Shops that sing
Music can add atmosphere, bring in music fans and attract free publicity.
BY PETER SUROWSKI NORTHEAST
tables on the patio during the summer, and is furnished with antiques bought at auctions from mansions in upstate New York. It’s also up the street from Clarion University, so a lot of the shop’s customers are students and professors. The place sometimes hosts live music for
nonprofit benefits, which the media love to promote, Craddock says. Often, the nonprofit groups contact the
Michelle’s Café Clarion, Pa.
Live music is a great way to get free publicity, says Kendra Craddock, manager of Michelle’s Café in Clarion, Pa. Clarion’s a small town with about 6,000
residents, but Michelle’s Café sits in the lively downtown area surrounded by boutique clothing shops, niche jewelry stores and the town library. It seats about 50 people, with a couple of
26 | June 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com
local radio station, and they promote the event on the air. The newspapers will do the same, sometimes running previews or putting the event in their calendars. Sometimes, they host live music when the
local arts council holds an exhibition. That always gets good publicity, Craddock says. This brings in a lot of new faces. “A lot (of
musicians) come with groupies and their own friends,” she says. These people buy drinks, so sales are usually good. The patrons who come just for their daily
Joe like the ambiance the music provides. “Usually we get a really good response,”
she says. “As long as it’s appropriate and in good taste.” Knowing what kind of music the group
plays before the show is important, Craddock says.
One time, she invited a band she never
heard before, and they were a little wilder than she expected: A mosh pit broke out. “That doesn’t work too well,” she says. “We have a lot of antiques.”
SOUTHWEST
Xtremebean Coffee Co. Tempe, Ariz.
A booking agent makes getting good-quality bands to play at the shop easy, says Mike Wells, the owner of Xtremebean Coffee Co. in Tempe. At first glance, Xtremebean doesn’t
look like a hot music venue. It sits in a bland commercial center about a mile from Arizona
