Sunny Beaches S.
Yelp
We live nearby and visit the Barlow several times a month, sometimes while on a walk, sometimes for a meal and often make a morning stop for coffee and a pastry. When we were there this morning we picked up coffee and croissants from Sarmentine-always good, though the coffee has gotten weaker the last 3 times we've stopped by. This morning we sat outside in the normally lovely sitting area between The Farmer's Wife and Kosho Sushi and today the area seemed very in need of some sprucing up, the stone patio was full of grease spots, there were dirty napkins under several tables, some of the tabletops needed cleaning, and there were bits and pieces of what seemed to be food on the ground -obviously all there since yesterday as restaurants were just opening for the day. One of the umbrellas was broken and some of the Barlow maintenance crew were there to fix it, as they finished with that umbrella, they came to work on the one right next to our table-they didn't say a word to us just went to work right where we were sitting. We had to move and at that point left the area; the workers still did not acknowledge us or apologize or even explain their need to work where we were sitting. It is also very disconcerting for all the food purveyors in that area to have to go in and out of their restaurant front-(only?) doors with the food and items they need to run a business. Today as we drank our coffee we watched one of the purveyors carrying out a big plastic bag of soiled napkins, rags, and towels, other workers constantly push loaded carts through the sitting areas filled what their restaurants' needs-vegetables, beverages, meats, take out containers, cleaning materials etc. Also when we used the restrooms near the Cider place my husband and I both noticed the bathrooms needed cleaning-the women's restroom floor was quite dirty and in need of a good scrubbing. Not sure if management has changed for the Barlow but it seems to me that to continue to draw customers a closer look might need to be taken at cleanliness, upkeep, supervision, and space configuration issues.