A painted sign on the side of the old Style Craft Uniform Co. at 734 West Broad Street lists some of what the new coffee shop inside has to offer. Free WiFi is a big draw. Local art, local music and local foods hit a soft spot with the hometown proud. And physical, mental and spiritual enhancement… who doesn’t want that? To lots of people, the last notation is code: Common Groundz welcomes people in recovery.

“There was a growing need in the community of addicts to have a place to hang out and enjoy late night,” says co-owner Scott King who, with friends and fellow addicts, turned the nineteenth century mammoth into a place where addicts and alcoholics can congregate into the wee hours, tempted only by great coffees, soups by Zuppa and baked goods by Chef Q.

Along with King, co-owners Brandon Matey and Mark Fichter share backgrounds in the restaurant business as well as the will to beat the demons of their past drug use. “We all met in addiction,” says Matey. Now all three are active in 12-step fellowships.  “Caffeine and nicotine are all we handle,” says King. Which means anyone in search of a legal buzz is welcome.

While almost all the coffee shop’s employees are in recovery, the clientele is a cross-section. “During the day, it’s a lot of students and people grabbing a cup of coffee before work,” says King, who says he serves about 40 regulars. Student Matt Ference is one. Is he clean and sober? “Not that I know of,” he replies through eyes adjusting to their first crack of daylight. Ference says he comes in every day. “A lot of the coffee places around here have a really good morning vibe,” he says. “This place has a good afternoon vibe.”

Midafternoon on a Friday, Common Groundz is busy, if not filled. Band promoter and booker Rasul Elder is setting up for the night’s entertainment. R&B artist Kenny Wray and Carlos Edghill, CEO of Donland Entertainment, relax in a booth. James No Last Name, a finance executive, has stopped in to chat. While Starbucks has become a frequent venue for group recovery meetings, he says, not everyone likes Starbucks. (There. I said it.)

“They’re generic,” James says. “Here you get a real flavor of urban life. We’re in a new generation that demands more. This place is in tune with the pulse.”

Since the generation that demands more isn’t quick to settle, Elder and the owners are devising live programming to keep people coming in the heat of summer. Tuesday nights are Open Mic Nights and every other Wednesday a poetry slam ensues. And every week, there’s live music of some kind. “We’re still in the experimental stages,” says Matey. “We’re trying to get mellow stuff, indie rock, hip-hop. Everything but hardcore.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with hardcore, but they already had a straight-edge (people in recovery) hardcore night. “We had people climbing on top the booths and jumping into the crowd. Hardcore doesn’t work here.”

There is no shortage of bands who want to play at Common Groundz, though. And while the food, the java and the entertainment bring in droves of coffee house denizens, more are blankly unaware of the shop’s mission.

Nonetheless, says King, the beat goes on. “My mother is totally convinced this place is going to save lives.”

awesome place. can’t beat the *FREE* sounds of live jazz on sunday afternoons!

you just cant beat this place to meet
if you havent experienced it yet you are missing out

i agree with mom.

thank goodness.