Janelle Bernson and Jacqui Bongiavani greet you when you walk in the door, telling you to pour yourself a cup of coffee. Andrew Servetas is somewhere in the back, ready to whip up whatever youd like.
He invites you to sit down on the furniture he picked up at a garage sale, or at his parents old dinner table. Las Vetas coffee shop in Fairfield is not Andrews home, but its been his mission to make it seem that way for seven years now.
Its like having people over to your house every day and every night, Andrew says. Its like entertaining.
Andrew does his best to entertain in other ways as well. Every Wednesday is open mic night for locals to show off their talents. Tomlinson Middle Schools poetry club walks over on occasion to hold poetry readings. And Andrew opens up the floor every once and a while to local garage bands looking for their first gig, like the 14-year-olds he had in last week.
Youve got these kids who are able to tell their friends and family theyre playing in a coffee shop downtown, Andrew says. Thats got to be fantastic.
Since he opened up shop on the Post Road in 2003, and now that hes in his new location on Unquowa Road, Andrew says hes centered Las Vetas around one word: community. Part of that comes across right when you walk in and see the furniture hes laid out. Its all either reclaimed from tag sales or handmade.
But theres also a handful of little things that add to that feel. A large portion of the shops southern wall is dedicated to a community bulletin board with flyers for babysitters, guitar lessons and the like. On the opposite side is the Open Book Shop bookcase, a holdover from when the space was home to the book store of the same name. Now its filled with used books and board games, which customers are free to browse.
You can come here, play Monopoly, and get yourself a peanut butter and jelly and a bag of chips, Andrew says. I dont know of many places where you can do that.
Have you visited Las Vetas? Whats your favorite thing on the menu? Give us your own review in the comments below.
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