More Coffee Fiction
The Ann Arbor News again promulgates the fiction that Ann Arbor is buckling under an onslaught of coffeehouses, among which the new Starbucks on Main Street is “an exclamation point.” Of the five non-Starbucks coffeehouses they mention, none closes later than midnight or plays interesting music (except for Espresso Royale once in a while), and two are actually pricey restaurants that also serve coffee.
“It’s part of what makes Ann Arbor a cool city,” the president of the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau says in the article, which also quotes a 27-year-old “longtime coffee shop employee” with a degree in English from U of M.
If workplace(speaker) = “*ChamberofCommerce” and if quote(speaker) = “*why*acoolcity*” then truthvalue(quote(speaker)) = “Bullcrap”
Sincerely,
posted by 971TheDriveFan on May 23rd, 2004 at 3:22 pmthe AAIO first responder society
hey, I like 97.1 The Drive too. I especially like that guy’s voice when he intones, “The Drive.” It’s out of control. Always listen to that station when I’m in Chicago.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on May 23rd, 2004 at 4:58 pmWhy is anyone surprised that coffee shops do well in college towns? Students have equal parts caffeine and blood in their veins by the end of their freshman year, and I think it just increases after that.
Is it a bad sign that I kind of like the music they play in Starbucks? For whatever unknowable reason I can get *a lot* of work done in there, and the music seems rather enjoyable.
/shades head from rocks thrown by anti-corporation artists
posted by art student on May 23rd, 2004 at 5:46 pmCafe Ambrosia typically has the best coffeehouse music in town, I find.
posted by Brandon on May 23rd, 2004 at 6:04 pmI’ve never really liked Ambrosia - too much fluorescent light - but it does have a less yuppieish ambience than the ones mentioned in the article. They also leave out Rendezvous, which is nice in the summer when there’s not as many people smoking.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on May 23rd, 2004 at 6:53 pmDoes anyone remember the decline of coffee? I remember seeing media reports about how the once-dominant culture of coffee drinking had gone out of style. “Coffee companies just have to understand that people today like cold, sweet beverages, NOT hot, bitter ones.” Sort of like Bill Gates saying that 640k would be enough for anyone.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on May 23rd, 2004 at 8:54 pmRendezvous is indeed great in summer when you can sit out front or on the roof.
I’ve never minded Cafe Verde too much– fair trade, and sometimes good music. Yeah the Co-Op attracts its share of annoying Bobos, but it’s better than most coffeehouses in town. I really prefer the Main Street ERC to the State Street one, also. Despite its location in a New Agey bookstore, I really like getting coffee/tea at Crazy Wisdom from time to time… nice decor and windows onto the street. Plus, big upholstered chairs.
posted by Brandon on May 23rd, 2004 at 9:09 pmSmart people drink coffee.
posted by Engineer Guy on May 24th, 2004 at 12:19 amIf there is an onslaught of coffee houses (and there may be), then it’s coming at the expense of more general retail outlets. The DDA is trying to attract more residents to the downtown area. Those people will need grocery stores, pharmacies etc. There may be something “cool” about sitting in a coffee house sipping espresso and working on your novel for several hours, but if you’ve just run out of toilet paper in the condo, it would be cool to have a place where you buy some more without having to make a trip of several miles.
posted by Mike Gorund on May 24th, 2004 at 11:04 amFirst there was Mark’s Coffehouse on East William where NY Pizza is now located. It was a real coffehouse with beatniks (before hippies), poetry readings, chess and black turtleneck wearing bohemians.
When the first Espresso Royale came to State St, I thought it was doomed to fail because students drank beer. How wrong I was. Now there seem to be as many, if not more locals, than students sipping lattes and playing with their laptops.
Yet, no one has mentioned Washtenaw Dairy for coffee?
Me? I don’t drink coffee anymore. When I have to pee a lot, all I think about is prostate cancer
posted by mucho gusto on May 24th, 2004 at 3:55 pmI’m moving about a block from Washtenaw Dairy in September, Mucho- I’ll have to check out the coffee. I like that place– very old-school. Plus, I got a dozen doughnuts for a dollar yesterday– that’s an unbeatable price… which unfortunately resulted in me consuming a number of doughnuts in one sitting surely above that recommended by nutritionists.
posted by Brandon on May 24th, 2004 at 7:21 pmMay I also add that coffee places are some of the best spots in Ann Arbor to sit and draw people? So far the only place where I’ve spent more time at once drawing something was a four and a half hour stint drawing the stuffed wolverine in the Natural History Museum.
Starbucks seemed quite lovely after that.
posted by art student on May 24th, 2004 at 11:10 pmBrandon, OWS’ers don’t go to the Dairy for the coffee. It’s kind of weak, the kind old folks drink.
Hey! It is weak coffee, but it’s cheap, free refills, the donuts are the best in town and the lack of wi fi gurantees no table hogging geeks. In fact, it’s the best place in town for local gossip.
Besides, todd’s beer hall is across the street
posted by mucho gusto on May 25th, 2004 at 7:06 amOh, don’t think I haven’t already taken note of my future proximity to Leopold Bros…
Have you been to that South Main Market yet? Are there any actual useful and semi-affordable foodstuffs there, or is it all overpriced Bobo novelties?
posted by Brandon on May 25th, 2004 at 12:15 pmThey have chocolate. Personally, I always found that useful….
posted by Anna on May 25th, 2004 at 12:58 pmBack Alley Gourmet at South Main Market has a good salad bar. $4.50 lb.
Sadly, the closest real grocery store is either Busch’s on S Main or S Industrial Kroger
I’d like the new developers of the Eaton factory (soon to be condo’s) building to consider a retail gorcery somewhere inside the complex. Too much to ask that anyone have the foresight to think that way about downtown
posted by mucho gusto on May 25th, 2004 at 1:43 pm‘a 27-year-old “longtime coffee shop employee” with a degree in English from U of M’.
Is this Lucy Ann Lance or her son?
posted by leighton on May 25th, 2004 at 1:50 pmAlso in South Main Market: BrazAmerica— More novelty than anything practical, you can get ANY food availible in Brazil there (sometimes requires special order, which they do willingly); San Fu— Generally good Chinese food. Little pricey, but often have vegetarian specials (if you’re into that); They also have a bulk market for spices that’s handy, if a little expensive.
posted by js on May 25th, 2004 at 4:20 pmjs
Corporatization aside, the main problem I have with the proliferation of Starbuck’s is that their coffee tastes like complete crap. Burnt rubber+cigarette ash? Yick.
posted by meh on May 25th, 2004 at 6:02 pmI don’t know, I guess I’m a fan of burnt rubber and cigarette ash; after a year of grad school strong coffee is my friend. I have more of a problem going into Espresso Royale and wondering why I pay money for a cup of hot brown water.
And as far as corporatization, one can only hope for nasty things to happen to corporations like Starbucks that do horrible things like giving even their part-time min.-wage employees health insurance. If only more businesses in this country were more responsible.
posted by Nick on May 28th, 2004 at 8:12 pmChicago’s radio scene, on both the commercial and non-commercial fronts, is about eight or nine steps ahead of anything to be found in Michigan.
Is Detroit’s (ClearChannel) version of The Drive still playing Billy Squire every 45 minutes?
Bob Stroud’s Rock and Roll Roots has become mandatory Sunday morning listening.
posted by 971TheDriveFan on May 30th, 2004 at 11:52 amhaven’t heard the Detroit version of the Drive. I didn’t know there was one.
I never thought Chicago radio was good until I moved here. All of the stations programmed on my car radio are Chicago stations, some of which happen to be Detroit stations as well, except ‘CBN, which I find listenable only late on weeknights.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on May 30th, 2004 at 9:51 pmMan, I’ve been having a hell of a time when I go to Chicago, not being able to find anything on the radio (worth listening to) except talk. I lived there for a summer, back in the late ’90s, and at that point it was easy to find both decent college stations and mainstream stuff. But now stations like Q101 seem to have fallen into that Clear Channel crapfest. Any good ones I should try next time?
posted by js on June 1st, 2004 at 3:48 pmSparrow Market in Kerrytown has good produce. Their prices are better than most anywhere in Ann Arbor (button mushrooms are $1.99/lbs), they have big bags of dried Shitakes, etc. It boggles the mind that they are cheaper than big chains like Kroger.
They also have great meat, and the owner works right there almost all the time.
Oh yeah, cheap coffee beans too. They get some bulk deals and repackage it for $4/lbs.
I *hate* Kroger.
Bush’s can be good but their meat is overpriced and I don’t like driving out there. Better to go to Hillers and hit Trader Joe’s on the way.
posted by freelunch on June 26th, 2004 at 6:52 pm