Pick your latte: campus cafe satisfy
Cafes around campus can be a relaxing spot for students to study before their final tests while feeling the festivities of the holiday season.
“We try to make the cafe more festive for the holidays,” said Abbie Lewis, a sophomore majoring in journalism and communications and an employee at the Artist’s Block Cafe and Bakery. “I started playing Christmas music, but not too much that people get sick of it while they study.”
“People come in to study all of the time,” Lewis said. “I set some tables up to the side so people can study without being bothered.”
Study groups sometimes conglomerate together in their favorite cafes. Cafe employees will try to set up the cafe so these study groups will feel like the cafe’s atmosphere is comfortable and appropriate for group studying.
“Each cafe has a different feel to it,” Lewis said. “Depending on your mood, go to a different cafe. My favorite is the Artist’s Block Cafe and Bakery. I like the atmosphere and feel of the cafe a lot more than the other cafes. People chill on couches, express themselves and relax. There are study session groups that come in often. I have set up tables to make it easier for people to study together.”
In the Artist’s Block Cafe, customers can help attribute into making the atmosphere feel more festive and fun for the holiday season. Artist’s Block is a staple in some people’s daily lives because they can eat, study, work and socialize while at the cafe.
“We have a lot of everyday regulars,” Lewis said. “Some don’t only come once a day but twice or three times. They are mostly people who are art majors or professors because they are in this building all day.”
“It is fun because the walls have chalkboard on them so people draw Christmas pictures,” Lewis said. “The pictures help create a festive atmosphere. We ask people their names when they come in. It’s nice when people come in enough that we don’t have to ask them their name anymore. It’s like having friends all of the time. It doesn’t feel like work anymore when you know them personally.”
Some students enjoy and use their favorite cafes’ often but do not sit and embrace the cafes’ friendly atmospheres.
“I go to cafes all of the time, probably more than I should,” said Danielle Colvin, a junior majoring in FCHD. “At least once every other day I go to get at least something little or grab a quick bagel. I’m a ‘go there, eat, get out’ type of person. I’m not a ‘sit-there-for-forty-minutes’ type of person. Everyone seems really nice and friendly though. I have been to all of the cafes at campus and my favorite cafe is the new one across from the Quad. People sitting in the cafe always want to talk, and everyone that works there has been really nice.”
Besides picking a favorite cafe to go to, students pick a favorite item to eat there.
“The new cafe has really good wraps,” said Colvin. “They are bread wraps with meat and cranberry sauce inside. I like to get them while I’m up at campus.”
The Quadside Cafe in the Merrill-Cazier Library can draw in some people because it is in a location that gives students a food option while they have long study periods.
“The library cafe has good hot chocolate,” said Kelsey Richardson, a freshman majoring in public relations. “I have only been there twice because I don’t spend money ever. The cafes aren’t really expensive, but I usually just go home because I am cheap.”
“I was doing homework over at the library and I was hungry,” Richardson said. “I could smell how good their cafe smelled. It made me think, ‘Oh, I could do with some food right now,’ so I went over and bought a hot chocolate to drink while I did my homework. It was nice that I didn’t have to go hungry while I studied.”
— hailee.housley@aggiemail.usu.edu