I walked up and very respectfully to the register and asked for a refund. I explained that I didn’t have time to wait any longer and made it clear I wasn’t upset.
That’s when the vibe shifted. One of the kitchen staff came out with the warmed up bagel just as I was requesting the refund. He looked at me, looked at the cashier, said something in Spanish, then turned to me and asked with attitude, “You’re not gonna eat this?” before rolling his eyes and walking off. That felt unnecessary after such a patient experience on my end.
To make things more awkward, they couldn’t process the refund without the manager. Who had to be called in from elsewhere. When he showed up, I tried to explain politely what happened, but the man cut me off mid-sentence with, “The coffee and the bagel never come out at the same time.” I told him I understood and this was just my first time there. I didn’t know the process. Once he saw I wasn’t trying to argue, he nodded and had the refund processed.
In the end, I left with no coffee, no bagel, and a weird feeling about the whole exchange. The service experience left me feeling unwelcome and for a first-time guest, that was disappointing.
Wynwood is full of great spots and I wanted this to be one of them. Hopefully, with better communication and a little more patience on their end, others can have the experience I was hoping for.
