Be Kind to Your Neighborhood Baristas
In bad karma news, a few days ago, someone stole the bagels from Common Ground. I won't report exactly how it happened to prevent any copycat crimes. Hawker must say, that stealing bagels from your local, independent coffee shop is very, very low.
In other Common Ground news, Hawker's heard a rumor that Glenn has divested himself of the Evergreen on Coldspring. The assumption would be that he sold it, but there's no firm confirmation.
Labels: common ground
posted by Plantastic @ 11:07 AM
8 Comments:
I hope The Evergreen survives, regardless of who owns it.
The Evergreen is a well-lit, roomy cafe with free wi-fi and halfway decent hours. Not exactly Starbucks/Borders hours, but not bad.
Common Ground is... well, I'll just say my main issue is the operating hours. Banks have better hours!
So you see "Starbucks/Borders" as the gold standard of roomy cafes?
That's a shame.
Think he was talking about the hours.
I actually love the Common Ground--its hours are my only complaint.
Common Ground is tiny, so the fact that they don't offer wireless doesn't surprise me. (However if you sit in the front, last time I checked, you can pick up wireless from another source--ironically named "go away.")
The Evergreen has its charms as well, and from Hampden, it's a lovely walk through a ritzy neighborhood. Through "Rye Path" is the way to go, FYI.
I was definitely talking about the hours.
I like to have a cafe where I can sit for hours on end doing homework or work-work or reading a good book - especially in the evening.
I have not found a place like that in Hampden. I know someone who would sit and read at the Golden West Long Bar, which I guess is an option, but seems like the wrong atmosphere to me.
Common Ground is good but could be better. I understand that, in the spatial sense, there is literally no room for improvement. But, metaphorically, there certainly is.
Common Ground is closed when I leave in the morning, so it's not an option for a morning coffee and bagel (I would pay for it, by the way). If I wanted to visit in the afternoon, I'd have to rush over right after work - no straightening the house or walking the dog. How relaxing is that?
An ideal cafe for me would add:
- a little more space, but still cozy
- wi-fi
- djs, spoken word, poetry slams, knitting circles, etc.
- sidewalk seating in warmer months
- possibly a license to sell some microbrew, imports and ciders, but I understand the problems that entails
I love The Evergreen as much as anyone. But I can't stand it on weekends and sometimes during the week in the summer, when the place is overflowing with ignorant yuppies. You know how I mean "ignorant," LOL. Talking on their phone while they order 12 hard-to-make drinks, after they illegally park their SUV in the crosswalk in front of the place, half on the curb, ignoring the signs and leaving THE SUN (not paid for, of course) over the AC vents, etc. (Now I'm just being mean!)
If a Starbucks could thin the jackass crowd (I'm surprised the one by Eddies doest not), it might be perfect and leave more room for more...polite and fun people to hang out:)
(I know, what we need is NOT another Starbucks. I jest.)
What we all need is this place!
I know, we do! And this is coming from someone who RUNS a coffee shop! We need another one with decent hours and good . . . damn . . . coffee.
I am ever thankful to Glenn and Evergreen for letting me host my twice a month crafting group for quite some time. We also used it as a meeting place while planning our own business (and we always bought tasty muffins!). I don't head up there as much since I disbanded the craft group.
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