The Morning Coffee

Something that every town needs is a place to get a morning coffee. Somewhere the local folks drop in to grab the local news along with a fresh cup and a light breakfast before heading off to work. I’ve lived and worked in places like that, and the little diner, coffee shop, or the mom-and-pop restaurant can literally be the center of the town. I now live in a small city amply provided with restaurants, coffee shops, and the like. But I work in a nearby small town lacking one.

It’s a small town that I once lived in and had many family and friend connections in. When we lived there, the Village was adorned with a small coffee shop that served as a sort of social center.

In the mornings, it was visited by the residents, members of the Board of Selectmen ( for those of you from “away” from New England, it would be like the city council), and anyone out to socialize and find out what was going on.

After my layoff from the Gov I walked my crew of four children there on days when there was no school. It was pleasant to be in a place where everyone knew our names, and we were greeted with a big smile. Regrettably, that place is gone now, and when I walk past It’s a bit of a walk down memory lane.

I was in the Town Offices the other day and a few of us got to talking about the lack of a local coffeeshop or small restaurant. Most of the talk around here about development center on getting companies to start businesses that bring revenue in, jobs, and which attract other business. All very important. But towns need places where people gather to socialize – a local club, the cultural center that hosts community concerts, the school, or even the local market where you exchange news over the selection of eggs.

This conversation rolled on for a while, and then paused. Then the town Assistant Administrator queried, “What locations in the Village would be good for this?” The conversation swelled again as we discussed various locations, their owners, available parking, and convenience. Eventually we all discovered that we all had actual work to do, but we now had something else to think on.

Despite growing up in New York City, I’ve lived and worked in enough small towns in New England to know that sometimes discussions like the one I was taking part in are the beginnings of new things. Things cook, people cogitate, questions are asked, and eventually things coalesce around a plan.

I still remember how glad and jolly the four kids were when we started the walk down to the coffee shop. Good behavior was required, but in exchange they were treated as honored guests. The tables were full of locals talking about recent events; what was going on at local mill that was being redeveloped, the concert happening at the old church on Saturday—all the buzz of a healthy community. Yes, there were scandalous rumors. That was just a bit of sauce for the goose!

I drive by three or four of the sites we discussed as potential locations for a coffee shop, and I could almost imagine taking a table by the window for an hour with a cup of coffee and a pastry, watching the traffic roll on.