Volume XWIII, Issue 21
Educating Women To Excel
March 29, 2006
ON THE
INSIDE:
A Night of
Poetry
Page 2
NCAA
Basketball
Page 3
David Price
Coming to
Meredith
Page 3
Announcements
and
Ads
Page 4
WEDNESDAY
Sunny
High 69/ Low 46
THURSDAY
Sxinny
High 73/Low 51
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Scattered T-storms
High 73/ Low 55
SUNDAY
Partly Cloudy
High 74/ Low 53
MONDAY
Isolated T-storms
High 74/ Low 53
TUESDAY
Partly Cloudy
Hi^ W Low 52
Meredith’s New Hangout
SARAH JACKSON
Contributing Writer
When you walk through the
door of the Royal Bean, the
new colfee shop across the
street from Meredith Col
lege, the second thing you
notice is the familiar smell
of fresh roasted coffee. The
first thing you notice is the
feeling of calm that washes
over you as you take in the
cool colors and the relaxed
atmosphere.
This feeling is exactly
what Amanda LaRoque
wants you to experience.
LaRoque, a Class of 2000
Meredith graduate and the
owner/barista of Royal
Bean, felt an immediate
sense of calmness and right
ness when she first stepped
into the building, though
at the time it was a gutted
video gaming hangout.
“I was in Ben and Jerry’s
one night and saw a note on
the window [of the erstwhile
video gaming spot]. I saw
they were selling things and
made a mental note to call
them the next day because
I needed a new couch,” She
emailed the owners about
the couch and set up an ap
pointment. Aself-admittedly
hyper person, LaRoque says
that when she got inside the
building, she took one look
around and, feeling that
sense of calm, impulsively
made an offer for the whole
shebang. “I loved the high
ceiling and the amount of
light through the window
and the old brick; it was a
lovely combination,” she
said. “I signed the lease on
October 16th and opened on
January 2nd!”
LaRoque decided to turn
the empty space into a cof
fee shop. “Every morning I
would fight traffic, having
to cross the street and fight
for parking spaces at Cup-
A-Joe’s, and this seemed
perfect!” Royal Bean’s lo
cation is ideal; it has plenty
of parking and is on the right
(in both senses of the word)
side of the street,
LaRoque made many care
ful decisions with the design
of her coffee shop. In fact,
in many ways. Royal Bean
is the anti-coffee shop.
“So many coffee shops are
overcrowded and cluttered,
and you’re sitting right on
top of each other. You can’t
hear your conversation part
ner, and the clanging of the
cups and saucers... it drives
me nuts!” said LaRoque. “I
went the opposite extreme
- wide open spaces and no
glassware,”
A visual sweep of the Roy
al Bean gives you an idea of
what she means. The floor
is a neutral wood, the walls
are a deep grey, and fixtures
are painted purple. There are
indeed wide spaces between
the gift area, the bar, a smat
tering of couches, a game
and newspaper comer, and
an area of tables and chairs.
All the tables and chairs are
on wheels so they are con
ducive to student study ses
sions or group meetings, and
the Royal Bean offers wire
less internet as well.
As for the glassware, La
Roque uses environmentally
friendly paper cups. Being
environmentally friendly is
important to both LaRoque
and her clientele.
“I feel that it is important to
give back to the communi
ty,” LaRoque said. “Patrons
appreciate the fair trade, the
rainforest alliance, and the
fact that we don’t use the
cheapest coffee. I could, and
I know some people who
do so, but that wouldn’t be
right.”
The Royal Bean offers a
wide selection of coffees by
Mr, Toad, and always keeps
it fresh.
A sense of community is
one of LaRoque’s highest
aspirations, and she aims to
cultivate one with Meredith
students in particular.
“I used to get eye rolls when
I said I went to Meredith.
‘You’re one of those girls,’
people would say. I realized
that Meredith’s goal for so
long was to become well-
known, and become known
throughout the region, that
nobody locally really knows
what Meredith is all about;
no one knows what goes
on behind the gate, the tal
ent, intellect, and goodwill,
the community spirit,” La
Roque said.
LaRoque inadvertently
found a solution. After
painting the walls of the
Royal Bean, she realized
the wealth of wall space she
had, and she remembered
one of her Meredith friends
was in the art department.
She called the department
and asked if they would put
their art on her walls, and
they agreed. She now has
one wall that will always be
devoted to the work of Mer
edith students, leaving the
-Other for local artists.
LaRoque sees this coffee
house as a stepping stone of
sorts for Meredith to have a
voice in the commimity.
The artwork is not the only
piece of Meredith to reside
at the Royal Bean. She has
also been in talks to sell the
Colton Review and to host
poetry readings. She also is
involved with theater stu
dents to host a storytelling
time. She has also asked
Meredith musicians to pro
vide music on Samrday
nights from 8:00 to 10:00
p.m.
“It was cool to connect with
the students. When I was at
Meredith, I didn’t partici
pate much, and I just had a
core group of friends from
my major, people I would
work on projects with, but 1
didn’t have the larger sense
of community. Now, I inter
act with students, professors,
and administrators on a reg
ular basis,” said LaRoque.
Administrators often hold
meetings at the Royal Bean
(for no charge) and the Roy
al Bean hosts bible studies,
French club meetings, and
other small club meetings.
“It’s a nice change of atmo
sphere,” LaRoque enthuses.
“You’re still at Meredith,
siirrounded by Meredith
people, but it’s a change of
scene.”
LaRoque aims to make
Royal Bean a part of the
Meredith experience. Stu
dents have already made
suggestions for weekend
movie screenings and Friday
night board game nights.
She would like to do an an
nual fimdraiser, with a per
centage of the Royal Bean’s
daily profits going to some
scholarship fund or a fund
of Meredith’s choice. Most
importantly, she wants Mer
edith students to have a place
they can call their own.
“I have lots of friends who
went to State, Carolina, or
ECU, and they have their
hangout that they have to
visit when going back. Every
State alum goes to Amedeo’s
or Mitch’s, but Meredith has
been here all these years and
has no hangout!” LaRoque
said.
She wants there to be a
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