July 2017
June 2019
I never even heard of Caribou Coffee before I went to Dubai. However, in a hotel with bad breakfast, the attached coffee shop was a welcome discovery. As it turns out, Caribou is Minnesota's answer to Starbucks and over the years I frequented Dubai, I saw its market presence grow. I am not anti-Starbucks, but I am pro-choice. The likes of Costa, Cafe Nero, Gloria Jeans, Seattle's Best, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at least made for variety, even if they were chains.
I almost always stayed at the Ibis Hotel on Al Rigga Street in Dubai, so I became known to the staff at the Caribou Coffee next door. It was nice to have a place with WiFi and good latte and croissant that I could almost tumble out of bed into. Since Dubai was not a morning town, I could expect to have the place to myself. MWK was usually with me in Dubai and he was secretly thankful that I quietly showered and checked my mails down in the coffee shop to let him wake up slowly and have some privacy for his morning routine. If there were two food constants in Dubai for me, they would have been Aroos Damascus [see: Aroos Damascus, Dubai] on nearby Muraqqabat Street and Caribou Coffee on Al Rigga Road.
I also realize that I am a creature of habit wherever I go. If I find a place I like (especially for breakfast), I will stick with it. There is something calming about waking up and getting morning coffee and a bite to eat at the same predictable place even when traveling. Maybe it's the "before coffee brain" effect? It's just asking too much for me to wake up and make food choices before I've had my morning coffee. ha! That might be why breakfast buffets are the most popular choices in hotels. No thinking - just grab, sit down and eat.
At Caribou I met RN who was a friendly, outgoing Nepali guy working overseas to support his family. He remembered me visit on visit and we always had lovely chats. I remember when the big earthquake hit Nepal his family lost their house (but no one was hurt). He expressed his frustration at feeling he was starting once again from zero after all his years of work. Eventually, he got a "real" job with a telecom company in Dubai and made more money. I hardly saw him after that, but we kept in touch. He went home to Kathmandu to start up a tourist business and then COVID hit. Poor RN couldn't seem to catch a break. With his spirit of optimism, I am sure he will land on his feet. I hope to get back to Nepal one day and meet him again.
Sometimes in places like Caribou Coffee the staff aren't just "baristas" - they are other humans with a lifepath beyond a large latte with a cheese croissant (heated up). A familiar face in a predictable place can make travel a lot more pleasant, especially for that all important first cup of coffee in the morning.
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