For as much time as I end up spending in coffee shops, I really feel that I ought to drink coffee. But that's ok, since the hot chocolate and on-the-spot-made bakery at Gypsy Beans & Baking Company more than compensates for my not knowing how their coffee tastes (according to Sidekick Girl, it's awesome).

Today the coffee shop, restaurant and bakery will have been opened for exactly two weeks, and it's been a packed two weeks! As owner Niki Gillota says, "I didn't expect the place to be packed every day!" And it has been - I've been in twice during these two weeks, and there have always been people in there. And they are wildly flattering. In a quick survey of the larger room this past Saturday, I received these quotes about Gypsy Beans:

• "I was here the other day and the whole neighborhood came through here!"
• "I love it here."
• "This is the second time this week that I've been here."
• "Better than the commercialized coffee shop - it's your own little place."
• "Loving it - I'll never go to Starbucks again."
• "The neighborhood needs something like this - there's no other little cafe here."
• "Yeah, I'm pretty much just going to live here."

The theme that I have really noticed is how well Gypsy Beans fits in to the whole context and feeling in the Detroit-Shore way - Gordon Square Arts district (the coffee shop is located on W. 65 and Detroit). Niki specifically chose the area as the community that she wanted to service, and says, "My expectations have been blown far far far away." Thus far, I have not run into a single person who doesn't like the big open room, cozy meeting room, WI-fie Internet, and the incredibly cool menu.

As her store's slogan says, Niki brings "flavors found wandering the world" into the coffee blends, bakery and bistro menu! For example: honey-nut praline cheesecake, Scottish-style shortbread and chocolate-chip scones, and really, really good-looking sandwiches and soups. Sidekick Girl had a chocolate-chip scone, and loved it, while I had a bagel (I'm boring) and some home-made red pepper cream cheese spread, which was awesome. I was also quite tempted by cream of spinach vegan soup. Niki and her staff are really hard workers, and I was way impressed.

Overall, it is a fantastically good coffee shop. It's staffed by charming and enterprising people, and run by a lovely brilliant businesswoman who is mean shakes at baking. If you live in Cleveland, by all means, go to Gypsy Beans!