I discovered The Internet from a public library on my Apple iBook. I fell in love with The Internet and its ability to connect me to anything at any time…well, anytime being the operating hours of the library. However, when the library was closed, I’d still be sitting right against the front door on a pillow on my laptop and plugged into a wall charger outside. Like a fly is attracted to a porch light, I would sit at the Library on Sundays for 12 hours to write, read and connect with people. That was a great time and it was my only Internet outlet. It was my outlet to the world.
Soon, I could pay for WiFi at a Barnes & Noble Cafe. It was pricy at $30 a month but my parents wouldnt’ let me have Internet at home so this was all I could do. During the school year, I’d stay late and spend time in-between classes on the web. I can’t believe the Internet is on my iPhone now and it’s available EVERYWHERE. This was a different time. This was 2002. In San Francisco, I fell in love with a cafe that will forever be my one and only all-time favorite cafe.
Sugar Cafe.
I’ve written about it before. The joint was a block from my apartment and opened at 5AM with their own in-house pastry chef and cook. The food there was fantastic. It was nice music and great coffee during the day and, at 5PM, the lights would dim and they would reveal a full bar where the coffee and espresso machine once were. The music would get a bit louder, the drinks would get stronger but, there were times in my career where I’d arrive at 6AM and finally leave at 2AM when they kicked me out. It wasn’t cool to be at Sugar Cafe staring at a laptop screen while beautiful women in short skirts sipped martinis and moved aside tables to have an impromptu dance party but I was in hustle mode and that cafe was amazing. Long hours, two Wifi connections for redundancy, a full bar, a great coffee selection, good food and a bathroom that was always clean. That was heaven. Every Saturday, I’d still go and work because, for $10, you could have unlimited Mimosas. I miss Sugar Cafe so much.
Now I live in New Hampshire.
Dirt Cowboy stole my heart when I first arrived. After a few days of working out of the cafe that faces Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH I was through with it. Their coffee is fantastic! The coffee selection is great and it’s all single cup brweed and ground fresh! They have a small pastry selection that isn’t quite fresh and they don’t have WiFi. Power outlets are a commodity and, without Internet, the cafe is still totally full each and ever day. No Internet and still it’s hard to find a seat. You pay 25 cents ever half hour to park your car and it’s not built for getting work done. It’s a cafe that I am over. Unfortunately, it’s the best we have. Dirt Cowboy closes at 6PM each and every day. Yes, the only cafe on Dartmouth’s campus and it closes at 6.
Jake’s Coffee Company has a fantastic Latte. They’re in Lebanon but, after I ask for a Large Latte and add soy and then add vanilla and then add an extra shot, the Latte costs over $6. It’s more than Starbucks. How can anyone cost more than Starbucks? They don’t have WiFi either and only have 4 places to sit. They have a drive-thru. I hate coffee shops with a drive-thru and they’re generally pretty slow. Their bagel sandwiches are alright but it’s not perfect. Something is missing. Oh yeah. Everything is missing. Their coffee is terrible and they aren’t open late.
Panera Bread is corporate, it doesn’t smell like coffee which luckily, the other two places do have that coffee smell. They’re open reasonably late but WiFi is limited to one hour and you must purchase something. The coffee is terrible, the place is too sterile for my liking and your’e encouraged to eat a meal or buy something every once in a while. The employees just stare at you after 4 hours. The power plug options at Panera are also very limited. Frankly, it’s a deli that has WiFi. That’s all Panera is and I can’t work there because it doesn’t smell like coffee. I need the coffee smell!
Tuckerbox in White River Junction seems to be my only hope. However, it would appear that every trendy / hipster person in Vermont goes here. There were 4 girls with polka dot mini skirts and harajuku style clothing. The men wore jeans that were made for a woman and the entire place reminded me of some of the San Francisco coffee shops that I really loved. The issue with Vermont or New England or maybe it’s just small towns in general is that, in San Francisco, Hipsters are just people. We’re all people but my point is, when you are like everyone else, it’s normal. However, in this place, you’d walk outside and see a collection of “normal clothing” and then walk into this place where everone was wearing black plastic glasses and using Macs. They weren’t in the coffee shop because they wanted coffee. They were there to be seen. HUGE difference. Tuckerbox was hipster haven and I felt like a total outsider. They closed at 5PM on the dot. Dealbreaker.
Borders was becoming my spot to work in the afternoons and on the weekends. Believe it or not, I liked going there. The coffee was decent, they were open until 9PM and their WiFi worked but wasn’t too fast. The slow WiFi forced me to be more productive instead of get caught up on cute cat videos. Borders smelled like coffee (at last their cafe did) and when I was tired of sitting upright on those hard chairs, I could move to a comfy chair. Everyone there wasn’t trying to be seen. They were trying to hang out, have some coffee and dick around online. It was nice and there were power outlets EVERYWHERE.
Well, The Borders in my town has closed. I realized this yesterday when I went to have some coffee. Now what?
Well, a few friends who I’ve complained to have said I should open my own cafe. Sounds great but with what capital and with what time? I have a full-time job. It just won’t happen. I’d LOVE to open a cafe in the Upper Valley. A cafe that’s decorated nicely, has fantastic coffee, tons of options and ultra fast Internet. I would care that we have the right mix of mainstream and craft beers and we’d have a pastry chef and comfortable chairs. We’d host events like art showings and classes on how to make coffee. I’d start roasting my own beans and mastering that craft and then apply for a liquor license and stay up late serving drinks to college kids who want to drink but also enjoy a fantastic cup of coffee. It would be a wonderful place where you can request your own music, bring your own CDs if you want and you can stay as late as you want. Maybe we’ll stay open 24/7 for people who need to get something done and their Internet at home is out. It would be a wonderful place.
Too bad I can’t do that right now. I’ll just have to save up and get a home espresso machine. That’ the only way I can enjoy great coffee and still get work done. It won’t be the same though. A cafe is special and sacred to me and there aren’t any options in this area. I’m stuck. Stuck in the country without a cafe.
I love where I live. Can I have a great coffee shop to go with that?