I try to support independent coffee houses whenever possible because I like supporting social and economic diversity and people with the courage to go off on their own.
This one makes it easy. Lots of freshly-made and relatively nutritious light meals.
The starstruck joint almost kitty corner to here has stale plastic wrapped sandwiches and sweet nothings, delivered the night before by a long Gordon Food Services truck -- neither the food not the processing jobs go to the neighborhood that supports the store.
By contrast, Juice and Java gives back to the neighborhood in many ways. Local art on the walls. Food ingredients mostly bought from the family-run grocery a block away. Staff who stay a long time and get to know people by name. A shelf of books anyone can take from.
As I argue in Food for City Building, government should support local businesses that go out of their way to support the neighborhood in the same way that governments support the film industry to shop locally for labor and services.
Because it makes a big difference to a main street when everything is give-and-take, not just take.
wayne r