Bluestone Lane - New Jersey-Based, Australian-Inspired, Coffee Chain with Several Locations in DC

[Tweaked]

Bluestone Lane is the latest coffee chain to move into the DC market.  They have coffee shops in Georgetown, S. Dupont, and a cafe in the West End.

Apparently they have received an infusion of investor cash and are looking to expand to 100 locations in the next three years.  They currently have 30 locations in NY, NJ, PA, CA and DC.

I walked into the Dupont location for an afternoon cuppa.  Nice airy store on 18th (even though the address is Connecticut Ave).

I ordered a cup of their drip coffee and pulled out my wallet to pay, reached for a $5 bill and the cashier said:  "sorry we are a cashless store."  I responded:  "what about the unbanked who don't have access to adequate banking?"  She kinda tilted her head like I was insane, smiled, and said: "most people have banks."  I said: "actually, there are millions of people in America who are unbanked."  She kinda smiled again and turned away.  First time customer, last time customer.

But Tweaked, you ask, how was the coffee.  mmm, their drip (which was freshly brewed, I had to wait a minute or two) was basically Starbucks level drip.  Mediocre at best. 

Actually it kinda tastes like the coffee they have in urns at the grill at Hanes Point Golf Course.

[StarStraf]

So Blue Blood coffee

[DaveO]

On 11/13/2018 at 2:55 PM, Tweaked said:

Actually it kinda tastes like the coffee they have in urns at the grill at Hanes Point Golf Course.

Oh my.  My recollection is that the beer at Haines Point always tasted spot on, especially during work hours.  I had no idea they served coffee.

[Tweaked]

2 minutes ago, DaveO said:

Oh my.  My recollection is that the beer at Haines Point always tasted spot on, especially during work hours.  I had no idea they served coffee.

"served coffee" = two big plastic coffee urns sitting on a counter.  I mean, it's not great coffee, but it hits the spot during an early morning round.   

[jondagle]

I will set aside the "banked" issue, and address the food/beverages. I was excited to drive by BL's "West End" location on a recent business trip into DC. My wife and I visited a location in Hoboken last year. It was a "café" location vs "coffee shop" per their web site. We had no prior knowledge of Bluestone, and no idea the were "Australian" inspired.

The food was great--one of us got an avocado toast (yes, it's everywhere, but it seemed, in fact, quite good). The other thing I don't recall. We had a cappuccino or cortado. That was fine. On par with "good" coffee locations in DC; perhaps not with the "best". I don't recall whether we had coffee or not. 

Overall, our experience was rather good. This wouldn't be the first time something was ruined by "cash inflow". The report of the poor coffee is sad and unfortunate. I'll have to give it a try, but it's been knocked down from my "soon" list.

[squidsdc]

I had a decaf americano this morning, and other than the fact that they only offer Stevia as a sugar substitute, it was quite good.