The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Spoon University.
Growing up in a town with a population of 70,000 people, we had a grand total of 1 local coffee shop. We had 2 Starbucks, a couple drive-throughs, and a whooooole lot of soda shops. Going to Phoenix was a major change for me for a lot of reasons. The population went from smallish to a whopping 5 million people in the Phoenix metro area. It felt scary and lonely.
One thing I’ve always loved, but hadn’t gotten to do much because of living in a smaller town, is exploring new places to eat, have coffee, or shop. Moving to Phoenix, however scary, was also so exciting to me! What do you mean there are 20+ independent coffee shops within 20-30 minutes of me???
One of the first ones I tried, my very first semester of freshman year, has kept me coming back every year since. Luana’s Coffee and Beer will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart. It might have been that they had renovated an actual home, but the place really did feel like home. Filled with thrifted trinkets, sayings along doorframes, and obscure art hung on the walls, I just always felt like it was a place I belonged.
I consistently came here during my freshman year to do work, mostly not do work, have tasty coffee, and eat yummy food (the Rexfast – fried rice with spam and eggs – will always call me by my full government name).
In early 2022, I heard some of the WORST news about this coffee shop. Their brick and mortar location was closing. I was so heartbroken. How could this be possible?? Didn’t people love this place as much as I did? It felt like an institution was getting shut down. So I waited, I just kept following along to see what was going to happen.
And thank goodness I did! Not long after closing the old spot, they found a new spot. They opened up in a new spot, just 10 minutes from the old one. The place wasn’t the same, but it didn’t have to be. It honestly felt symbolic of the changes that I was going through at the same time. The same decorations, same furniture, same menu, but a completely different environment.
This new environment became a part of my routine every Thursday night, where I bonded with a group of people, soon to become my best friends, over trivia. One of my dearest friends even works there now!! Walking in the door every week just feels like coming home. So if you’re ever in Phoenix for school, for work, whatever it may be, you HAVE to stop at Luana’s Coffee and Beer <3
