Back in late March I posted on my disappointment in seeing the Diedrich Coffee locations in Denver bought out and converted to Daz Bog, most notably the one I visited frequently at 12th and Clayton in Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood. I had and have nothing against Daz Bog’s coffee, but rather their immediate and abrupt changes to the three neighborhood coffee shops around Capitol Hill and Congress Park. Among a complaint from my post:

The sandwiches. Diedrich served a fresh made ham or turkey sandwich filled with fixins, including pickles and cucumbers. They have now vanished. I wasn’t the only one bitching. Many Congress Park regulars were commiserating along side myself about the loss of these well priced delectable delights. If only I had taken a picture of one of these wonderful sandwiches. Now they exist only in my memories.

I visited Daz Bag this morning to see what was new. It’s a beautiful sunny warm fall day, and the establishment is void of any life save for the staff. No exaggeration: At 10:30 I was the ONLY person sitting inside the shop, with just one other lone patron on the patio.

Local business, and anyone considering taking over a local business take note: When you bulldoze into an establishment with a loyal community following and make sudden seemingly cost saving changes with any input from the clientele that made the business what it is - don’t be surprised when those people abandon you.

But where oh where do I pass my Saturday morning? My recommendations for the best coffee shop in Congress Park would be “Under the Umbrella,” just a few blocks east at 12th and Madison, or Java Creek in Cherry Creek. Also just three blocks north of the Congress Park Daz Bog is the Tattered Cover bookstore which has a small cafe and free Wi-Fi.