The City Dock Coffee House is a treasure of a third place in Annapolis, MD.
This morning I enjoyed talking to the regulars, gathered around the bench marked "Sen. John Astle's 'down the hill office.'" The coffee house, on the dock in Annapolis, is a few blocks from the state capitol. The regulars told me of the long-standing group, gathered around the local state senator and noted storyteller. They get together daily to solve the world's problems. The old guys, led by Chuck, were jolly and joshing. Unusually, the regulars also included some women, who the men introduced as the brains of the group.
The owner, Grover Gedney, sat on the high stools with me for a time. He helpfully described the business, which has grown into a local institution. They supply coffee to the Naval Academy and the Governor's Office, as well as many local restaurants. And as coffeemen and coffeewomen have done for centuries, he paused to greet the regulars as they came in, and welcome the arriving staff.
City Dock Coffee is a classic third place that keeps its identity in the middle of a heavy tourist destination. May it thrive.
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2 comments:
What's a third place?
Ah, yes, I should have said. "Third place" is a place that is not home or work, where strangers can meet and become, at least, acquaintances. This is where the public sphere is created.
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