FOCUS A DIFFERENT GRIND continued from previous page
via Chef Rudy
Lucky’s Coffee Shop presents...
Chef Rudy’s Slovakian Menu it’s rich, hearty, and delicious! hey, if the Greeks can do it, why can’t he?!!
Photo courtesy of Drip Café
‘s Drip Café helps create a sense of hometown pride, say owner Greg Vogeley.
and the good ole US of A, too... of course!
THE IDEAL STOCKING STUFFER
A writer/edi tor’s slightly snarky and relentless crusade
to eliminate grammatic al gaffes from our everyday communic ations
Compiled from the popular column in Out & About Magazine
Take Brewed Awakenings, for example. During a recent chilly November afternoon, the modest, warmly-lit space on Newark’s Main Street is a sanctuary from the cold. Local art hangs from the walls, a student quietly works on homework by a window, and a cluster of young people are engaged in conversation, seated at tables beneath a floor-length shelf of old books. Surveying the room, owner J.D. Willetts doesn’t appear concerned about the future of local coffee shops. In fact, he smiles and nods in the direction of the group of people hanging out, as if their presence holds an answer. And in a way, it does. “They work here, but they’re not on the clock—they’re just here to hang out,” he says. “And I don’t know how true that is at the big chains. But here, we’re a family.” Willetts ticks off examples of the sense of community Brewed Awakenings enjoys: one customer fixes the shop’s internet for free; another does artwork; someone else takes care of accounting in exchange for a few lattes on the house. Newark resident Zac Bartosh, who frequents independent coffee shops, agrees that they’re a personal experience, and what keeps him coming back to places like Brewed Awakenings is the welcoming environment. “The advantage of locally-owned coffee shops is much more than just the coffee. The employees know you by name, and have a genuine interest in you as a person,” Bartosh says.
A passion for people The column that has been a regular feature of Out & About Magazine since 2007 and remains one of our most popular contributions. War on Words is available at Ninth Street Books or at the Hockessin Book Shelf. You can also order directly through O&A by calling 655-6483. Cost is $9.95 plus $3 for shipping. Credit card payments are accepted.
When Willetts, who worked as a psychologist for 25 years, purchased the coffee shop this past summer, he knew he personally wouldn’t be making any profit from Brewed Awakenings. He brought the shop under his nonprofit Abide Foundation, and from the beginning he has worked fulltime as a volunteer. He also immediately implemented the Community Cup, which is a pay-it-forward option—customers can donate any amount of money toward a future customer’s beverage or meal. To Ben Cordova, general manager at LOMA Coffee on Market Street in Wilmington, such above-and-beyond methods fall under the heading “passion for people.” Cordova refers to local coffee shops as a “third space” to relax between home and work. In fact, when Hockessin’s Sycamore Hill Church opened LOMA five years ago, the goal was strictly to serve a need in the community by creating a shared space. He says that’s one reason LOMA is still flourishing, with growing numbers each year.
22 DECEMBER 2015 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM
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