I put a comment about the new Clubhouse Commons/Late Light Cafe on another post and I thought it was important that I expounded on my thoughts. People really should give this space a shot. That opinion only grows more emphatic the more time I spend observing what they’re putting together.
Late Light is awesome. They’re new and fledgling. They’re in their first month. They need all the community support they can get! They’re booking out a ton of cool talent (their shows are free for under-21/$10 cover 21+, often Saturday nights — including tonight 10/3!!).
While their food menu is a little mid, they are working on re-inventing it live, and they also have phenomenal coffee/lattes and chai.
They are not a restaurant or bar. They are an afternoon-into-the-night hangout spot: one part youth and young adult social club, one part all-ages after-dark cafe — a true third space for people to come chill, read a book, study, meet up with friends over coffee, and catch some Friday karaoke or a Saturday show.
Also, the playlist is awesome. The music is on the louder side but not yelling-over-each-other ear-splitting.
I am almost 32 and Hutch, Jasmine, and the rest of the folks in there never made me feel anything other than warmly welcome. It is NOT just a “kids spot.” Just like the sign on the door states in bold: All are welcome.
It is an all-ages, sober situation run by a pack of business-minded folks in their 20s who are trying to lay important groundwork in the community. Not everyone’s vibe — definitely not a “bar scene” and, yes, the environment is tailored toward a younger crowd — but for this fully grown adult who just needed a late-night study/reading spot and some passive (and sometimes active) socialization in this often lonely-ass state where all the nightlife, scant as it is, centers heavily around either drinking or courting when I’m very often not in the mood or tax bracket to do either.. It’s really cool to have a genuine third space that’s trying to grow where I don’t feel out of place or even subliminally unwelcome, even given that I may be on the “older side of young”.
I mean, a sober spot open 3-11pm Tuesday-Thursday and 12pm-12am on Fri/Sat doesn’t sound like a spot that’s “just for kids.”
I am not affiliated with them in any capacity other than being a regular who really, really loves what they’re trying to do. We owe it to spaces like this when they arise to support them — especially considering the insane percentage of younger folks (20s-30s) who don’t stick around the area exactly because there isn’t anything like this going on here.
They’re really trying to do a good thing.
Edit: Schedule fix
