With midterms upon us, the inside of the study rooms at Coates Library may be permanently ingrained in the back of your retinas. Fortunately, fellow Trinity University students have recommendations for coffee shops and cafes that suit various study preferences.
If finding transportation is an issue, several coffee shops are within walking distance from campus. Amrita Dhall, senior neuroscience major, highly recommended Extra Fine, a coffee shop on Mistletoe Avenue right across the street from Barbaro. Dhall said Extra Fine is a great place to be productive while staying comfortable.
“Extra Fine is definitely the best place for that, just because I think that everyone’s there to do work, and it’s all these people that you don’t normally see,” Dhall said. “I feel like, at Trinity, at the library, there’s always someone I’m going to run into, someone to distract me, but it’s a similar atmosphere [at Extra Fine] with a random group of people. So you actually have to lock in, and you might get a little embarrassed if you don’t.”
Dhall said Estate Coffee on Houston Street and Poetic Republic on South Presa Street have great ambiance. She said that although coffee shops help her focus on her work, she also gets a sense of joy from working off-campus.
“I think I was always scared to miss out on being on campus,” Dhall said. “Everyone had that routine of going to the library after class and structuring their workload a certain way, so I felt like I had to. And not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think that once I started to realize that sometimes I do better in a different atmosphere, sometimes taking that space away from Trinity is totally okay.”
If transportation to new study spots is not an issue, then San Antonio has multiple options for students to explore. Dawson Wolff, junior finance and political science double-major, makes exploring the city for new coffee shops a hobby. He said that he enjoys finding new places and reviewing them with his friends.
“Don’t be scared, it’s fun. Go on Google Maps and click on one you’ve never been to and go to it,” Wolff said. “I really enjoy going to the other side of town and trying a new coffee shop.”
Wolff recommended several locations close to campus, such as Shine Coffee on St. Mary’s Street, One Another Coffee on Brees Boulevard, Rose Hip Market on Olmos Drive and The Newstand on Broadway Street. Wolff said that The Newstand is a great place to study in the late afternoon since there is a happy hour every weeknight from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“Just [try] being adventurous and trying new things, especially when it comes to coffee because San Antonio does have a large market for it,” Wolff said.
Anne Graf, head of instruction services at Coates Library, said that she works off-campus at coffee shops as often as once or twice a week. She said that some of her favorite memories from college involved studying off-campus at various cafes. As for locations, she recommended Merit Coffee on Broadway Street and Bright Coffee on Blanco Road.
“I think it can be a very quintessential college experience to be in a coffee shop and work on a big project. And when I was a student, those were some of my favorite memories, where I really felt like I was making the experience my own,” Graf said. “When I made the choice to go study at a coffee shop, it felt more like I was deciding how I wanted the experience to be. So I encourage people to explore for that reason because you should get to feel like you’re controlling it.”
Denae French, sophomore business analytics and technology and accounting double-major, said that being in a coffee shop allows her to focus on work alone without being all by herself. French recommended Commonwealth Coffee on Davis Court, Summer Moon on North St. Mary’s Street, Nowhere Bookstore on Broadway Avenue and Bright Coffee.
“I think a coffee shop is a great way because you can go and not spend a ton of money if you don’t want to,” French said. “And also, a big part of it is studying and actually getting stuff done. I think sometimes in the library, you’re always talking to people, so it gets kind of chaotic. But at a coffee shop, you get to be by yourself and watch the people surrounding you.”
