As I’ve said before on this blog, you never know what a gem of an article is hidden in your local bi-weekly news letter that you would have otherwise not been privy to! We’re all aware of these things taking up space in our recycling bins outside the house. They can draw your attention to a local event or some kind of one of a kind establishment in your hood!

Today I was waiting around for a store to open and I had roughly 35 minutes to kill. So what was I going to do to pass the time I said to myself? Ah, what about that Coffee Bar that opened up in the old XXX video store that went under ages ago?! Even some local critics had nothing bad at all to say about the place, so sure, let’s check it out!

Trying to recall where this place was, after walking down the street and around the corner, sure enough it was there! The place is called Broadview Espresso. The outside was nicely refinished, back to it’s original period look. Gone were the signs that covered up the front windows, blocking the hidden beauty inside this vintage old store.

As I strolled in, the inside great! It has a small, intimate feel to it. The ceiling was wood, the lights hanging from the ceiling were a nice art deco design and they all fit in well together for a charming atmosphere. The owners used particle board (that was shellacked really thick, I might just do this for a future home project, if it presents itself to us) for a stretched out table that wrapped all the way around the windows so you could look outside onto the street to view the sidewalk traffic. The high barstool like seats are simple, just the way I like it. Overhead, there was relaxing jazz music, people reading, talking in a low voice or simply using their notebooks.

Upon ordering a coffee, I made small talk with the young lady behind the counter. I asked her if they had anyone playing music in there and she had a neat answer to my question. She said that musicians just show up from time to time and play when they like. The Barista added that this one guy even came back every Saturday night for a month and played for nothing! Now this is the kind of place that you want to see up and coming new indie talent! Nice, I’ll be back for sure!

So when you see that old bi-weekly newspaper, that you normally just chuck into the recycling bin, leaf through it and you never know what you’ll find!

Keep on Jammin’