The ongoing “boil water” advisory in DeKalb County has caused inconvenience at home and interruptions at restaurants, but nothing short of catastrophe for some coffee drinkers.
When coffee shops close their doors, the world spins off its axis. “The worst part of #watermainbreak2018? I can’t just go buy a cup of coffee,” Tweeted one coffee fan.
People get sleepy. Work doesn’t get done. “I was really put out this morning when my regular writing place was closed,” said Agnes Scott College chaplain Rev. Kate Colussy-Estes.
Colussy-Estes needed the inspiration that comes from a sunny table at Dancing Goats coffee in Decatur, but no goats were dancing Thursday morning. “Dear DeKalb Watershed,” she posted on her Facebook page, “now that the work is done please don’t delay in lifting the boil water advisory. I have a sermon to write and my favorite writing locale is closed!!”
(A spokesman at Dancing Goats said they planned to open Thursday afternoon.)
Coffee shops and breakfast places were dealing with the advisory in their own ways. At Rise-N-Dine in the Emory Village, coffee was off the menu, which made the “rise” part of their prescription tough.
For the most part, the customers have been taking the shortage in stride. “They’re cool,” said executive manager George Basco, of the clientele deprived of their morning jolt.
Basco’s coffee-making system is plumbed directly into county water, so that he can’t insert his own water source. In the meantime, he’s selling a lot more fresh-squeezed orange juice and grapefruit juice, he said.
Banjo Coffee in Avondale was shut down Wednesday and Thursday, but they were back open again Friday with “imported” water from Fulton County. Banjo has been cold-brewing coffee by the keg, and heating it back up for those who want their coffee hot, said co-owner Billy Atchison.
The coffee shop has also installed hand-washing stations with bottled water and Fulton water, for employees and for those using the restrooms, Atchison said.
Inspectors from DeKalb County have been visiting coffee shops to make sure they are complying with the order. “They made sure we were on the up and up,” said a barista at Spiller Park in Toco Hill, where pour-over coffee is made with water brought to a boil.
And while some Starbucks franchises were closed, some independent outfits, like Spiller Park, were more crowded Friday, as they absorbed the customers from other shops. Colussy-Estes retreated to Ebrik Coffee Room in Decatur, where, she said, “I saw a few refugees from my regular locale.”
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