Had to walk out of a coffee shop in Portland last week. Something felt off.

I went to this quiet cafe on Belmont Street around 4pm. First thing I noticed was everyone was staring at their laptops but nobody was typing. Four people at separate tables just sat there with blank screens. Then I realized the barista was whispering every order instead of saying it out loud. Maybe it's just a weird Portland thing, but has anyone else walked into a place and felt like you interrupted something?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_reed1mo ago

...and that totally reminds me of the time I walked into a bookstore in Seattle where three different people were all reading the same book but holding it upside down. Weirdest part was the guy at the counter had this tiny sign that said "cash only" with a little drawing of a chicken next to it. I got my coffee, left fast, and didn't even finish the chapter I was flipping through.

the_simon1mo ago

That sounds like a secret upside down book club, and the chicken drawing was probably their logo. Hope you didn't accidentally join their weirdo coven by flipping through that chapter!

the_jennifer1mo ago

Respectfully, I think you might be reading too much into it. Some bookstores just have quirky regulars and the cash only chicken sign was probably just the owner's attempt at humor. Not everything is a weirdo coven, sometimes a chicken is just a chicken.