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Murky Coffee - Founder Nick Cho's Terrific, Light-Roasted Coffee Originally on Capitol Hill and in Clarendon - Closed


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Ironically, I'm drinking a cup of Murky coffee as I read through this.

I figured out an effective (albeit expensive) way of making Murky beans compatible with my Cuisinart Grind and Brew. I pour in the beans and grind normally, then interrupt the cycle, pour in some more beans, and begin anew - this has the effect of doubling the number of beans being dripped upon, and produces a cup of proper strength (but still having Murky finesse).

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That's a major loss. Maybe Bread & Chocolate will expand! Or, even better, maybe a Broken Glass Chewing Emporium will open there!

Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing something else besides another coffee shop open up on the Hill for a change, though I admit I'm at a loss to name exactly what--perhaps a decent bar (now that Hine will be shut, obviating the little-kiddies-getting-corrupted-by-devil-rum concerns).

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That's a real shame. This has been a great spot on the hill since before it became Murky (used to be "Stompin Grounds"). The only problems I ever had with them was that they were too popular and often I wouldn't want to wait in long lines.

One of the free papers on my stoop last night said that DC insists they owe about $400K in back taxes, as well. If they are gone, I really hope something else of the same character takes their place. And I really hope they aren't gone.

According to this article in the Post he is also being evicted. I wonder where all the money went.

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"In a nutshell, we've gained a pretty good reputation for our coffee quality. That's the side of the business I've done pretty well at," Cho said. "The financial management side I haven't."

How many brilliant chefs have open restaurants only to fail because they don't understand the financial management side? Finances are the cornerstone of any business, whether it is making coffee or auto parts and to be so blase about it is simply foolish.

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How many brilliant chefs have open restaurants only to fail because they don't understand the financial management side? Finances are the cornerstone of any business, whether it is making coffee or auto parts and to be so blase about it is simply foolish.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Clarendon store might not be long for this world either, if the article's facts are correct. That's a bummer--the decor never makes me want to linger, but damn that coffee is good.

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Unfortunately, it seems that the Clarendon store might not be long for this world either, if the article's facts are correct. That's a bummer--the decor never makes me want to linger, but damn that coffee is good.

I agree-the loss of Murky would be really sad in Clarendon--the only possible upside would be that the horrible block it is on may finally get renovated, though if it is just another bank or CVS, what's the point...

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the decor never makes me want to linger, but damn that coffee is good.

I have never really understood the modern coffeehouse culture, if I wanted to sit somewhere comfortable and enjoy a great cup of coffee I would simply make it at home and hang out with my wife and dogs on a comfortable couch. But I also drink only an occasional cup, and when I do I always do French press so it is easy for me to do. Now if I could find a coffeehouse where the patrons all wore berets and there was some beat poet up on stage twaddling while playing the bongos I might be convinced to stay.

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How many brilliant chefs have open restaurants only to fail because they don't understand the financial management side? Finances are the cornerstone of any business, whether it is making coffee or auto parts and to be so blase about it is simply foolish.

I agree 100%.

One of the very few points of solace for me has been that the "good-at-the-front-of-the-house, bad-at-the-back-at-the-house" thing isn't that uncommon. That said, it's little solace, and certainly no excuse for my foolishness.

The Arlington shop is in no danger. Arlington County and Virginia have both been very easy to work with. The WaPo article mentions some tax liability to Virginia, but it's completely under control. DC would have been under control... except they weren't so easy to work with. (not meant like I'm shirking responsibility... it's just the way it worked out)

I'm working on re-organizing my whole business and putting the right systems and people in place to prevent any such thing from ever happening again.

Anyway, I've very much avoided any public discourse about my predicament anywhere online, but somehow DR.com feels like the one place to engage folks if you have anything for me... both bad or good.

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Anyway, I've very much avoided any public discourse about my predicament anywhere online, but somehow DR.com feels like the one place to engage folks if you have anything for me... both bad or good.

Hey Nick,

I just got home, signed into the website, and this post is the first thing that came up.

My older brother taught me a lot about many things, even though that was never his intent. He lives in Florida, and used to play tennis with a group of guys who met once a week, and really never knew much about each other, except for their love of the game. One of them got into trouble, and my brother lent him - GAVE him - some money to bail him out, never expecting anything in return. This, despite not even really knowing him. I remember our phone conversation, maybe ten years ago - everyone else walked away from the situation, but my brother told me that when a friend is down, that is THE time to step in and help. Not when he's elected Senator, not when he wins the lottery; but when he's in trouble and needs help.

"What if he's guilty?" I asked him (and this was a situation where guilt would mean being completely ostracized by the general community).

"All the more reason to stand by his side," he said.

Nick, I cannot speak for the whole community here, but speaking as Don Rockwell, the person, I'm here if you need anything - I'm really sorry for all this.

Cheers mate,

D.

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As a future small-business owner, I can truly sympathize with what Nick is going through. The intricate balance of craft and commerce is easily upset.

I hope that Nick's Arlington location can subsidize the D.C. location and get it back on it's feet.

The first order of business is to get Murky re-opened, then vote with our dollars. I'll start supporting the Arlington location (close to where I live). Perhaps some restaurants can switch their source to Murky? I don't know what many restaurants use other than Illy (I've seen other types, and even posted about them, but they elude me at the moment).

I've never been to Murky and I don't know Nick, but I must say that he seems to be cast in the George Bailey role in this situation. Time indeed for the community to keep Mr. Potter from swearing out that arrest warrant and save Murky Coffee.

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I 'think' I recall a previous article where it was noted that this would have no impact on the second location as there was no process for DC to recover monies owed from another taxing jurisdiction

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How does this affect the Arlington store? Can the tax office that took over the DC location lay any claim to recoup the missing money?
I 'think' I recall a previous article where it was noted that this would have no impact on the second location as there was no process for DC to recover monies owed from another taxing jurisdiction
Unless Nick's worked out something with DC not to go after the Arlington store, I think DC can still legally go after his assets, of which includes the Arlington store.
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Unless Nick's worked out something with DC not to go after the Arlington store, I think DC can still legally go after his assets, of which includes the Arlington store.

The DC and Arlington store are separate business entities, so unless a judge were to determine that the corporate veil had been pierced, I don't think that the Office of Taxes and Revenue can go after them.

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This blog post about a Murky barista's refusal to make iced espresso amused me.

He continued: “This is our store policy, to preserve the integrity of the coffee. It’s about the quality of the drink, and diluting the espresso is really not cool with us. So I mean, you’re going to do what you’re going to do, and I can’t stop you, but”
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Dickheaded policy.

Absolutely disagree. Kudos to Murky for maintaining their own standards, and for not coalescing to what they envision as the fast-food mentality.

Elevation Burger only serving well-done burgers? THAT'S a dickheaded policy.

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Absolutely disagree. Kudos to Murky for maintaining their own standards, and for not coalescing to what they envision as the fast-food mentality.

Elevation Burger only serving well-done burgers? THAT'S a dickheaded policy.

Bullshit. You can maintain high standards and not be a taste fascist to customers who make requests that can be easily answered. Elevation Burgers only selling well-done burgers is only the flip-side of all those chefs who climb on their high horse when an otherwise perfectly nice human has the temerity to order their beef "medium well." Dickheads one and all. Petty fucking power tripping.

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Like showing up in jeans at Blue Duck Tavern?

You show respect for your hosts and fellow diners when you make the effort to match your attire with your surroundings and the elegance of the occasion. As the Pulitzer Prize-winning and cleavage-discussing Post colmunist Robin Givhan noted on the occasion of a high government official attending a solemn ceremony dressed "in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower" dressing for an occasion is a way of acknowlwedging that it's not all about you. More to the point, a diner's attire and behavior affects the entire dining room, while a sub-rosa compromise involving the temperature of a filet or the disposition of an espresso vis-a-vis ice does not. I once, due to a series of circumstances too boring too relate, had a chance to have a rare lunch out with my wife and without the baby at The Prime Rib. Alas, I was in jeans and sans jacket, contrary to their policy (had I a room upstairs or the time to go home, I would have changed, of course). Before my arrival, Mrs. B spoke to the Maitre d' and he graciously offered me a largish cheap blazer and tucked us unobtrusivley into a corner -- standards maintained, compromise reached and, after a modest recognition of the fine service, a happy ending all around.

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Enjoy your ketchup on the Palena cheeseburger.

"But if I want ketchup, then they'd better accomodate me!"

Whatever.

Practically every bar in Italy serves caffe shakerato (spelling mistake probably) which is an espresso shaken over cracked ice. Iced espresso. No coffee gods are offended.
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Enjoy your ketchup on the Palena cheeseburger.

"But if I want ketchup, then they'd better accomodate me!"

Whatever.

Dude, I asked Palena for ketchup for my fried root things, and they were perfectly cool with it. Hell, when I worked at Le Pavillion, we kept a bottle of Heinz in the back, just in case. Reasonable people don't pound their fists or draw arbitrary lines in the sand, they ask nicely and accomodate graciously. And I didn't notice Palena going all to hell and being taken over by ill-rdessed riff-raff because I wasn't in the mood for the meyer lemon rind house-made mayo or or whatever came with the exotic tubers that night.

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Bullshit. You can maintain high standards and not be a taste fascist to customers who make requests that can be easily answered. Elevation Burgers only selling well-done burgers is only the flip-side of all those chefs who climb on their high horse when an otherwise perfectly nice human has the temerity to order their beef "medium well." Dickheads one and all. Petty fucking power tripping.

I think there is nothing wrong with Cho running his business however he wants, but he can hardly expect community support, or bemoan the masses as uneducated *$ drinkers, when he is so un-customer-friendly.

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but an iced espresso is an abomination unto the coffee gods.
Espresso itself was probably thought of as an abomination to the coffee Gods at the time of its invention. It was a quick and dirty way to make coffee so some dude could cut the length of employees breaks. Then around the turn of the century I'll bet some dude asked some 1900's era barista for some steamed milk with his espresso and the barista shouted "SACRILEGE!" as the customer dumped the espresso into the coffee.

(I did get the sarcasm Heather I just quoted you because it was a good lead in to what I wanted to say)

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Actually, in fairness, he expands a bit in the comments section. The "Ghetto Latte" bit is the only valid reason I can see for the policy.
Yeah once I read that part I sort of agree. I forgot about seeing people do this in starbucks before. I guess the only solution is maybe to give it to them in one of those small plastic cups like you get at the dentist to rinse. That way there is no room to add copious amounts of milk.

Also, does anyone else find this kind of humorous?

No sleeping in the shop. If you're asleep, you'll be tapped on the shoulder and asked not to sleep in the shop. We've had to ban a customer because of his chronic napping.

I mean it is a COFFEE shop. I would just sneak over while he is out and dump a few shots of espresso down his gullet and when he jumps up just yell, "HA! Let's see you take a nap now jerk!" I don't know why I just thought it was kind of funny that the guy is taking naps 10 feet away from all the caffeine he could drink.

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Yeah once I read that part I sort of agree. I forgot about seeing people do this in starbucks before. I guess the only solution is maybe to give it to them in one of those small plastic cups like you get at the dentist to rinse. That way there is no room to add copious amounts of milk.

Also, does anyone else find this kind of humorous?

I mean it is a COFFEE shop. I would just sneak over while he is out and dump a few shots of espresso down his gullet and when he jumps up just yell, "HA! Let's see you take a nap now jerk!" I don't know why I just thought it was kind of funny that the guy is taking naps 10 feet away from all the caffeine he could drink.

I assumed this is some sort of vague reference to a problem with homeless in the store (there are a few in Clarendon) and an allusion to the contraversy over the Tenly *$ not serving homeless people, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

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I assumed this is some sort of vague reference to a problem with homeless in the store (there are a few in Clarendon) and an allusion to the contraversy over the Tenly *$ not serving homeless people, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

I am pretty sure I know who they are talking about. I am not sure if he was homeless, but he used to be there every morning. Sometimes awake and reading, but most of the time he was asleep and snoring pretty loud. I have not seen him in awhile, so maybe he was asked to leave.

Also, I frequent Murky every morning before I come to work. I still think they make the best coffee around, although there has always been this issue of customer service. I for one have never had a service issue there, hoewver, I can see how others may find some of the baristas off-putting. If you are used to the warm, bubbly service and speed of a Starbucks, do not expect that at Murky. If you want a great cup of cofee, well...

I think Nick has every right to respond in the way he did. It's his store, he should be able to implement any policy he so desires. Ifyou don't like the policy, then go to another coffee shop that is more accomodating, it is just that simple. After many years in the restaurant/service industry, I can certainly agree with him that the customer is not always right.

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I think Nick has every right to respond in the way he did. It's his store, he should be able to implement any policy he so desires.

[if this is the case, could you all PLEASE respect my policy and stop triple-spacing? I just went in and un-triple-spaced about 8 of the previous 9 posts.

I have my reasons.

No questions allowed.

Sorry for my crappy handwriting.

Thank you,

Chick No.]

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I don't drink coffee, never really have, likely never will. But, I am telling you one thing, if I did, my guess is that I wouldn't be going to Murky Coffee to do so. Listen, there are two sides, or more, to every story, so none of us know the whole truth. But, I can tell you that I don't appreciate an owner of a business putting that type of letter on the front of his website. Was the blogger being a pain in the ass? Likely, but part of owning a business is being above the fray and being more professional than the other dummies that are out there. Sometimes you have to just swallow it and be the bigger man, but you have to do it.

And, by the way, I never understood how people talk about bad or brusk or whatever-you-want-to-call-it service being "part of the ambiance" of a place, that is total bullshit, you are in the service industry for crying out loud.

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I don't drink coffee, never really have, likely never will. But, I am telling you one thing, if I did, my guess is that I wouldn't be going to Murky Coffee to do so. Listen, there are two sides, or more, to every story, so none of us know the whole truth. But, I can tell you that I don't appreciate an owner of a business putting that type of letter on the front of his website. Was the blogger being a pain in the ass? Likely, but part of owning a business is being above the fray and being more professional than the other dummies that are out there. Sometimes you have to just swallow it and be the bigger man, but you have to do it.

And, by the way, I never understood how people talk about bad or brusk or whatever-you-want-to-call-it service being "part of the ambiance" of a place, that is total bullshit, you are in the service industry for crying out loud.

I agree, this never should have gone so far (with the dick-punching, name-calling, blog-posting, etc...), however, all he was doing is defending his establishment and employees. This whole thing started with a blog post, so therefore he should have every right to tell his side of the story. I understand it is the service industry, but it doesn't give the customer the right to bad mouth an establishment and have the owner of said establishment sit there and take it. All he is trying to do is sell coffee they way he wants/intends to sell it. I don't think he is trying to be a role model for customer service. Yes, it may be the eventual downfall of his business, then so be it.

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Reply, yes, reply in that way, no. If the blogger is going to be an ass, which he was, the owner of the business shouldn't try to one-up him and be a bigger ass, which he was. There was a way for the owner to respond in a more professional manner, that is what he should have done, maybe I didn't make that clear in my response, that is what I was getting at.

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Reply, yes, reply in that way, no. If the blogger is going to be an ass, which he was, the owner of the business shouldn't try to one-up him and be a bigger ass, which he was. There was a way for the owner to respond in a more professional manner, that is what he should have done, maybe I didn't make that clear in my response, that is what I was getting at.

I don't know. This is a privately owned coffee shop, and I don't see any sign of discriminatory practices here. If they don't want to sell iced espresso, whatever the reason, that's their right. If the owner wants to snarkily respond to an asshat customer, I don't really have a dog in that fight. That said, is the standard response to not getting what you at a coffee shop to throw a tantrum and then blog about it? Whatever happened to just saying that you would be taking your business elsewhere?

I like their espresso, and have never had any problem with their baristas whatsoever. I will happily continue to go to Murky until they go out of business, piss me off in some way, or I develop stomach ulcers from too much coffee...

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Reply, yes, reply in that way, no. If the blogger is going to be an ass, which he was, the owner of the business shouldn't try to one-up him and be a bigger ass, which he was. There was a way for the owner to respond in a more professional manner, that is what he should have done, maybe I didn't make that clear in my response, that is what I was getting at.

I agree. There are more tactful ways to get your point across. I understand that Nick is passionate about his product and I commend him for that. They try their best not to cut corners at Murky and I do think they brew a fine cup. However, in this instance, that passion has gotten in the way of common sense. A sparring battle over the internet is probably not so good for PR.

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Hey all. Had a feeling there'd be some posts over here today. :lol:

Simply put, I will support my staff. Obviously I was over-the-top in my post on my website, but what's done is done.

FYI, "ghetto latte" isn't adding a little milk or cream to coffee or an americano... it's when a customer tries to take advantage of the condiment bar and "save" the $$-difference between an iced latte and an "iced espresso" by dumping 8-16 ounces of milk into their cup from the condiment bar. I have no problem with anything under about 4-6 ounces... that's adding dairy. There's a difference between that and someone who's trying to take advantage of a perceived loophole.

We try to deliver great customer service, and with a friendly face. We've had "grouchy" baristas in the past, but I think our crew right now is as friendly as we've ever had. That said, reacting poorly to being told about what we don't offer (note: there's a sign on the register that clearly says what isn't offered), especially leaving a vulgar message on a tip/dollar, and I might react poorly, especially in support of my staff.

All in all, I've gotten a heck of a lot of hate mail in the past 24 hours, and a good amount of support as well. No matter. Such is the interweb.

FYI, attaching race to the term "ghetto" is a mistake, and flies in the face of the origins and history of the word.

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I agree. There are more tactful ways to get your point across. I understand that Nick is passionate about his product and I commend him for that. They try their best not to cut corners at Murky and I do think they brew a fine cup. However, in this instance, that passion has gotten in the way of common sense. A sparring battle over the internet is probably not so good for PR.

Probably true, but I found Nick Cho's response to be rather hilarious. Threats of "dick punching" always make me laugh. Indeed, I am laughing again as I type this. :lol:

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