Dear Editor:

I’ve been a long-time customer of Cup A Joe since my days at NC State. I still frequent the coffee shop every weekend, and have spent a fair amount of time there working as a student and as an alum.

I read the column by Emily Neville about Cup A Joe not being hospitable to college students, and I’m confused about it. My recent experience has been that Cup A Joe has been full of students and faculty members, working on their laptops, chugging away on coffee, at all hours — even on the weekends.

But when IHOP opened across the street, people were parking in the lot shared by Cup A Joe and Nice Price Books, and walking across the street to eat. So much so, in fact, that on Saturdays and Sundays, they had to put an attendant in the parking lot to keep that from happening.

Then, the road construction in Hillsborough Street is happening right in front of their sidewalk. Businesses up and down the street are seeing a drop in business because of the construction, which is to, ultimately, make Hillsborough Street more pedestrian-friendly by slowing traffic down. 

But in the meantime, the construction is hurting these businesses. It is in the realm of possibility that stores like Nice Price, Cup A Joe and The Reader’s Corner could close before the construction project is finished.  

So it makes sense that the owner of Cup A Joe would prohibit outside food as it is a business, not a library, even though Cup A Joe is used as work space for the NC State community.

I say this to illustrate the larger factors in play that are affecting Cup A Joe and other businesses on Hillsborough Street. The street has undergone major changes in the past decade, for the benefit of the community for the most part. But some Raleigh institutions haven’t made it — Sadlack’s Heroes, The Alley, Brothers Pizza, Two Guys Pizza, to name a few. 

As more ticky-tacky student apartment buildings go up and flashy restaurants open on Hillsborough Street, the more I appreciate Cup A Joe and the businesses that have been mainstays and served the NC State community for decades. They have added to the character of the community, overall, while students come and go.

I’d think twice about complaining about a longtime business trying to protect itself against larger forces, so it can stay open for generations of Wolfpackers to come. 

Ben McNeely

Class of 2005