Power to the people: After 40 years, People’s Place continues to brew meaningful relationships
Legions of bleary-eyed students swarm the basement of Hendricks Chapel, looking for a quick cup of coffee.
Pandemonium has arrived at People’s Place, with 15 minutes before the next round of classes start. Some will make it on time, others won’t, knowing their mocha java is worth the unexcused tardy. The line extends far beyond the counter, reaching into the stairwell several yards back.
It’s just another day of work at People’s Place, the nonprofit student-run coffee shop, which celebrates its 40th anniversary thisyear. Though the coffee is free trade and organic, the defining aspect that has allowed People’s Place to survive four decades is, well, the people.
‘People who come in regularly — we know their order. We say, ‘Hi,” saidAlex Amadeo, a People’s Place employee. ‘So you could just go somewhere else, and you would just get a cup of coffee. But here it’s cheaper, you might know the person a little bit better, they might talk to you, catch up with you.’
At 9:45 a.m., the only noise left is the music pumping from Amadeo’s laptop. With hardly a customer in sight, he and his co-workers prepare more coffee for the next rush. Amadeo, a junior music composition major, hands over a cup of coffee to Hendricks Dean Tiffany Steinwart.
Chuckling, Steinwart thanks Amadeofor letting her son join his Skype conversation with a friend abroad the day before. It’s these small interactions and relationships that have defined People’s Place for 40 years, filling the role of the casual student hub People’s Place founder Ted Finlayson-Schueler had always envisioned.
When Finlayson-Schueler created People’s Place, it was just him and his mother, some coffee and a lot of cookies. The university had not yet built the Schine Student Center, leaving students without a place to meet and relax on campus.
Since the space wasn’t there, Finlayson-Schueler decided he was just going to make it. Though the University Religious Council already gave out free coffee and doughnuts, Finlayson-Schueler tweaked the system and began selling his own baked goods, using the same space in the basement of Hendricks. He and his mother would bakehundreds of cookies at their house every weekend, which always sold out.
‘That’s what’s amazing, it’s just been like that the whole time, considering other changes on campus,’ Finlayson-Schueler said.
There have been a few changes. The walls are now covered in memorabilia of past workers. From aging Polaroid pictures of previous employees to a magazine cut-out of George Clooney, each People’s Place member has left his or her mark in making this coffee shop a unique spot on campus.
‘If you’re having fun and people can tell, it’s a contagious feeling,’ said Charlotte Stone, a manager at People’s Place. ‘And people want to be a part of that.’
Tom Wolfe, senior vice president and dean of student affairs, said the atmosphere always reflects the students currently there. As the Protestant chaplain and previous dean of Hendricks for 19 years, Wolfe has seen the atmosphere of the shop fluctuate, yet still retain its core value as the ‘living room’ on campus.
‘I can’t imagine the chapel without People’s Place,’ he said. ‘Just can’t imagine it.’
Wolfe quickly dispels any rumors that Syracuse University wants to put People’s Place under its watch. Though it has been mentioned, he said People’s Place is far too rooted in tradition to be stripped of independence.
‘There’s so much legacy at People’s Place, so no,’ he said, ‘It’s not going to happen.’
Creating an atmosphere all employees and customers can enjoy is a crucial aspect to People’s Place, said Stone, a senior anthropology and political science major. By blaring music and taping humorous notes on the wall, the coffee shoptries to make all employees feel at home. Stone acknowledges these aesthetics earn it the title of a hipster hangout, but she quickly points out that a patron doesn’t have to wear flannel and skinny jeans to fit in.
Around noon, Physical Plant workers in hardhats order sandwiches and coffee, contrasting with everyone else in the basement. People’s Place brings together more than just students — numerous faculty and staff members are regulars as well, Amadeo said. People’s Place now takes Finlayson-Schueler’s student integration model and expands it to include faculty and staff.
Wolfe recounts numerous conversations with students and faculty he otherwise would have never met. He’s befriended many of the student managers there, forging relationships with each visit. In his honor, there is even a yellowing piece of notebook paper taped above the counter, with ‘Dean Wolfe — free coffee for life,’ written in purple crayon.
‘For me it was part of my social circle every day,’ he said.
Then there’s the line that, no matter the time, has recently become a staple of People’s Place. Occasionally sprouting out the door and beyond, the massive line has forced students to strategically find the right time to visit.
Wolfe said the coffee shop was much quieter several years ago. With its growing popularity, students can be impatient and frustrated in the lines, Stone said, but the pressure never gets to the workers. She said People’s Place can occasionally run out of coffee or lids in the middle of a line, but these shortcomings don’t add to the stress or make her job any less enjoyable.
‘You can go down to Starbucks, and the line is just as long,’ she said.
As the shop closes down, there’s hardly a soul in sight. Stone cleans up the shop, wiping the counters and sweeping the floors. She’s exhausted. But she’s not alone, either. With her co-workers, she said it doesn’t matter how tough the job feels — the people around her create the feeling she knows the coffee shop will always provide.
‘It’s the thing that got me through college,’ she said. ‘You just relax.’
Published on March 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm
