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Clubbing at the Open Eye Café

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Staff

Rebekah Cowell

In our house, when you go to get a cup of coffee at the Open Eye, it is called “clubbing”! The term was coined by my toddler’s father. One day he brought Hannah with him; she was still an infant — alert and happy to look around, she took in the music jamming, the color of the characters milling around the counter in their effervescent uniqueness, and it made her chortle and coo with glee. Her father came home and told me she had loved “clubbing.” After that, the phrase stuck. Now when one of us takes her to get coffee, we ask her if she wants to go clubbing — she smiles, she’s a walking girl now, and she likes to do a few dance moves while we wait for our cup, especially if the rhythms are just right.

The Open Eye became my home-away-from-home many years ago. Then I was a student at Carolina, I chose Carrboro versus Franklin Street for my coffee shop studying. I wrote many a philosophical paper in the former Open Eye space — that small little den-like room, encouraging intimacy and privacy all at once. One summer day, having a painful turn of events with my affairs of the heart — I sat at my laptop and wrote an anguished letter, tears streaming down my face. No one invaded my privacy, no one stared, but the barrister walked by my table, leaving a Guglehuph chocolate croissant as he passed. My dignity was preserved.

Now that I’m a full-time mother, I rarely get to sit and write in the Open Eye — it is at the top of my list of things I anticipate renewing once Hannah reaches that phase of having time away from mum.

For now, I grab my cup, let Hannah dance and mingle until her patience hits its limit and leave knowing I’ve been a part of the happening “clubbing” scene.

Rebekah Cowell is a mother and writer and a graduate of UNC who resides in north Chatham.

1 thought on “Clubbing at the Open Eye Café”

  1. scott conary says:
    January 17, 2008 at 11:01 am

    Ahh, Rebekah…you have me smiling from that one, for so many reasons. As an owner of Open Eye Cafe and a Carrboro resident, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your experiences so poignantly…

    Beyond our desire to heighten the coffee (and more) drinking experience & the deliver the best that coffee can be to our town and area; your experiences are exactly the kind we hope for, and the kind of space we hope to be for our community! It is vastly important to us to be able to be the kind of space that can create those moments.
    I Look forward to ‘clubbing’ in the OE ‘living room’ in the future!

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