Come January, Acadia Cafe, known as much for their great tap list as for their support for local musicians, is moving from Franklin and Nicollet to the former New Riverside Café space at Cedar and Riverside. As is often the case, Al can be credited with alerting folks to this.
The story can be found here.
I like the food and beer at Arcadia Cafe but I am confused as to what it wants to be.
Is it a coffee shop or a bar?
With a coffee shop comes the mentality that a person can squat a booth for hours while reading a book and sipping on a latte. Whereas with a bar, you are expected to be buying food and drinks or maybe you need to go elsewhere. Also, with a bar, it is accepted if someone sits next to you at the bar. Whereas in a coffee shop, you get evil looks if you ask to share a booth or table.
I’ve stopped going to Arcadia Cafe because of the squatters. There have been several occasions where it would have been nice to have a sandwich with a beer but where am I going to sit?
Good point Scott. My one one visit to the Acadia cafe made me feel like I was in the Cedar-Riverside area so this seems appropriate to me.
Once, I saw a guy come in, sit at an occupied table, when the customer was in the john, push his belongings aside and open up his laptop, all without first making a purchase.
The original user of that table came back looked at the guy and said, “doing some work, huh?” He got no reply, then gathered his coat and books and mosied on down to another table with his tea. Talk about Minnesota Nice.
Me, I woulda bumped his freeloading, internet-stealing ass!
And I like the idea of a coffeeshop with beer, just wish they had a bar you can sit at…and maybe this location will have that? It’s possible…
I’m a lookin’ forward to seeing them cram live electronic noise bands in that spot! It’ll lend a new meaning to “electromagnetic center of the universe” (the slogan of the old Riverside Cafe, for those not old enough to remember).
maybe they’ll use the old “pay what you can afford” policy of that bygone era?
“And I like the idea of a coffeeshop with beer, just wish they had a bar you can sit at”
Same here. My biggest complaint about Aradia is the lack of seating (or maybe it is the booth-hogging squatters). I really enjoy a good cup of coffee after having several pints. It helps revive my palate. Which is why I hope Arcadia has a better space at their new location.