New Java City Cyber Café offers coffee, internet access (Photo by Austin Kilgore, The Daily Campus)
It’s early morning and fresh beams of sunlight begin to slide through the glass windows of Hughes-Trigg. In a couple of hours, hordes of sleep-deprived students, weary from a night of diligent book cracking, will make take a mummified, zombie-like walk through the doors of the student center. In the past, students would have to trek all the way to The Market and wait patiently while the understaffed mini-café attempted to accommodate the overwhelming line of caffeine-hungry sleepwalkers. Luckily, the oppressed and downtrodden students of SMU have a new a beacon of hope.
For the fall of 2005, the administration decided to renovate the student center and give the young men and women of SMU a new café as a token of admiration, rewarding them for their devotion to intellectual and spiritual growth. Now Montague’s Deli, the calorie-rich enterprise adding spare tires to first years everywhere, has changed locations. In its place now lies the Java City Cyber Café. Compared to its predecessor, Java City sprawls like the skyscrapers of L.A. Designed with a modern flair, the café’s lighting and furniture design communicate both sophistication and elegance. The area is spacious, comfortable and luxurious, a place where people can easily sit, have a coffee, use the computer and relax all in the same place. One feature that impresses is the wood-grain floor, which adds a flavor of SMU stylish refinement to the café.
The service is exceptional, as there are more employees available to serve customers than previously. The staff is friendly, hardworking and appears genuinely committed to providing good customer service. The lines move quickly and the beverage quality is splendid. Customers can choose from delicious fruit and yogurt smoothies and traditional coffee drinks. Manager Tony Peterson bought me a Berry Rumba, which was a whirlwind of flavors. Drinking the smoothie was truly a religious experience.
Dan Sly, a veteran of the café hustle, notes that Java City is “bigger, more convenient, and more accessible.” The new café is open longer, running from 7:30 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and 4 p.m. to midnight on weekends. Another perk of Java City is the increased number of computers available to students. Indeed, as opposed to before when the denser space confined students to a miniature computer lab, the new set-up makes access to Internet and word processing applications more easily available. Sophomore Caroline Carter, a self-confessed Internet fanatic, relishes the more efficient coffee drinking and online chatting experience. “ Really nice! Definitely a super upgrade,” Carter said.
Ruben Garcia, a first-year, enjoys Java City because he can “ drink coffee and hang out.” Celina Isart, another student trying out the new café, was so awestruck by Java City that she was unable to form a sentence. However, Celina’s expression said it all as her smile radiated with the power of a nuclear meltdown.
Indeed, Java City is clearly a Godsend in every sense of the word. During operational hours, students can choose between smoothies, coffee and baked goods. The café is a fabulous location to mingle or meet with friends or just to grab a quick pick-me-up cup of coffee to get you through class.
