Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 26, 1995 TAG: 9508280040
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And their Eudora from their Telnet.
Welcome to Roanoke's first cyberspace cafe, where customers will be able to sip gourmet grinds while checking their e-mail or chatting online. The cafe, scheduled to open near the Grandin Theatre in mid-October, will be equipped with four IBM computers, all with Internet access, and with a staff of computer- and coffee-savvy employees.
The idea of combining the social atmosphere of a coffeehouse with the private entertainment of the Internet at first may seem contradictory. After all, people who want to socialize go to coffeehouses; people who want to surf the net sit by themselves in front of their home computers.
But cafe owners Leslie Jackson and Pete Johnson say the idea of a cybercafe is the logical next step in the development of community meeting places, which, they believe, have been neglected as cities have grown. Although the space that will house the cafe is still an empty shell, they believe that Awakenings will become a place where people of all ages can meet either face to face or electronically, in a smoke- and alcohol-free environment.
"We want to make it easier for people to converse," Johnson said. "The Internet is the backbone of communications for the future."
Bob Graves, who with his wife, Cathe, opened the On-Ramp Cafe in Charlotte, N.C., in June, agrees.
"Sooner or later, the Internet is going to be such an easy way to communicate that everybody will have it at home," Graves said. "We want to make it more entertaining for them to come here."
By Jackson's estimate, there are just 50 cybercafes in the United States and 200 around the world. They started in metropolitan areas such as London and New York and have spread to Lexington, Ky.; Cambridge, Mass.; and Charlotte.
Compu-Tech, a computer sales and consulting firm that is part of LifeWorks, will install and service the cafe's computers. In addition to offering e-mail accounts and access to the Internet, Compu-Tech partner David Parr said they eventually would like to set up a local bulletin board system, where groups or individuals could post notices and exchange information.
Jackson declined to predict exactly what the cafe's computer rental rates will be, but said they will be comparable to those at other cybercafes, where terminals usually rent for between $7 and $10 an hour. At most cafes, patrons must pay an additional amount for an e-mail account.
The cafe also will hold occasional Internet training seminars, and additional classes will be offered through LifeWorks, a cooperative association of new businesses and individuals housed on the second floor of the cafe's building.
To keep Awakenings user-friendly - and to attract the computer-illiterate - Jackson and Johnson plan to feature local musicians and poets at frequent concerts and to showcase the works of area artists. The Three Feathers Bookstore, which also will be run by Jackson and Johnson, will be separated from the cafe by a partial wall and will be open to cafe patrons. The shop will specialize in books on wellness and alternative lifestyles.
Awakenings' menu will emphasize healthy, natural eating, Jackson said.
"We don't know how to be everything to everybody in a massive way," Johnson said. "But anything that's out there, we want it reflected here in some small way."
And if the cafe and bookstore don't end up just the way they have planned, if they discover that the community wants something different from what they envisioned, that's just fine with Jackson and Johnson.
"This is a gateway place, not the end place," Johnson said.
"We're learning as we're doing," Jackson said. "We're not experts at any of this. We just want to create the kind of place where we would like to hang out."
by CNB