Coffeehouse

Need a caffeine fix? Next month, Gathering Grounds Coffee House will join Westminster's Main Street and become the second downtown location where residents and visitors can perk up with a vanilla latte, cappuccino or a freshly brewed cup of joe. "We're all caffeine addicts," said Stanley T. Ruchlewicz, administrator of the city's Economic Development Office. Besides that, the coffee shop adds a jolt to the city's business district, he said. "The big thing in economic development is to create a gathering place," Ruchlewicz said.

A new musical showcase at Mad City Coffee in Columbia takes a winning formula -- intimate setting plus caffeine plus live music -- and multiplies it. The monthly event, called Songs That Matter, brings up to five acts to the coffeehouse for their turns in the spotlight playing mostly original acoustic, folk-oriented music. "The audience gets a chance to try several new musicians in one show," said organizer Joe Isaacs of Columbia. "They also walk away with songs and ideas that they would never have heard elsewhere."

THE COFFEE shop sits on the northeast corner of Druid Hill Avenue and Dolphin Street, smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood where civil rights giants Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Mitchell Jr. once lived. Patrons have a choice of sitting in one of the eight booths or six swivel chairs at the counter. Thursday night, Leroy Davis took care of the cooking chores, aided by two others who fried up the fish and dished out the potatoes and greens. Usually, Davis manages the place, which might be unique among coffee shops in the city.

Terri Moore was incredulous when, early in their courtship, her husband talked about his dreams of opening a coffeehouse. "Oh, that's nice," she remembers saying, not taking him too seriously. But three years later, Moore has quit her job as a supervisor of 911 operators to spend her days behind the counter at Porters Coffeehouse mixing caramel lattes and cappuccinos. Moore and her husband, James, opened the coffeehouse three weeks ago on Washington Boulevard in Pigtown, in a struggling business district.

Spoons in Federal Hill has earned well-deserved recognition as one of the city's most appealing coffeehouses. The 3-year-old establishment boasts 20 different kinds of coffees and a comfortable, exposed-brick ambience. We came, though, to try the food. Spoons Coffeehouse & Roastery offers a nice selection of soups, salads and sandwiches (as well as omelets, bagels and other breakfast foods in the mornings). After placing our order, we sat back in comfortable overstuffed chairs, played Trivial Pursuit and listened to Simon and Garfunkel on the sound system.

Comedian Dennis Miller was kidding when he said they were about to open a Starbucks inside another Starbucks, but in Towson, it looks like the joke won't be far from the truth. For the past few years, Towson residents and shoppers have had the choice of getting their super-strong Seattle brew in the Barnes & Noble in the old Hutzler's building downtown or in Towson Town Center just across Joppa Road. A few months ago, another Starbucks opened in the Dulaney Plaza shopping center, across the street from the mall.

The snowdrifts were still piled high, and rain and fog made for a gloomy evening Saturday. But inside the One World Coffeehouse in Owen Brown, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and the music ranged from finger-snapping cool to jazzy hot. A crowd of about 100 packed a modest-sized room inside Owen Brown Interfaith Center for this latest edition of music and eats sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia (UUCC). On tap for the evening was an eclectic blend of pop, rock, folk and jazz by vocalist Vickie Beck, with pianist Michael Adcock and drummer Mark McPherson.

Westminster's Main Street is about to get a java jolt. The Pour House Cafe is ready to serve a cuppa joe in a colorful, family-friendly environment. It's wired for the Web, it's a gallery for local artists and the owners plan to share some of their proceeds with local charities. "It'll make a distinct impact on this community," said Sandy Oxx, head of the Carroll County Arts Council, one of the organizations that is to benefit from donations from the coffee shop, scheduled to celebrate its grand opening today.

Westminster's Main Street is about to get a java jolt. The Pour House Cafe is ready to serve a cuppa joe in a colorful, family-friendly environment. It's wired for the Web, it's a gallery for local artists and the owners are promising to share some of their proceeds with local charities. "It'll make a distinct impact on this community," said Sandy Oxx, head of the Carroll County Arts Council, one of the organizations that is to benefit from donations from the coffee shop, scheduled to celebrate its grand opening today.

Janet White Hoyt, a poet whose memorable recitations of her work in Annapolis coffeehouses endeared her to audiences, died of lung disease April 18 at the Sunrise assisted-living community there. She was 88. The former Hillsmere Shores resident, whose home overlooked the South River, was born Janet White in Appleton, Wis., the fourth of five children. She was raised in a cultivated family, and her early memories were of the book-filled home in Farmington, Mich., where she spent her youth.