College Coffee House

I ran across the most perfect little place. It's called The College Coffee House - just this little place down the hill from the university. (When I say little, it says "Maximum Occupancy 80".) But it's this warm, open, inviting little place.

For the most part, the tables located within the coffee house are made just for two - just right for enjoying a cup of coffee after a date or maybe even while on a date, listening to whomever happens to be playing at the time. There are a few larger tables, where a study group from up on the hill could congregate and accomplish their study goals.

There are four computers with internet access (the first fifteen minutes are free when you pay for your drink; then it's just two dollars for fifteen minute increments after that. Not bad for a little cafe.) Two of the computers are out in the main cafe - two are located in this darker back room that also has a couple couches where you could get together with some friends and talk uninterrupted.

The decor is simple - actual burlap bags that have been used in Columbia and Costa Rica to collect coffee beans and some South American art. In the far left corner, away from the door, is a small stage with microphones and an amplifier - just right for a small music ensemble or a solo artist to perform... or even a poetry reading or two. The walls behind the stage are decorated with posters of jazz legends and photographs of people who have actually performed at the coffee house.

They make a really damned good espresso (I had two) and offer a variety of coffees. In addition, they have a wide selection of teas, smoothies, and specialty drinks for those not overly fond of coffee. Along side the drinks, they offer some small lunch or dinner items and some snacks/desserts.

Looking around, you see all types of people milling about - college students workin on an assignment; friends getting together to catch up on what's been happening in each other's lives; a couple on a first date, anxiously leaning in over the table to talk; a couple who have been together awhile, relaxing on a couch and talking like the old friends they are; people seeking a respite from a day of shopping; even a family taking time out of their busy schedules to really just catch up with one another.

You wouldn't think a town like Fairbanks - and let's face it! Fairbanks is still small enough that it can't really be called a city! - would have a place like this tucked into some back corner in a little strip mall. Fairbanks with its gruff old sourdoughs with that shock of white hair and the ZZ Top beards; young, naive cheechakos in their sneakers and leather jackets, braving the elements at forty below; old fashioned gentlemen who will still offer their seat to a lady; young, brash punks who would rather stare you down than even offer something akin to kindness; military members and their spouses, in a state of aftershock due to the change in environment; old timers who would rather die than ever move back to a big city. Not this place - no way.

But, then again, why not? Fairbanks is slowly growing - the military with its Army post and Air Force base are seeing to that. So is Wal-mart for that matter. Fairbanks is a true melting pot, a real representative of America at its best. You can see tourists mingling with residents at any time of year. A college student is not afraid to ask a local for directions their first time out and about in town. It has that comfortable hometown feeling while being removed from the rat race that so often consumes a small town.

So, why not Fairbanks? Why not indeed...