Our discussion with the folks at Caffé Lena reminded me how many cool hole in the wall places there are and how they really make little communities of their own, they bring a diverse group of people together to eat, drink, and listen to music. It also reminded me of this small cafe on the north side of Chicago, the Heartland Cafe. I first visited this cafe at the age of 15 with my family, we were on our way the the beach on our bikes as we rode by. My mother called to us all to stop and check out this place that she had worked for a couple summers during college. Entering the cafe I realized it wasn't like most cafes I'd been to, it had a different feel. The posters on the wall, the books on the tables, and the knick nacks they were selling made it pretty clear that the folks who went here were pretty involved in a variety of activist groups. This really lent to the feeling of a community, this sense of community is no where to be seen at a chain cafe such as Star Bucks, and even at a place like Sugarhouse Coffee doesn't exist. It made me very aware of the distinct differences between places like Caffé Lena and mainstream coffee shops like Star Bucks.
I agree completely. There are not enough places like Cafe Lena anymore. Everywhere you turn now days its a Starbucks or Bean and Brews or some other chain place. There are very few places that can give the feel that I would presume that Cafe Lena gives off. That down to earth, not trying to charge you $6 for a coffee feeling. I used to hang out at Starbucks a lot after school and on weekends with my friends and we would always get kicked out because one out of four of us would buy a drink and the rest would just hang out or would we be told that we couldn't hang after the closed or were closing. Its that kind of attitude that makes me want to find a place like Cafe Lena in Salt Lake City.
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