Comments on: Even More on Murky Coffee

By: Angry Al Gonzales

Angry Al Gonzales — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:14:21 +0000

Brett, you must be unable to read. Nick is a deadbeat tax fraud – thus, Nick steals from DC taxpayers. That’s the bottom line.

By: Brett

Brett — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:47:33 +0000

Wow — leave it to the press to turn a case of bad accounting into a national scandal. So, Nick’s not a good accountant. That’s OK; not everyone is. But he’s a great barista. What I don’t get is why a few people are jumping on him so hard over it. He’s paid the price — two businesses shut down by the government. Could the people who are posting the hostile messages be his competitors, by any chance?

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:39:55 +0000

Wow. I finally got through my latest issue of Imbibe Magazine this weekend (I read it cover to cover every issue, coffee cup—sometimes cocktail—in hand). Looks like they went to print before this news broke, but I was interested to see a profile on none other than Mr. Cho on page 30. While it does sound like there’s something amiss in his financial practices, it was nice read this piece to get some back story on the individual.

By: c-mah

c-mah — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:29:59 +0000

OTR … those were the guys that were bleeding $40million in Prada purses, right? i say get your own house in order and then come talk to me.

By: Loyal murky fan

Loyal murky fan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:05:10 +0000

Commenter #12 At one time a Proud Patron” above,

hi cliff. where did you start hanging out after being banned from murky because you were sexually harassing customers and employees? i guess it makes sense that you’d still be bitter. I hope you dont end up getting “band” from wherever it is you hang out at now. i’m just glad that for the past many months I could sip and surf in peace without having to endure your yammering.

this whole thing is unfortunate. I just hope that the staff is gonna be okay, and that everything gets worked out. nick cho is a good guy, and has done enough good things out there to warrant a second chance, and I hope to enjoy the great coffee again soon!

By: At one time a Proud Patron

At one time a Proud Patron — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:34:26 +0000

Hello Everyone,
For over 4 year’s I was a proud Patron of this coffee shop at one time. You people above probably have seen me there working and talking with customers and employee’s. I invited friends and family to this coffee shop. I also advertised Murky coffee to people looking for a place to sip coffee and free internet. But things changed……And incident happy inside his store. I reported it to Mr. Cho……I got nothing but lies and deception and the run-around. The same stuff he’s doing with Wash DC, Employees, and Customers. Mr. Cho’s quick solution was to band me from his store, this would eliminate the embarrasing postion your employee put you in. As for taxes, Mr. Cho if you are reading this maybe that new MAC 17″ laptop running dual OS’s, should not have been bought with tax payers money 2 years ago , or that new telephone, How about that car you have, was that bought with DC tax money, was that you coming in Best Buy the day you exiled me from your store, looks like you were making a move to those fancy flat screen televisions, how about those multiple trips to Central America and vacation spots , was that payed with tax payers money? Looks like your abundance of cash and overspending and bad decision making has you in a lot of trouble. A Murky employee told me your ex-wife’s multiple attempts to get you to pay your taxes was ignored by you. I wonder are you behind in your ex-wife’s alimony the same way you are behind in your taxes. Mr. Cho I loved that store and the people there…….But you poor judgement and disrespect for your employee’s and customer’s, and Wash DC is unacceptable and unprofessional. Your downfall from grace is expected from the lies and deceptions to the people that are important to you, the employee, the customer, and wash dc. Mr. Cho look’s like you are going to be band from dc.

Seeeeeeyaaaaa

By: Alice Williamson

Alice Williamson — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:36:35 +0000

It would go a long way for the regular customers to know that the staff from Murky are being taken care of. These folks have kicked started our mornings (and our wireless connections) for quite a while. I hope there is some severance.

And it’s obvious there is a lot of blame to go around, but all businesses pay monthly sales taxes. It’s a no brainer. And the only way to deal with OTR is persistently and in person. A terribly hard lesson to learn, but dealing with their incredibly messy house has always been a challenge.

We’ll miss the heck out of one of our favorite places though. Our best to the workers.

By: Reggie

Reggie — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:02:38 +0000

I too am a former Murky Employee. Though I don’t necessarily echo all of the sentiments of my former colleague up above. Does this whole thing suck like a Hoover? You betcha. Could it have been avoided? Obviously. Have answers been hard to come by? Most definitely.

But don’t hand me this “victimized” crap. The families that lost their homes in the Mt. Pleasant apartment that went up in flames last week are victims, we just happened to get stuck in the middle of an effed up situation. Plain and simple. Shoot, I’m already working elsewhere.

Also, trashing Nick anonymously on a website? How passive-aggressive. Look, there’s my name right there. I’ve got nothing to hide. Do you?

By: Marva

Marva — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:26:31 +0000

To Former Murky Employee,

We miss you too.

By: Bucky Katt

Bucky Katt — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:39:50 +0000

It seems to me that there are two separate issues–the tax issue, and the eviction notice–so even if the tax issue is eventually resolved, it still looks bad for ol’ Murky. Which is greatly disappointing, since mochas at other coffee establishments now seem . . . let’s be generous and say that they’re less sophisticated at other places than they were at Murky.

As far as Nick Cho’s “rebuttal” on the Murky website, I find it totally believable that things at the DC Tax Office are completely fracked up, but at the same time, maybe he should have invested in a better accounting system .

By: orenda

orenda — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:54:58 +0000

Hi former Murky Employee,

I lived in DC last year in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and came to really enjoy my conversations with you guys almost every day, particularly during your smoke breaks outside once it turned to spring. You were great, provided a great atmosphere, and I miss it.

You should also know that I’ve heard folks in NYC (at Grumpy Coffee) talking about this. Word gets around. Come up here!

By: Hector

Hector — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:13:01 +0000

Get your Murky while you can in Arlington, since they are next to close.

By: murky

murky — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:20:37 +0000

I posted a response on our website to many of the issues raised.

-Nick Cho

By: Former Murky Employee?

Former Murky Employee? — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:11:02 +0000

It may seem to the public that Mr. Cho is being evasive and cavalier about the demise (and possible future) of his Capitol Hill outlet. And guess what? He’s giving the same ambiguous answers and shrug-of-the-shoulders attitude to the employees of his now-defunct business! We employees were what kept Murky what it was for the neighborhood: a fun, welcoming place “where everybody knows your name.” We miss our loyal customers, we miss the families we saw every weekend, and we miss the comraderie we felt with each other behind the bar and with our neighbors who became our second families!

We got hoodwinked by this man, too! And the answers and reasons we have been given have been just as disappointing for us as well. I don’t know if I have a job at Murky, but I do know that I miss the customers. So if any of our regulars are reading this, please know that the baristas do care about what is happening. We have been victimized the same way you and the DC Government have!

By: Mike Licht

Mike Licht — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:38:23 +0000

No journalistic value whatsoever?

Q and A with a named government official?

Matthew my friend, you need to reconsider your concept of journalism.