Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Le Coffee & Moore - Specialty Coffee outside of the Metropolis

Rochelle Boone works behind the counter of her coffee shop, Le Coffee & Moore, on U.S. 15-501 in Southern Pines.
Source: The Pilot
"Most importantly, the beverage has to be perfect every time. If it’s not, we throw it away and start over." - Rochelle Boone of Le Coffee & Moore.

In my North Carolina hometown of four years, the Sandhills, there is a paucity of quality of coffee.  Generally, you have Cactus Creek roasters and that's pretty much it.  So I was delighted when a family member sent my a copy of the local paper, The Pilot, spotlighting a new coffee house opening up called Le Coffee & Moore.  For those not in the know, the Sandhills area is in Moore county, which accounts for the pun :-).  The link for the article is here and the cafe's website here (Still Under Construction).  What struck me was the fact that Boone traveled  to Portland, Oregon, went and took classes at the America Barista & Coffee School, and set up shop in a market not known for coffee love.

An interesting twist to the cafe is a board-room like table.  The article states, 
"The conference room, which harks back to her banking days, features a table with seating for eight, a dry-erase board and a television that can also be used for PowerPoint presentations.  “I wanted to attract business people as well as students with laptops,” Boone says. “Business people are always looking for a place to take clients. I’ve almost got the whole month of March reserved.”
Generally, cafes have space for groups to meet, but to actively market it as space for businesses to have meetings in a relaxed environment is clever.  Buying drinks, scones, and other caffeinated treats, works quite well.  I am curious to see if it somehow cordoned off to make sure that the meetings and other customers don't bother one another.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't say what coffee they serve, but I am optimistic that it is quality, especially being so close to Durham-based Counter Culture Coffee.  If you're in the area, be sure to check them out, and send me an email.  I would like to know how it is!


  

  

   

Friday, March 04, 2011

Looking Towards the Future - Berlin

Hi all, I have been quite busy this week at my real job and haven't had the time to blog.  This summer I am trying to go to Germany to go study abroad and go through some archives to look for possible dissertation topics.  Getting all the nitty gritty details and funding has been stressful to say the least.  Though, it looks like I will live in Berlin for a month!

Look for some future posts in the coming days, but I wanted to update all Metro Espresso readers for whats been happening :-).  For your enjoyment, here is a Berlin bear at the Brandenburg Gate. I love the way he bobs his head with the music.