Cleveland coffee shops to help combat finals fatigue.
Written by: Emma Smallwood
With the ferocious lakefront winds, gray skies, snowy sidewalks, and exam season quickly approaching, The Vindicator has compiled a list of some of the best refuges from the cold Cleveland has to offer: coffee shops. These coffee shops offer an atmosphere perfect for camping out for an hours-long finals studying session, and each location offers some fantastic, caffeinated drinks to fuel you through the holiday season and the hell on earth that is finals week.
Stonefruit Coffee Company
Located in: Downtown Cleveland, 15-minute walk from campus
Hours: Mon-Fri: 7:00AM-5:00PM, Saturday: 8:00-5:00PM, Sunday: 8:00AM-3:00PM
Disclaimer: I, the author of this article, am a barista at Stonefruit Coffee. While I have worked many shifts behind the counter, I have also spent many, many hours as a customer — laboring away over schoolwork — and I can attest to its comforting atmosphere while studying.
Stonefruit Coffee Company, located in the Fifth Street Arcade in Downtown, is a coffee shop as warm and welcoming as they come. With vibrant murals adorning the walls, an abundant amount of plants and spacious seating, this local coffee shop is a great place to hang out and escape the Cleveland winter for a bit. With a menu of drinks that goes up to a six-shot latte and cold brew that is strong enough to wake the dead, this shop may just offer you the recharge required for even more studying.
Lekko Coffee
Located in: Hingetown, 5-minute drive from campus
Hours: Mon-Sun: 7:00AM-7:00PM
Stepping into Lekko Coffee is like a breath of fresh air. The shop has abundant natural light and a peaceful, tranquil energy that will be a perfect fit for anyone who needs peace and quiet to be able to fully get into studying mode. There is plenty of seating in this Hingetown coffee shop, and the store is open until 7 p.m. every night, making it a great spot to study after classes let out for the day. With a wide range of coffee and tea (along with a great pastry and food menu), Lekko Coffee is a fantastic option for hiding out from the cold and getting some serious studying done.
Coffee House at University Circle
Located in: Uptown, 10-minute drive from campus
Hours: Mon-Sun: 7:00AM-5:00PM
Coffee House at University Circle is a CWRU coffee staple, but it is too great of a coffee shop not to share with CSU students. Located in a century-old house, this cozy coffee shop used to be a fraternity house, and subsequently a school of architecture before being turned into the haven for college students that it is today. This coffee shop is two stories tall with ample, comfortable seating and individual rooms that are perfect for both group and solo studying. They offer a variety of coffees, pastries and lunch foods alike, so it is the perfect place to camp out for a day of finals cramming.
Phoenix Coffee Company
Located in: Coventry Village, 15-minute drive from campus
Hours: Mon-Sun: 7:00AM-6:00PM
Phoenix Coffee Company is Cleveland’s only employee-owned cooperative coffee company, with five shops located around the downtown area. While there are two Phoenix Coffee shops downtown (one in the Warehouse District and the other on East Ninth Street), the Coventry location is unmatched when it comes to creating the perfect study-sphere. Open almost all day, this Phoenix shop has plenty of seating and charging ports, is filled with plants and fun decorations, and has a fantastic menu of drinks and pastries. Located in Coventry — one of the most vibrant areas of Cleveland — there are plenty of fun restaurants, local shops and beautiful parks nearby to take a much needed study break.
Rising Star Coffee Roasters
Located in: Tremont, 5-minute drive from campus
Hours: Mon-Sun: 7:00AM-7:00PM
Rising Star Coffee Roasters is certainly a star of the Cleveland coffee scene. With seven shops open around the downtown area, Rising Star has been a coffee staple in Cleveland for the past decade. While all the Rising Star shops are fun places to hang out, the Tremont location has the best studying potential. Only a five-minute drive from campus, this suave shop has ample, cozy seating ranging from individual tables to long counters that are perfect for group work. This Rising Star location even has an individual room that can be reserved through the baristas, so if you and your friends need a place for some undisturbed review time and great coffee, this may be the spot for you. With interesting, unique drink options and plenty of seating and work areas to go around, Rising Star Coffee Roasters is a perfect option for your next cram session.
Roasted Tremont
Located in: Tremont, 5-minute drive from campus
Hours: Mon-Fri: 7:30AM-7:00PM, Saturday: 8:00AM-7:00PM, Sunday: 8:00AM-3:00PM
Are you looking for a cool, vibrant coffee shop to study for finals in? Look no further than Roasted Tremont. Roasted not only boasts a superb menu of drinks, but also is filled with knick-knacks, games, and artwork that make it a fun place to do a not-so-fun activity: studying. If all that wasn’t enough to motivate you to check out this shop, on Thursday through Saturday every week there is a vintage store open in the back of the store called ReFried Vintage. Get a fun drink, get some studying done and take a study break at the conveniently-located vintage store attached to the shop.
Cafe Ah-Roma
Located in: Campus District
Hours: Mon-Fri: 6:30AM - 9:00PM, Saturday: 6:30AM - 5:30PM, Sunday: 8:00AM - 5:30PM
Cafe Ah-Roma has been an escape from the icy Cleveland winters for CSU students for over a decade. This coffee shop is conveniently located on campus, and with a wide selection of drinks, pastries and lunch items, Cafe Ah-Roma is a great choice for a finals campout. Though this shop can get extremely busy during the main class hours, there is plenty of seating to hunker down and get to work. While you can easily throw on some headphones and have a great individual study session, the on- campus location and atmosphere of Cafe Ah-Roma makes it a perfect place to meet with study partners and help each other through the pain of exam season.