Vista Online

Fall/Winter 2001

Fresh Grounds

Coffeehouse

Their heads ducked as they slithered into class. With futility, four students attempted to hide the reason for their tardiness. Large, steaming maroon cups in hand, they had been struck by temptation, the lure of a high-quality coffee located a mere block away at Jo’s Java, one of two coffeehouses to open in Greenville this winter.

Claiming a prime location in the college’s pristine Dietzman Center, Jo’s caters to those who may have just a few moments free between classes or want to grab a bagel or coffee after chapel. According to senior Shawn Cox, an employee of Jo’s, the baked goods and drinks are of the highest quality. An admitted coffee “addict,” Cox visits the coffeehouse regularly, located just a stone’s throw from his home in Tower Apartments.

What Will’s Coffeehouse lacks in proximity from campus, it makes up for in terms of sheer ambiance and atmosphere. The virtual “North Pole” of the new Globe Theatre (nicknamed for its location in the upper level of the theatre), Will’s caters to the same audience as Jo’s, with a twist.

Students wanting to escape from campus without the hassle of an hour drive to St. Louis, have found that Will’s offers an atmosphere similar to that of coffeehouses such as St. Louis’ The Grind and Studio Café. Both have opened their doors to local talent, giving students an opportunity to perform without traveling to similar, but more distant, locales.

Greenville College has tossed around different ideas for a campus-centric coffeehouse for over three years. With the college’s continuing efforts to upgrade campus buildings and bring in new construction, the bookstore complex provided the right fit for a coffeehouse location on campus. Jo’s fills a niche that has been empty for some time in the Greenville community.

SummerSlaymaker

Last updated: July 9, 2001