Coffee Shops: Tallahassee's Own Creative Hotbeds

Imagine your favorite coffee shop, and if you don't like or drink coffee simply suck it up and give this exercise a chance, who just happens to be sitting in there? Ahh, yes, there is that token guy in the back corner that actually didn't buy any coffee but has somehow managed to pirate the free WiFi all afternoon. Ahh, you have it, there is that girl that is on her third latte and she is boisterously trying to prove to her friend that the best way to color your hair is with Kool-Aid, while simultaneously trying to control herself when she gets the caffeine shakes. Sitting next to that girl, as usual, is the passive aggressive studier who has been plotting for the past thirty minutes how to get the Kool-Aid girl to talk softly without saying anything directly to her. Finally, there is a guy sitting with a pen and paper creepily writing all of this down, who looks oddly similar to me.

If this is what you imagined, then you were spot on in imagining what nearly every coffee shop in Tallahassee I have been to has been like as far as the people are concerned, with a few exceptions. What I have failed to mention thus far is how the coffee shop actually looks, which in my mind is the most important part of the whole experience, when you consider that the people will always be the same.

Take All Saint's Cafe for example, the artsy-ness of the establishment exudes creativity. From the large graffiti wall the adorns the parking lot to the local art that is displayed on the wall inside, it is like there is peer pressure to make something creative when you walk in. The same goes for places such as the Brew & Bean which has modern architecture and a clean look and feel and is equally inspiring a place to make creative things happen. That being said, I have begun to frequent different coffee shops, not to gain indie points, but to work on a poem, a song, or even an ad. What I'm trying to say is, if I were to quantify it, Tallahassee would be home to two heaping handfuls of privately owned and franchised coffee shops. Each one with its own atmosphere, it own creative environment and I would like to invite everyone to start taking advantage of the potential advertising genius which resides in these places. I have a list of a few places that you can try out if don't already know about them.

1. All Saint's Cafe

2. Brew & Bean

3. The Black Dog

4. Bada Bean

5. StarSeas Cafe

6. Bishops Cafe

7. RedEye Coffee

I would write down directions but that would just be silly, Google it! So go out with your advertising problems and come back with a vanilla chai latte and a great idea.