Employee-Free Coffee Shop Trusts Customers to Pay for Their Order

Hi there! How're you doing? Enjoying the summer heat? Just be glad you are not in Mecca, Saudi Arabia where the temperature reached 49.4 C yesterday. You could fry a dozen eggs just carrying them to your car...never mind on the hood! Now that is toasty! Say...as a coffee aficionado, I though you'd be interested in hearing about this cafe...not that I for one am planning a trip anytime soon to Valley City, North Dakota though I am sure it's a great place and all that, eh. Don't have any plans to visit Mecca either, come to think of it, eh.

The Vault’ in Valley City, North Dakota, serves coffee, tea and pastries, just like any other coffee shop. But here’s the difference: there’s no one there to do the serving! The owners have complete faith in the honesty of the people who walk through their doors, so they haven’t hired any employees. 

“The Vault is self-serve,” declares the official website. “Everything is priced by hand, there are no price scanners. Just keep a track of your purchases and pay before you leave the counter area. There is a credit card reader and a deposit slot for checks and cash.” Customers simply walk in, make their own coffee, pay for it, and hang out for as long as they like.

It sure is a big gamble, but owners David Brekke and his wife Kimberly don’t seem to be too worried. 

When they opened the shop last October, it made complete sense to have people serve themselves and rely on the honor system. They have yet to break even, but that’s not because people are stealing.

One presumes there is someone around like the person who does the baking in case the coffee runs out or there are no more bacon-wrapped maple flavoured doughnuts. Hey...at my virtual cafe, you don't even have to pay. Can't beat that price. C'mon back tomorrow!

See ya, eh!

Bob