Full disclosure – I work at GATHERING GROUNDS. It’s a great place and I stand by it. The comment preceeding this one is refering to Sweet Java Brown – which closed in June, 2006 and reopend as Gathering Grounds. We have decent hours: M-F 7am-8pm, Sat 8am-8pm, Sun. 8am-4pm. Honestly, if people in the neighborhood would come by more often in the evenings, we would be open later, but right now they don’t. Our hours will change when the traffic changes, so don’t fear!

The review is odd…it sounds like this person just has some hang-ups in general, not necessarily things that relate to Gathering Grounds. We do NOT charge extra for soy (though most places do in Atlanta) and there are regulars, but they’re definitely not loud. We do have a decorative metal piece that’s on the wall, but nobody has lost an ear and it’s really not in the way. Goodness!

We’ve started to have some acoustic music nights and we’re sponsoring neighborhood gatherings, so come check us out and see for yourself that this coffee shop is friendly, comfortable and NOT harmful to your ears!

Please visit http://www.gatheringgroundskirkwood.com for more information and visit our blog at gatheringgrounds.blogspot.com

This is a negative review. As noted in the Jupiter Coffee review, it is rather a trek to take a coffee on foot in my neighbourhood, so when I get the chance it is a celebration, a coffee adventure. So, after checking the hours of Sweet Java Brown, and finding that they would be open until 10pm on Saturday evening, we felt assured that making the 2.7 mile walk to the shop would culminate in a pleasant sit and sip.

The walk was wonderful, it was an overcast Saturday late afternoon, folks were on their porches and stoops to say good evening, and front yard gardens in Kirkwood were in bloom. Lwat81 sang “sweet java brown” to the tune of ‘Sweet Caroline’ while I sang to the tune of ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’ We chatted about predator/prey dependencies and the types of flowers and plants we were seeing. As we entered the Kirkwood downtown we walked along storefronts, most darkened, reflective. Finally we came to Sweet Java Brown, it was darkened, the windows reflecting the grey skies, and the sprouting anger on my face. The shop had posted their ’spring hours’ on the door.

They closed at 3pm on Saturday. I won’t even get into they fatalistic outlook they must have if they cannot stay open past 3 on a weekend, or the blase freedom they feel that is due them as business owners that they could just close at 3, or the icy curse that I layed upon them for not changing the hours on their webpage. It was utter disappointment, and regardless of their reasoning, I think it is both inconsiderate and a bad business move to carry these hours. They either will not stay in business this way, and for that I am sorry, or if they do stay in business it will not be through customer fanaticism but through the financial backing they most surely would have to have in order to be so lazy. I am prone to offer second chances, and if I happen to be in the vicinity again I will visit and produce a proper review, bumping this into the comment section, but I am in no hurry. Thanks to Aces Bar&Grill next door for hooking us beleaguered travelers up with some chips and fresh salsa, and making our voyage a mild success.