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PSA: That trendy coffee shop in Portland got cancelled for faking their whole vibe
I was in Portland last month and checked out this spot called Cloud & Grind that was all over Instagram. Turns out they got called out for using store-bought pastries and passing them off as homemade, plus they were caught staging those 'messy counter' photos with props from a thrift store. The owner even admitted in an interview they never roasted their own beans like they claimed, lol. I get that aesthetics sell but lying about the basics? Has anyone else been burned by a place that turned out to be a total front?
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margareto2613d ago
Man, that is wild but honestly not that surprising! I think the bigger story here is how much we expect small businesses to be these perfect, handmade, artisanal operations when even the big chains cut corners. Like, who has the time or money to actually roast their own beans and bake every single croissant from scratch? Its a lot of pressure that makes places lie in the first place. Plus, those thrifted props make me kind of mad since at least that part is actually sustainable, but they faked it for the wrong reasons. So the real scam is the whole influencer economy pushing places to be a movie set instead of just a decent coffee joint.
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miles_burns13d agoProlific Poster
Right there with you, it's this whole performance of authenticity that's more important than the actual product or service. I went to a place that bragged about their "small batch" everything and found out their pastries were just thawed Sysco stuff from a box. The pressure to look the part on social media totally warps what should just be a simple business.
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