“Hey bro, can you recommend the best coffee shop for me?” I asked.
“Café Intermezzo, that coffee shop is a romantic place, so you can bring your girl there,” my friend answered.
“You know me well bro, appreciate that.”
The location is 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30346. It takes about thirty minutes from my house to drive to there. When I searched that place from google, what I saw on the screen was completely different from what I thought it would look like before I searched it. All the pictures from the website made me enamored with this place. The atmosphere looked great, the food and the drink looked very delicious, but I did not forget to look at the prices before I went there.
When I opened the front door of the shop, in front of me is the place I had never been to before. The architecture of the shop is excellent. The tables, chairs, flowers, and candles are fit together and create a perfect coffee house. It made me feel like I'm in the European coffee shop.
My girlfriend and I waited for twenty minutes to get the table. I understood why I had to wait for too long to get the table. There were like a thousand people in there. Even I understood why I had to wait, but I nearly lost my patience. Finally, the waitress came and welcomed us to the table. I was so excited when I opened the menu because they had my favorite coffee drink. However, I like to try something new, something I hadn't try before. I saw the drink has an interesting name, Paris on Fire, on the menu. Absolutely I will try it because of the name of it. After five minutes, the waitress came and asked, "Are you guys ready to order?" I was lost for a few seconds because of her voice, but then I answered "Sure, may I have the White-hot chocolate Deluxe for her and the Paris on Fire for me," With a nice voice she replied, "Sure, is there anything else I can get for you today?" To which I replied," Yes, I want to have some cake but we just eat before we go here." Then she said, "that is fine" and left with a smile on her face.
While we waited for the drink and the cake coming, I asked the man next to my table. His name is David, and he was also waiting for a drink. I asked him why he chose this place to enjoy his weekend and he answered that because he likes the atmosphere of this coffee shop. I agree with him because the atmosphere there was very unique. I will never find anywhere else that has a similar atmosphere as that place.
Occasionally, I looked around and I saw most people had a cake on their tables. They ate the cake with joyful and savored it. Somehow, it reminds me of Jill McCorkle; she is a junk food person and she loves to drink Coke. "During one of my pregnancies I lost all taste for Coke. I couldn't believe it. It was so sad; filling myself up one Hawaiian Punch ( which is very good in its own right), Pop-Tarts, and ice cream, ice cream. But I missed the Coke cans rolling around under the seat of my car. I missed the whoosh and zap of buying a Coke from a vending machine. And one day, like magic, it returned, this desire, like an old love resurfacing” (McCorkle p. 32). That is a part of her essay, " Her Chee-to Heart". That shows how much she loves to drink Coke. Even though she knows junk food is unhealthy food and Coke is bad for her health, she still enjoys it. Coke and junk food are something that makes her happy like Oxytocin. Same as people there, they savor their cake and satisfied with it. I didn't know, the cake is good or not, yet I can tell it made them happy by the way they savor it. No matter cake is unhealthy food, people still love to eat it. It not good for their health, but it helps to strengthen their morale and make their night more perfectly.
Even though there was a lot of communication, I could hear the background music. They played a lot of songs I never listened to before. However, I like most of the songs they played. Most of the songs were old songs, and the melody was unlike the melody of all the music I listened to before. It made me move my head to the rhythm of each song when I listened to it. The flowers, candles on the tables and with that music created a romantic atmosphere. That's why I saw a lot of couples around my table and that is the reason why I've been there as well.
When the waitress already placed my drink on the table, I asked her how many years she had worked there and she told me that she worked there since 2017. Then I asked, "What kind of customer do you have?" to which she responded, " Well, here is like an international coffee shop, and customers come from different countries and most of them above twenty-one or at least eighteen" (Kayley). To continue I asked, “What is the thing you like most about working here?” She took a long pause then she answered “The most thing I like is the customer. Most of the customers are very nice and kind. Of course, sometimes I meet a few people are opposite but it is very limited.” I agree with her because I work at the restaurant as well. I understand how stressful it can be when she has to deal with some unique customers. Even she didn't say that but I can understand it. I also appreciated when she respectfully and nicely answered all my questions.
I could not have imagined such a wonderful moment when I had a cocktail, some music and talking and laughing with my love. It was very joyful, greatest and immaculate. I cannot find that feeling for any place I had been. When 12:45 arrives, my girlfriend told me to go. I wanted to stay more, but I knew it was too late, so I had to take her home. When we stood up and were ready to go, Kayley, even though she was very busy, she came to us and said: "Appreciated you guys, have a good night." Somehow, it made me happy when she said that. I was satisfied this place not just because of the atmosphere, but I also was satisfied with the way they run their business. Every worker has a specific job to do. They do it not just for money but do it because they like their job. I can tell it by the way Kayley served the customer.
When I got home, the name of the coffee shop was still stuck on my head. I wondered how it has started and the history of it. I searched on Google and discovered that "Café Intermezzo began as an idea in 1971, when Brian Olson traveled to his heritage homeland of Germany. Visiting a konditorei in Berlin (bakery-Café), and then many more throughout Germany and Austria, brought conviction that the Europäische Kaffeehaus (European coffeehouse), as a significant Place in the lives of its guests, had a potential for a home in America." I was shocked when I read and knew when the idea began. It is about forty-eight years and is still popular now. I hope they can stay forever because it is a great place for people who want to have a place for a date.
