Coffeehouse Organ
Asch knows this stuff. He’s an owner of Scenes, the theater-oriented cafe on Clark Street. And he’s publisher of the free monthly Strong Coffee. Just beginning its fifth year, Strong Coffee, edited by cofounder Martin Northway, is the same savory blend of quirky voices as the cafes where it’s distributed. “What we wanted to do,” says Northway, “was create a medium where you’d meet the regulars, a few surprises, and everything was up for discussion.”
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Asch and Northway started Strong Coffee with an investment of $1,000 each. It’s all they’ve ever put in, and they’ve never taken a penny out, aside from a few dollars to buy the odd pizza for the interns. “But we’re afloat and we’ll stay afloat,” promised Asch. Fortunately he practices law on the side. Northway’s a free-lance writer.
Asch was warming to the subject of the cafe. “It’s a place where people from all walks of life have a chance to interact. In that way it’s more democratic than the information highway, which requires expensive equipment. Maybe this is more like the information parking lot. [We sensed a verbal coin that’s seen heavy use.] Once we were having a meeting of Strong Coffee at a coffeehouse, and one table over it turned out to be Pure magazine. I’ve seen theater groups, improv groups organizing at cafes. And another thing I like about the cafes–at least where the community can support it–they’re well integrated, generationally, racially, and ethnically.”
Decently, the item on “bean zines” in the new Details does mention Strong Coffee, along with entries in San Francisco and New York. But the focus is on LA’s Caffeine, which has three-quarters the circulation of Asch’s magazine but is two years younger.
“Take Back Your Give Backs.” “Time to Kickoff Real Talks.” “Off Time Is Our Time.” “Negotiating, the Smart Choice.” “Management Stalling unBEARable.”
From our notebook:
