Kafe Kerouac

3rd Person --> 1st Person --> 2nd Person

3rd: People line up on bar stools with laptops, sitting in the main room. Conversations wander both sides of the Kafe as people balance getting work done with sitting by old friends. The part barista but always a bartender oscillates between taking orders, cashing folks out and lending an ear to any nearby patron wanting to be heard. And when it is busy here, the storm behind the bar is a whirlwind of refilling a bottomless coffee pot, toasting bagels, serving cookies and pouring enough alcohol to keep things loud and quiet. When different servers DJ, they transform the space from rock halls to lo-fi R&B corners. The customers rolling in are as different as the bartenders ranging from quiet to talkative and serious to funny. There’s always someone or something interesting at Kafe Kerouac. When you’re lucky you get both.

1st: The big question, “Why am I here?” is perpetually unanswered, but I’m not surprised. The good bare bones of hot coffee, nippy cold brews and cocktails as entertaining as luaus make it easy to forget the question. I might get work done on a novella or I might not. I’m bound to see a friend here or make a new one and either way we talk for hours. They got as much done as I did, but we're not worried. We’re chilling. My “whys” “whens” and “wheres” mix in a cocktailed Edgar Allen Poe that resurrects me from the gutter. Time flows differently here and by the time I leave Kafe Kerouac, I’m probably late to something else.

2nd: You might miss it driving south down High street; it’s on the opposite side. If you’re walking the side walk North beside it, then take a chance to step inside. Here, you could grab an authored cocktail or latte, like the peach-vanilla Roald Dahl. Take a seat in a staged room with three-sided wall-to-wall bookshelves or lounge on the other side where art gallery meets a hole-in-the-wall cafe bar. Lose track of time finding the vibe where you pick up easy conversations with strangers like old forgotten friends. Or don't branch out and squirrel away to a corner to sit and get work done. No matter how or even why you come in, there’s more to enjoy here than coffee and booze. Take a moment to be besties with serendipity and come inside to a live performance of poetry slams, open invite book clubs or drunk power-points. You won’t be bored at Kafe Kerouac unless you want to be.