A funny little thing happened to me in Avenue Coffee about two weeks ago. As I was paying for a turkey-bacon-apple sandwich barista Eli noticed the Starbucks punch-card in my wallet and he froze- his eyes fixated on the card.
“How could you!?†he asked, “I can’t believe it.†A Starbucks card placed in the cozy comfort of a regular Avenue Coffee customer’s wallet was definitely an act of betrayal in Eli’s eyes. “Don’t worry baby,†I reassured him, “It was one time. They mean nothing to me.†Still he shook his head ever so dramatically.
This silly back-n-forth is admittedly something that’s happened before at Avenue (even with other baristas) and it’s part of the reason I keep coming back. Most students agree with me as proven by The Daily Helmsman's latest Twitter poll for favorite place to study: Avenue beat out Starbucks 65 percent to 35 percent with 34 votes in the final round. Other contenders included City and State, Café Eclectic, Tart, Oasis Hookah Lounge, Panera Bread, and Ugly Mug Coffee.
Five students who attended Mid-South Christian College first envisioned a non-profit coffee shop around 2012. Avenue Coffee hosted it's grand opening on April 25, 2014 and the once-vacant building at 786 Echles St. is now a college-friendly environment where students can study, hang out and enjoy a cup of coffee.
During a semester where many of us did not approve of various poll and ahem...election results, it is a nice piece of comfort to me that Avenue would win The DH’s final Twitter poll. While it just makes sense (Avenue’s proximity to campus and awesome quality of  brew makes this victory a no-brainer) 786 Echles street will always hold a special place in this student/editor’s heart.
Back in my days as a half-English, maybe-Journalism sophomore The Abbey hosted an Avenue Coffee benefit show months before the shop was to open. This one night in 2013 gave me a great event story for Pam Denney’s media writing course and as I waded further into Journalism, Avenue continued to play a role. On my first day on the job at The Daily Helmsman I drove to Avenue Coffee to cover a then-upcoming concert by the shop’s co-owner and his science-rock project Hundred Year Dash. I remember having JUST enough time to complete the story and hit that 5 o’clock deadline: fighting campus traffic, dropping by Avenue to interview Jaron Weidner, and returning to the newsroom to type away furiously.
Even as recent as this semester, Weidner also gave me contact info for the Shelby County vice-chair of the Libertarian party to aid my massive story about the third-party presidential candidates. Jaron laughed about how it was also my third time interviewing him, and I certainly don’t make a habit of reusing sources, but Avenue and it’s owner always promote intriguing conversation. Jaron is what we in the business call- "a quote machine."
I’ve studied for exams countless times at Avenue, written the bulk of countless news stories there, and had countless silly back-n-forths with their employees. My success at the U of M is also , in a way, parallel to Avenue’s success. As I sit and type during my final day of my first semester as a managing editor I know I wouldn’t have gotten this far academically if not for Avenue. In more ways than one- Avenue Coffee saved my life from failure.
As an angsty, brokenhearted musician during the summer of 2014, Avenue provided a space to play music for me and my band of rowdy friends, The Jetpack Crew. “The Crew†thoroughly took advantage of Avenue’s open mic nights and it resulted in possibly the most memorable period of my college experience. When that was over and done with I found my voice as a solo songwriter by continuing to play on the back porch of good ol’ Avenue.
In all aspects of life: be it music, news writing or silly conversation, Avenue Coffee has been there. The U of M is a “commuter school,†so many of us find ourselves a little disenchanted when it doesn’t mirror the same campus community seen in movies, but places like Avenue are places “where everybody knows your name.†It is the backdrop to the sitcom of my life as a college student.
Finally, during my studying abroad last summer (based in Mainz, Germany) I took a weekend trip to Paris. I was particularly interested to learn from a tour guide that “Avenue†originated as a French word that translates to “going places.â€
As I look toward my final semester at U of M, I offer this advice to new students: find your Avenue. Work hard. Go places. In times of true uncertainty I have learned to recommend the coffee shop over the bar and Avenue Coffee never disappoints. I may flirt with Starbucks here and there for convenience sake, but Avenue Coffee will, in the end, always have my heart as my favorite coffee shop ever.
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