Published: August 27, 2008 10:26 am            

Back Roads: Coffee talk

Originally published in the August 22, 2008, print edition.

The Stomping Grounds across from the theater on 4th Street in Staples has the feel of what a coffee shop should be.

After school there are students visiting with each other, playing board games, and using the computer terminals that are free to use with the purchase of a drink. A drink can be an Italian soda, a glass of milk, a shot of espresso or simply a cup of coffee.

On most school days students outnumber adults during after-school hours and it’s likely that the employee or two will be students who mingle easily with the customers reclining on couches or circled around the tables.

But the Stomping Grounds isn’t the exclusive territory of the young. An older crowd comes for morning coffee or soup and sandwiches at noon. There is a “Sit and Knit” area, evenings to learn conversational Spanish and occasional “Hot Coffee, Hot Topics” forums in the evenings.

“We slowed down a little bit for the summer,” said Pam Collins, a co-founder of The Stomping Grounds, “but the last forum we had was a discussion about wind and solar power with a family that lives off the electricity grid.”

The Stomping Grounds has always been a collaborative effort between students and adults. Collins came to Staples from Chicago in the late 1990s. While her husband, a minister, settled into his new church she sought out something meaningful to do.

In the process she met a group of high school students who thought Staples should enter the new millennium with its own coffee shop. Collins and her new young friends set out to create a coffee shop that would serve young people and the broader community.

It was a huge effort that involved writing a business plan, going to dozens of meetings, and seeking assistance from people throughout the entire community. By the time The Stomping Grounds opened in April 2003 the original student organizers had graduated.

The original vision was to have students run and manage the shop. That dream was tempered by the reality of the transitory nature of high school students, but the broader vision of a gathering place for all ages has remained constant.

Children come for the Saturday morning story hour, teenagers and adventuresome adults come to hear local bands, local artists sell their art, and anybody can come for a mug of coffee, a muffin and a quiet time to read the always available local newspapers.

        

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