Four Friends Coffee House has been one of those places I’ve been meaning to visit since I first started visiting Grand Rapids. One of the town’s more talked about coffee shops, it was also one of the earlier adopters of WiFi. Finally, this evening I’ve made it here.
The first thing that struck me was the good sized tables found towards the rear of the cafe. Too many coffee shops are stuck with tables not really suited to a work environment so a few tables with space for more than one laptop is a welcome sight. A few more power outlets and it’d make a very good spot for meetings. The connection clocks up at a respectable 345kbps up/228kbps down—nothing outstanding, but definitely usable for most tasks.
The atmosphere is difficult to gauge. In just half an hour the music has varied widely, and the current choice of 90s dance tunes isn’t the most conducive to a relaxed environment, but other than that the selection would mostly fit comfortably in films like “Almost Famous” or “High Fidelity,” options I’d say were about right. It may well be a case of picking your visiting times.
Four Friends is certainly one of the better options in downtown Grand Rapids, and the selection of coffees is great. It’s unlikely I’ll be back for a while as snow has rather curtailed my habit of cycling downtown and Common Ground remains my coffee shop of choice, but it’s good to know it’s here.
Tags: GrandRapids WiFi