Alex Dubilet: A cup of coffee

I spent a part of last Sunday playing a hyper-competitive game of Scrabble at Mugshots -- an independent coffee house by Eastern State Penitentiary out at 21st and Fairmount. Lazily laying there on a frayed orange couch I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if Penn actually had a place or two with this kind of atmosphere.

You know a place that isn't just an exact replica of 1,000 other coffee houses. A place that has eclectic furniture and unique decorations on its walls. A place that is locally-owned and buys its products from other local businesses. A place that brews Fair Trade coffee more than just once a month and just radiates a genuine sense of community.

My na‹ve daydreaming was interrupted at some point the following day by, out of all people, the friendly folks at Penn dining. Their overly enthusiastic and tremendously witty email snapped me back to reality that is Penn. "Coming to University of Pennsylvania this Fall: Starbucks at 1920 Commons You'll like it a latte!"

Awesome. Another Starbucks.

Just in case you downed that cup from 34th street walking along Locust Walk, now another Starbucks is readily accessible. (This smells like a great opportunity for re-fill discounts. But somehow I doubt that Starbucks will bite.)

Now don't get me wrong, I am just as java-addicted as the next college student. (In fact, I'm already on my second cup and I am less than half-way through the piece.) But c'mon how many mega-conglomerates can this campus take? On top of the two Starbuckses, we will have Taco Bell, KFC and Quizno's arriving next fall. Of course that's on top of Chick-fil-A, Subway, McDonald's and Boston Market, which are already staples here. What's Penn trying to do? Become a veritable poster-boy for the national chains?

Well they're only a Burger King and a Wendy's away.

Then again, maybe this is just the administration's way of catering to the depraved needs of the student body - a body that can't drink a cup of coffee that isn't certified by Starbucks or a sandwich without Subway's seal of approval.

For my money, there's only one true independently-owned cafe on campus -- Metropolitan Bakery. There, all it takes to know the owner by name is saying hello while grabbing a cup of coffee. (And for those of you who haven't stopped in and met Jim Lilly, I recommend it -- he's a nice guy.) Metropolitan's walls are lined with local artists' works and in its window you can see a sign for the Buy Local campaign.

It's just sad state of affairs that at Penn grassroots hangouts like Metropolitan are the rare exception and not the norm. No doubt you can wander west and enjoy places like Paris Cafe on 41st, Green Line on 43rd or Kaffa Crossing on 44th.

But that's not the point. Penn is in a unique position. The proverbial 800-pound gorilla owns a lot of retail space and can handpick its tenants as it sees fit. In the end, if bringing independent coffeehouses into the area was a serious priority those up high could do it.

Yeah, there's probably no 1-800 number to call to find locally-owned cafe owners, like there's, probably, one for Starbucks, and the local businesses can't put down a huge down payment, but maybe that's why I am a big fan of the Buy Local Campaign.

The recently organized campaign is a network of local businesses that are determined to keep money circulating in the community, while building up a unique, vibrant atmosphere. At base, these folks simply aren't willing to put profits ahead of building their own communities.

"Local ownership is important for the community for many reasons," says White Dog Owner and one of Buy Local's biggest advocates Judy Wicks, "It creates a character of individuality and local identity in the local neighborhood." Furthermore, she added, that without dynamic local business, we often lose out diversity of choice as consumers.

In the fall the Buy Local campaign will target the entire University City and by '06 it plans to be established city-wide. The big shots at Penn should be watching.

Many promises have been made about the mix of local and national retailers in the major developments along the campus. Let's hope that they don't turn out to be just lip service and the result feels more like Sansom Row than University Square.

In the meantime I'll be finding my independent cup of coffee somewhere off of Penn's campus.

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