J & S Coffee

J&S is my home and from home… or I guess my office away from home! I love working at J&S and meeting with clients there is always well received. The staff is friendly and the owner is fantastic. Kenny has a memory for people and I have seen him prepping drinks by the cars the pull up in the parking lot! The coffee is amazing too. I have always been a latte person but I love their standard house coffees. They offer 2 plus a decaf option each day. The prices are affordable as well. Each table has a plugin so you can have your laptop charging – which is so great when you are working on a project. I would keep them a secret but I want them to stay around for a long, long time!

Nothing in new reviews, I had to comment on their current state. Coffee has been amazing, roasted on premises. The décor and seating have hugely improved including outlets at many of the seats. Staff has been very friendly, order boards are far cleaner/​easier to read than before. Some sort of Bluesy Jazz or Coffeehouse mix of background music wouldn’t hurt, poster board could get cleaned up … (Start sarcasm) Don’t get me started how they should be frothing clockwise vs counter clockwise, this isn’t Australia (end sarcasm). Go. Enjoy.

I have to agree with some of things said about J & S. I’d really like to love the place as a home grown coffee shop and they do produce fine in-​house roasts that are excellent for taking home. For me that’s about where it ends. The espresso drinks here are poorly crafted every time I visit. There’s a lot more to a latte than just heating milk and then dumping it over espresso which was what I got today. If you’re paying close to $ 4 for a cup I’d like it done professionally. Today’s milk was far too much foam, poured before it settled after being heated and not the proper temperature, lacking in richness.
The last few times I’ve been in the help has the attitude of minimum wage so if you’re looking for a friendly hello on the way in or a «thanks for coming in» at the end, no dice.
Décor: it’s a strip mall, yes. But the interior has been treated like it too. Messy, usually, and a bulletin board that I’ve yet to understand what the purpose of is other than to host way too many postings to read. No clue what that’s about but it looks like something that doesn’t belong.
Unfortunately for J & S the coffee landscape in town is changing rapidly for the better. I’d like to see the service and drinks improved and with a new Star****s across the street they’ll gladly take the customers away if the opportunity presents itself.

I’m still trying to figure out J & S Coffee. Between J & S and Scone lady, I have no idea how they pay the high priced rents in their strip center locations. The hours are cumbersome at best. I hardly ever see a lot of customers in J & S. Yes, they have some loyal neighborhood customers that I see in there regularly. I still wonder how much business they have lost with Starbucks to the immediate east and north of them. Literally within a baseball throw distance.
The coffee appears to be roasted in-​house. Not a bad product. Just lacking something I can’t put my finger on. The espresso based drinks are good but can be overly sweet like many places. My advice is to ask for easy syrup. Staff is friendly and service is usually pretty fast.
Not a lot of seating options, but then again not sure if they could justify adding more seats/​tables. Maybe psychological, but I absolutely hate the ambiance and décor inside J & S. Coffee shops need to have an urban look & feel to them. J & S is cold & stale, with no life at all. J & S suffers from the classic suburban strip– center death strike… Lifeless and straight up boring.
*Best to grab your coffee’s to go*

This is by far my favorite coffee shop in town. Joe has my coffee started when he sees me pulling up! Always a good conversation! My boys love the scones too. I don’t routinely get coffees that are jazzed up. I’m simple. Either plain coffee or a soy latte. I’ve never had a bad one and I would say I’m a coffee drinker. If my coffee isn’t from Joe’s it’s straight from the coffee I order from Costa Rica and pressed in my french press. I’m pretty picky. He’s got some great choices to buy bulk from as well.
As far as the place. All coffee shops have their own atmosphere. If you are coming here to cram for finals or have a quiet conversation then it’s probably not the place for you. Although grab a coffee before you go somewhere else! It is a coffee shop not a library. Many of the locals meet up here and most of the customers know Joe or other customers so there is a lot of welcoming conversations. I’m thankful they are always nice to my kids here. I get dirty looks if I bring my kids into some of well known coffee shops on Mass!
Joe’s got my business.

Great coffee and the peanut butter scones rock.

Lawrence has many excellent coffee houses — and (as perhaps might be expected) they are all located Downtown. No surprise, that’s the ‘cool’ area of the city. But for those of us stuck living or working in the cookie-​cutter suburban wasteland of West Lawrence, it would be nice to get some decent coffee, and thankfully, J&S is there to fill this java-​sized hole.
Do not let the generic strip mall location fool you — J&S knows its coffee chops. The coffee is roasted on site in small batches, and it excellent, well above the grocery store Starbucks stuff you can find down the street. J&S generally has 2 premium regular and 1 decaf brewing at any one time, and they have the usual collection of espresso drinks, enhanced with some creative milk and syrup combinations, such as a Mexican spiced mocha (a favorite treat of mine).
The atmosphere is fairly utilitarian, but not bad. There’s room to work, and it isn’t too loud, and there a larger coach in the back, although the coach is right next to a kids play area which, while it might be great for parents on the go, doesn’t make for a relaxing environment if there are kids there.
J&S is pretty much a weekday place — they close early in the evenings and are not open at all afternoons on weekends. But, if you live (or as I do, work) on the west side of Lawrence, J&S is a caffeine treasure — a great place to take a coffee break, or stop at before heading into the office — and on coffee quality, as good (if not better) then any other place in town.

This place seems like a coffee shop for middle-​aged people who don’t really like coffee but want to be seen as someone who likes coffee. If you like Chili’s and Applebee’s you might like this place, but if you like local restaurants, this isn’t for you.
There are jazz pictures up, but they clearly don’t know about or care about jazz music.
I echo the following users’ sentiments:
@Michael «The coffee is average. The ambiance is non-​existent. This place is like having cardboard coffee in a cardboard box.»
@David «It’s in a strip mall, so that’s kinda telling.»

Totally sub-​par. The baristas seemed to be ditzy teenagers with no training on how to pull a shot. Yuck. I will stick to the east side for my coffee!

J&S has the best coffee in Lawrence, other than Signs of Life — and that’s because I have found out that they supply Signs of Life! They roast their beans appropriately (taking care not to burn them) and their brew is never bitter. I love their West side location — Maybe not a place that you’d want to hang out with your friends for very long, but it’s functional. The only reason that I didn’t give it 5 stars is that they could make it a bit more inviting and update tables/​chairs/​sofas, etc. I could easily spent time there (and more $) if it were more comfortable. The staff has always been friendly and accommodating to any special request (such as mixing nonfat with 2% for 1% milk, please). They will always be my first choice.

Is this a coffeehouse where I’d like to linger and enjoy pleasant company? No. The interior is spartan and a bit bleak.
The beans, however, are glorious. A friend gifted me with a pound of the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Wando (which was lovely). When I went to restock, I bought a pound each of the Sumatra Mandheling Harimau Tiger and the Congo Kivu Katanda. I didn’t care much for the Katanda by itself, but blended with the Sumatra it was fantastic.
The staff was very patient and friendly. Because at the time I couldn’t remember which beans my friend had given me, the barista gave her suggestions based on my coffee preferences (she is the one who suggested I blend the beans, too).
My biggest complaint is their location. 6^th and Wakarusa is a long drive, and I can’t really justify the trip for the weekly trip that fresh beans require. But if you’re a West-​side resident and coffee-​lover, you should definitely give J&S a try.

This place always gives me a crisis of faith. First and foremost, J&S is the place to get *the best* cup of coffee in Lawrence. The quality of the product, by itself, is so much better than any of the other cafes in town. The downside is that it’s way out west, where most community-​minded people never venture. Every time I want a good cup of coffee, I have to consider the amount of fossil fuels I will waste driving 10 min out here, or plan to spend the next hour of my life navigating the T.
If J&S must keep this location on the frontier of Lawrence sprawl, maybe they could at least open a satellite counter somewhere within the walkable heart of the community.
PS: What’s with the anti-​student bias from other reviewers? Students are the people who give this town a reason to exist — without them it would be another Eudora or Olathe. Also, not all students are «kids,» and a lot of them are part of the professional crowd, so please choose your words more carefully in the future. After all, who supported the first coffeeshops in this area? What purpose did they serve? Why do you, Mr. Corporate, now have the luxury of tapping in to coffee culture? Answer: the youth and student communities.

The coffee is average. The ambiance is non-​existent. The staff is preoccupied. This place is like having cardboard coffee in a cardboard box.

Not my cup of tea (er. coffee). I do appreciate having a coffee shop on the west side of town. However, this place was much louder than I expected (granted, I came near the lunch hour), making it difficult to work. The children’s area was very loud when I came in and there were many people working on business deals fairly loudly. The music is also fairly distracting (more like mix radio than the ambient, contemplative background music I prefer).
So this doesn’t seem like the place to go if you are working solo and need some peace of mind.
The lighting is okay. The décor is fairly drab (I wouldn’t say aseptic; more like «worn»). The chairs are pretty uncomfortable, there aren’t many places to sit, and the tables are tiny (which doesn’t lend a very large workspace).
Also, I tried the Mayan (not Mexican) mocha, and I really didn’t like the taste; I’d say it is more like cinnamon eggnog or cider than mocha. Granted, I haven’t tried any other drinks.
Again, my main issue is the distracting business conversations going on in a fairly small space. I need relative quiet for my work and that is a deal-​breaker.
If you want a quieter atmosphere, tastier drinks, and bigger tables, I recommend going next door to the Juice Stop instead.
Could be a good place to go to work out a business deal though. Maybe if you go there you can strike up some kind of deal with the significant density of business people already there…

What a great Gem on the west side of town! Thanks for opening guys
Lawrence doesn’t have many coffeehouses west of Iowa. This place is very similar to Z’s. The coffee is also artisan roasted (and supplies coffee to Signs of Life). The place is very functional and professional. It’s in a strip mall, so that’s kinda telling. You’ll never find students here, it’s a clearly professional crowd. Don’t plan on relaxing or chilling here. It’s a place to get things done at. No comfy chairs or subdued lighting.
It’s décor would be considered aseptic if it weren’t for the children’s play area and some really outstanding photograph work done by Lawrence’s Premier Children’s Photographer: White Lotus. It’s worth going just to see these photos. I really respect and admire her photography. Great choice for J&S to show their work.
Outstanding staff that really works hard to please it’s customers. Same group of employees, which encourages consistency and reliability – no student workers here (or at least it seems so).
Oh and I never see people smoking outside. Ah… no walking through a a battlefield to get that cup of coffee.
Don’t plan on a late night coffee run at this place. It has business hours, not the typical coffeehouse hours. Do buy some beans for home though.
If you’re feeling sinful, get the Mexican mocha. Sure it’s from a mix, but so is Ben and Jerry’s and nobody complains about that.
This is the place to go to have a «off-​site» chat with an employee. Great gossip about the corporate world at this place. Also excellent if you live on the West Side of town and have to drive to Topeka.
Pros: Great coffee, great staff, and great consistency. and let’s not forget those photos.
Cons: In a strip mall on the west side of town, hours consistent with a strip mall. Feels kinda sterile