Calypso Cafe at 505 Grand Caribe Causeway, Coronado, California.

CALYPSO CAFE: “Taking advantage of the most vulnerable since 2007!”

This establishment is far from the mom-and-pop vibe it attempts to portray. I encourage all to read this review as well as other corroborating reviews from more-regular customers who know the inner workings of this business. Here are just a few reasons I encourage all to revoke any assistance to the sinister agenda of the owner.

1. THE OWNER TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE CAYS’ ELDERLY RESIDENTS.

One particular patron visited the cafe daily for breakfast because he could not drive and was limited to his scooter. It took a little while for his family to catch on, but the owner would trick this patron into ordering a bunch of stuff not on the menu and then would over-charge him because the patron was elderly and trusted the establishment. He was not aware of the actual charges, and the owner knew. The owner would provide no receipt, and the prices for the same meals would steadily increase until the patron was spending $20 on a sandwich (which consisted of stale bread and a couple slices of lunch meat).

As time dragged on, this patron began losing his memory. His decline became noticeable to all who knew him, including the owner. He would visit the cafe, return home, and then return to the cafe between one and three more times daily because he had forgotten that he had just been to the cafe. The patron’s family decided to intervene because he could not afford the exorbitant costs of visiting the cafe so often.

The family called the owner and asked her is she would help the family by denying service to the patron if he had already been to the cafe just a few hours earlier. The family understood the importance of the cafe to the patron’s quality of life, because it was the only accessible place to him and enabled him to get out of his house. The family explained to the owner the nature of his mental deterioration, and that he is spending way more than he can afford at the cafe. The family did not confront the owner as to the overcharging, in the hope the owner would be amenable to the patron’s mental and physical condition moving forward.

The owner angrily refused, and doubled-down on her most vulnerable, and profitable, customer. The family eventually moved the patron to a more appropriate environment, ending the nightmare that was Calypso Cafe. Please, do not support this!

2. THE OWNER TREATS HER EMPLOYEES AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS WHO DO NOT DESERVE RESPECT

I do not have as much personal knowledge of the specifics, but given the number of interactions I have had with the business, I have gotten to know many of the employees well. They have detailed to me the lying, deceptive character of the owner. The owner would jerk employees around, give promises she did not intend to keep, and then fired them when pressed for better treatment.

3. THE FOOD IS RE-USED!

That $20 sandwich? There is a much too significant chance a component of that sandwich was served to someone else. Take that as it may.

Coronado is full of wonderful mom-and-pop restaurants run by those who deserve your business! Please do not go to Calypso Cafe!