We all have our comfortable places. We need these places for our sanity. The routines that are familiar, and allow our overworked minds to work a little less, reduce stress and are therefore as important as any healthy eating, or exercise ever was to our well being*. For the average Cup-a-Joe (aka Cup) regular, who is I daresay, borderline not-sane, this is the place where they…..we….always feel welcome and at home. I once read about another Hillsborough Street institution, Sadlacks (RIP), described as the Island of Misfit Toys. This label most certainly applies to the regular crew here.
In 1991, when Cup-A-Joe opened, modern coffee culture (if we consider the proliferation of Starbucks an indicator) was in its infancy in the U.S., and was essentially an unknown in North Carolina. But my initial doubts about why anyone would want to sit around and drink coffee in a place other than their kitchen table, were quickly replaced with important thoughts about how to fit a Cup visit into my day. Broke and bored? Crossword and a short coffee would fill the time and mental space. Time to kill before a show at the Brewery (also RIP) when you’re too young to drink alcohol legally? Hungover? Home base for a day of walking up and down Hillsborough St? Cup-a Joe it was, and still is.
Should this post be enough to make you want to visit Cup for the first time ever, it’s important that you have some idea what you are getting into. First, there is no latte art here. It functions more like a Soup Nazi line…order, pay, and step aside. You stir your own drinks. The food is decent but not gourmet. It is for students living on a budget, and is many steps outside the mould of Raleigh’s more and more out of reach and out of touch dining scene (another Bitching article for the future). But the food is fresh or marked (and priced) as day old. The 20+ varieties of beans are roasted in the front of the store and Cup takes seriously the term “fair trade”. It plays NC State radio station 88.1 exclusively. Frank Zappa and Elvis are apparent heroes to the owners. The interior is not fixed up…..even a little. The furniture may very well be stuff that was being thrown out, but is appreciatively repurposed here. But the space is not dirty. The counters are wiped down any time the employees have a spare second. The bathrooms are cleaned multiple times a day. The store operates with a distinct understanding about what is important and what isn’t. So I mean quite seriously if you come, love it or leave it. But do not denigrate it. You might just earn yourself a full on Bitchin’ article directed right at you.
Future posts will honor the regulars i’ve known here over the years and go through the evolution of and describe the interior of this marvelous place.
It makes me sad to think one day will the be last time I ever set foot in here (typing this in Cup naturally), but that day is most likely not today.
* – In addition to being a favorite routine, multiple stress reduction techniques are in play here. For me, first and foremost it is a relaxation technique. I also make sure I allow for Cup a Joe time so time management is incorporated as well. Reading, listening to music and being social also often overlay my time here, and are all credited with being important stress reducers.