Category Archives: Uncategorized

Brewhouse Cafe: A Spatial Analysis

Posted on by
Reply

The Brewhouse Cafe is a restaurant that is in the Little Five Points area in Atlanta, Georgia. It opened over twenty years ago and has been a thriving business ever since. Over the years, Brewhouse has become one of the most popular places in Atlanta to watch soccer that is being played in any league that is televised. Because of this, people from all over the city and the world go there to watch their favorite teams. Little Five Points is an area of Atlanta that has changed tremendously over the years. A closer look at what it is that makes a business thrive is required to see why Brewhouse has remained. The success of the business is largely thanks to the crowds that big games bring but the reason it’s survived for so long is thanks to the friendly and familiar environment they provide to the populace. 

This business has thrived over the past twenty years because of something that most places overlook for the sake of making money. When evaluating what is required to make a business thrive, it’s important to note the importance the environment and hospitality have had in the continued success. Brewhouse Cafe employees are a perfect example of what southern hospitality embodies. This is obvious when analyzing how they interact with the customers. On more than one occasion a customer walked in and was immediately greeted by name and given a hug. The twinkle in the eye of one man when he was greeted this way made me think that maybe that was the first person in a while to be excited to see him(Burney). It warmed my heart and seemed to almost bring the man to tears. A customer feeling welcomed into a restaurant and leaving with a positive attitude keeps people coming back far more than a good plate of food or an ice cold beer. Anyone living in Atlanta knows very well that they could go to a different restaurant every night for a month and not repeat when it comes to a good meal. The same cannot be said for the atmosphere and energy. More often than not, when a person walks in and sits at the bar, they are greeted by name by the bartender. Why do the bartenders seem to know everyone that is coming in? The place runs off of people that came in one day and realized that this was a place that they wanted to call their home bar.

Street Views

A street view of one of the many events Brewhouse hosts in the community. Burney, Sam, “Street Views.” 2018. JPG file

 Last year, Brewhouse was bought by a new owner, Saakib Zafrani, who has been a patron for almost ten years. “I’ve been a customer for nearly a decade, took my wife on our first date there, and have made almost all of my best and lasting friendships there,” stated Zafrani in an interview (Spivak). This is extremely interesting because it begs the question: why would someone want to buy a restaurant out of the blue? Zafrani had the money to do it and, over the years, has fallen in love with the space. It was such an impactful place that he decided to buy it to make improvements and ensure its longevity. For a place like a sports bar to have such an atmosphere that leads to someone wanting to buy it to preserve it is a big deal. Zafrani in the same interview went on to share  plans to upgrade technology at Brewhouse but was sure to state “I plan to keep the inside more or less the same, so as not to ruin that atmosphere that’s carefully aged like a fine scotch whiskey over the past 20 years”(Spivak). Why incorporate new technology but not change the look of the restaurant? Clearly it’s because that is something that cannot be replicated or replaced. It is what makes the place so special to its customers.                                              

The atmosphere is aided by the customers being friendly to each other. “A soccer watchers’ dream with a friendly, competitive atmosphere and fresh drafts pouring throughout the matches” is how one blogger described it (Westveer). During an important soccer game I heard one man asking another about his wife and kids and how the family dog was doing(Burney). The friendly feeling given off by the staff rubs off on the customers and makes for an even friendlier environment. When analyzing what, other than numbers, push a business to thrive, it is important to know that customers that are happy and enjoying themselves in such an environment are more likely to spend more money and continue to come back. Emotions such as kindness can be something that a customer is much more attracted to and will pay more for than a plate of food. This process leads to more people becoming regular patrons and more people knowing about the space in general.

Game Day

Brewhouse’s patio rightfully seeming with Atlanta United fans on a busy game day. Burney, Sam. “Game Day.” 2018. JPEG file.

Since Brewhouse is a soccer bar, it has seen more business than usual in the past three years thanks to Atlanta’s newest professional soccer team Atlanta United. Atlanta United brought a spike in business for every sports bar but especially Brewhouse. Despite the place being standing room only when there is an Atlanta United game on, the atmosphere remains the same(Burney). All of the people there are happy to be and having a great time. Why is that? There’s no way that a crowd that big would assemble randomly at any restaurant. This comes back to the customers that had a good experience spreading the word and thus bringing in more business. The fact that a space that isn’t usually as crowded as they get on Atlanta United game days can maintain an atmosphere that keeps customers happy is a merit to their success. 

Businesses that are just starting or even haven’t started yet stand to take away a good bit from observing how Brewhouse has thrived. A closer look at the success that is thanks to the environment that the staff and customers create is a phenomenal example of how every business should be run. It doesn’t take very long when being at Brewhouse to understand the truth in this report. In an industry that is huge worldwide it is important for the ones that plan on being around for an extended amount of time to have something that not everywhere else has. Every restaurant that wants to stand out and succeed should put a twinkle in a customer’s eye and make them feel at home. 

 

To take an up close and personal look at the energy and atmosphere, take a look at this video taken on the night that Atlanta United won the Major League Soccer Championship back in December of 2018: https://youtu.be/Q-mW3VSNcpw 

 

Works Cited 

Spivak, Caleb J. “Brewhouse Cafe Has Been Acquired, New Owner Planning Modernization.” What Now Atlanta, 18 Oct. 2019, whatnowatlanta.com/longtime-patron-acquires-brewhouse-cafe-in-little-five-points-is-planning-minor-modernization/#!

Westveer, Brittany. “The Brewhouse Cafe.” Your Guide to All Things “Atlannuh”, 7 July 2018, theatlguide.wordpress.com/2018/07/07/the-brewhouse-cafe/.

Burney, Samuel. Observation. March 11, 2019

 

Literary Beginnings

Posted on by
Reply

 I was a very talkative and active child. I enjoyed being outside and playing sports more than anything else. This story outlines the first time that I realized that I could find joy in reading. Before this time I hadn’t ever really found anything that could entertain me like the outdoors did. I realized that my imagination was more powerful than I had ever thought. I found a new hobby and passion that has stuck with me throughout my 25 years. Students may be interested in the fact that my literary beginnings started on paper and progressed from there. 

It’s October of 1997, I just finished brushing my teeth vigorously in anticipation. Tonight  was the night that my mom was going to start reading us the first Harry Potter book. The rules were clear: teeth had to have been brushed, pajamas had to be on, and no sibling altercations could occur. My mom was sitting in the small chair across from a giant bean bag my brother and I would soon occupy.

Here a mother sits on a couch reading to her two small sons.

This is a mother reading to her two small sons.

The book had arrived less than two days prior from my grandmother in England as it had not been released in the country yet. The sound of the cover cracking as it was opened for the first time is a sound that I’ve remembered until this day, and is also one that holds much influence on my life. After reading the first chapter I was enamored by a source of literacy that had never captivated me in such a profound way. Nothing else in the world seemed to be real aside from the mental images I was experiencing through my mother’s reading. My brother, who had been nudging me to get more than his fair share of room on the chair, wasn’t even phasing me. I was hooked. 

For the next hour I sat in silence, which for me, was unheard of. Story time up to that point had always involved a picture book and I was skeptical of how reading one without pictures was going unfurl. Until that night, the illustrator’s ideas of how the scenes were laid out and how the characters looked was all that I had to go on. Little did I know I was in for a great awakening. The images that I was forming in my head were more vivid and poignant than any image that I had ever seen on television. The realization that I could have my very own narrative come to life in my imagination was one that I have never forgotten. Every character had their own face and wardrobe. Every scene laid itself out in front of me as if it were realistically developing with every word. There were a few vocabulary words that I didn’t quite understand at the time, but that’s where having a teacher for a mother came in handy. Any time she would see my face contort in confusion she would pause and define the word that confused me. Seconds later we were back to the story, which was all that I wanted. 

As time went on and the series continued to be expanded and published every year the anticipation stayed consistent. Although the first three books were read to me due to my age and lack of literacy based on vocabulary, I continued to expand my understanding. A year after the first night, while I was in the middle of the second installment of the series being, the film of the first book came out and I had never been so excited to see a movie in my life. I was, of course, expecting the movie to look exactly the way it had in my head while having it read to me. Oh, how wrong I was! I remember seeing the movie and immediately being thoroughly disappointed. I had many questions running through my mind; “Why had they skipped over whole chapters? Why were there characters missing from the movie that were in the book? Why do the characters look different than what I had imagined?” It was then that my visual literacy collided with my auditory literacy. I had formed all of these images and characters in my head based off of the words on a page and now it was being shown to me in a whole new perspective. I realized that the power of the words would always outweigh what any movie could possibly create outside of my own head 

https://youtu.be/lHJ35q9nJeg

By the time the third book was being released in the United States, my brother and I, along with an entire community of other youth at the time, were immeasurably hooked on the story we had fallen in love with years ago. The release dates for the books held much more anticipation for both of us than the movies being released. By that time, I was old enough that my mom would let me go with her and my brother to the midnight release at Borders Bookstore. Given that the novels normally came out in the summer school nights were no longer a problem for my mother or I. People were in costumes and had been lining up outside of the store for the entire day in anticipation. Kids were battling sleepiness while sitting on the floor, waiting for what seemed like a lifetime. I had never been allowed to stay up until midnight and it held a special meaning for me to be allowed to do so for something that I so badly anticipated. The look of excitement on the attendees faces that were walking past us in line with their crisp new book made me so jealous because they would get a head start; even if it was a mere ten minutes.

This is a photo of an extremely long line outside of Borders Bookstore. The line is waiting for the midnight release of a Harry Potter book.

Long line outside of Borders bookstore that shows what bookstores everywhere looked that were having midnight releases for a new Harry Potter book.

As an adolescent, the publishing of the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series secured my investment in novels and a larger interest in literature. Investment in the series allowed me to develop a greater relationship with content distribution through a variety of mediums, including auditory, visual, and text based. I had an extremely profound experience engaging with the plot prior to witnessing it on a larger screen. Engaging with a particular piece of literature can prepare you for additional circumstance and experiences that you would otherwise not be informed of. Novels depict stories, and individuals’ stories educate others.

From the first night I made a running leap into that beanbag chair to the last sentence I read of the series, the Harry Potter series formed who I am as a literate and creative person today. I realized the power words could have when they were strung together eloquently. I appreciated the visual images I was able to form from them, and I learned that no matter how visually appealing a novel-based movie could be that it would never hold the same power for me. I heard the voices of characters that I felt like I knew personally. I experienced an inclusive, expansive, and collective literary beginning.