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Will be arriving MSP in A and will be leaving from about gate C-5. Is there any Mc Donalds type place in that area to get a decent cup of coffee? Sorry not into the expensive blends;) Had a knee replaced so don't want to wander too far.

Also checked my seats on Sat. to see about changes (I have had 5 since I bought the ticket in Sept.) and noticed two segments are showing all seats are filled which I was surprised at since there were about 20 the last time I looked. One segment changed back and there were indeed 5 seats open. The flight in question is DCA-MSP on Dec.30. Is it a glitch or likely to have filled that quickly?

At MSP, MdDonalds moved from G to D some months ago. From A gates, take the tram two stops (end of the line), and walk towards D gates. McD on the left before reaching the first D gate.

I wouldn't go that far for ordinary coffee. Surely there are places along the way that do regular coffee. Personally I like Caribou (local chain) much better than Starbucks in that the coffee doesn't taste burnt, but it's generally full bodied and might not be what the OP wants. There's a small food court around C12-C10, for instance, as well as various F&B outlets that the OP would pass along the way.

BTW, the A and high C gates are a short flight of stairs down from the rest of the C concourse. Between gates C13 and C12 you need to look for the elevator to the right as you walk from A to C. There should be escalators too in the area, but I often see people walking up/down stairs here and also to go up one more level to the skyway connector to the high G gates. Often these escalators are out of order.

How do you define "local"?

We have Caribou here in the RDU area, for example.

IIRC it started here, just like Pete's started in the SF bay area but is now is Boston and elsewhere.

It's definitely headquartered here.

Peet's (not Pete's) ... they actually took over all the Caribou outlets in the DC area (and I think a lot of the east coast) last year :td:

Yes, you're right. Thank you.

Peet's HQ - Emeryville, California

Caribou Coffee HQ - Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The first Caribou Coffee shop was started in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in December 1992

There were Peet's locations in Berkeley by the early/mid 1970s.

Not sure if you are interested in walking from the A gates to your C gate (which was implied in a post above). That involves lots of walking when you mentioned not wanting to wander too far. As indicated by mnbp, take the tram from near the start of the A concourse and you won't have any steps, escalator or elevator to deal with. If you take it two stops to the end, you are about half way between the McDonald's and gate C5 when you exit. You could also look for a store between the exit of the tram walking to C5. I believe there are a couple of places that serve coffee so you are not backtracking from McDonald's.

This website:

http://www.ifly.com/minneapolis-st-p...t/shops-stores

Shows a Starbucks at C1 and Dunn Bros Coffee at C12 (isn't that the mini food court?)

FROM THE WEB: Alfred Peet grew up in the coffee business while living in the Netherlands as a child. Moving to San Francisco when he was 35, he began roasting coffee in the 1960s. Peet started Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices as a single store in 1966 in Berkeley, California. Peet's original outlet is still located on the corner of Walnut and Vine (2124 Vine Street) in the Gourmet Ghetto of North Berkeley, close to the University of California. That location now contains a museum, displaying memorabilia and historical coffee equipment.

:)

Both Peet's and Caribou are owned by JAB Holding company out of Germany (who also owns Einstein Bagels and just announced the purchase of Keurig last week).

OP, there are electric carts that cruise all around MSP. You could pick one up at the far end of C and get a ride to your gate; that would involve less walking than the tram.

Or get a cart to take you to a coffee place and then another cart to your gate. However, you may have to consume the coffee before getting on the cart.

Boom goes the dynamite!!!!

yes, i was hoping somebody would chime in with this pertinent bit of info. DC-wise, not crazy about the transition from the boo to peet's. i think the coffee is now more burnt?? (right?)

A not-so-well-known Seattle company, Caffe Vita, is the best, in my opinion. It's available mostly on the west and east coasts but has recently made an incursion into the G concourse at MSP.

IMO (if you drink espresso) Peets is vastly superior to Caribou. I have had plenty bitter vetch from Caribou, and only rarely something halfway aromatic - - more often something hardly drinkable. For years/decades Peets has produced superb, rich espresso blends - - best of which is the Garuda, I think. And the baristas really know what they are doing - - the training is excellent, and many are passionate about the art and magic of pulling a great espresso shot.

True, but for a Peet's fan, Caribou is much better than Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Dunn Brothers, etc. You can't always travel 1500 miles for good coffee.

at this time of year that might be a good excuse for MRing :p

By the way - - the Illy (traditional Italian coffee giant) place next to the fountain at DTW (been there just over a year) has GREAT espresso. Luscious, sultry, minimal, sublime.

So on your MR, just connect at DTW.

^^ yesssssss ... a VERY nice add to DTW, esp after a redeye or the 0600 from DC (I still miss the Caribou at the high A gates, but Illy definitely fills the gap well)

OP be aware that some of the drivers will refuse to pick people up if you aren't at one of their labeled cart stops (look for the blue signs hanging from the ceiling). Many will so if someone refuses just ask the next driver you see.

Einstein Bagels has decent coffee as well, if you are already between C12 and C13 then its easy.