By Parker Barry
1. B Sharp Coffee House
B Sharp Coffee House has a strong focus on environmental sustainability as well as good coffee and music. The vibe in this cafe is quiet, with low lighting and big, comfortable chairs and couches — a great space for mellow conversations and homework.
B Sharp is located at Historic 706 Opera Alley in downtown Tacoma. They have excellent tea, coffee, baked goods and paninis. It is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. This cafe has a huge variety of performances, including jazz and open mics. Check out their “Petrichord Quartet” performance, featuring jazz musicians from The University of Puget Sound, this Friday, March 31 at 8 p.m
2. Cafe Brosseau
This cafe has an energetic feeling, and there are board games available for playing (including my favorite game, “Settlers of Catan”).
There is a ton of natural light. This is a more bustling cafe, so if you really need to sit down and bust out a paper, it may not be the best place to focus. The staff are super nice and talkative and they have the most delicious sandwiches and muffins. There are occasional musical performances held at Cafe Brosseau so if you’re a music lover keep your eye out! Cafe Brosseau is located at 2716 N 21st St, Tacoma. It’s open every day of the week from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
3. Bluebeard Coffee Roasters
Bluebeard is a very large open space with tables and chairs of varying sizes. Although it is a large space, it has a quiet atmosphere — a good place to really buckle down when it comes to studying. They have really delicious pastries as well as some wholesome and hearty oatmeal.
They are best known for their coffee; I suggest the cappuccino because it is delicious. A good thing about this cafe is how early it is open; if you’re an early riser this cafe would be a good place to consider. They have a small space for showing art that anyone can submit to — submission guidelines are on their website. Bluebeard is located at 2201 6th Ave, Tacoma. It is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
4. Metronome Coffee
This is a great cafe if you like open mics and live music in general. They have open mic nights every Tuesday at 7 p.m. (sign-ups start at 6:45).
This cafe has more of a modern feeling, definitely a good place to do some studying. They have some really interesting drinks along with excellent teas and coffee. One of the best things about this cafe is how late it stays open. They also have freshsqueezed orange juice and housemade pancakes. There is also live music on the weekends, so it’s a great place for local artists to spread their sound and for music fans to find new bands to listen to.
Metronome Coffee is located at 3518 6th Ave, Tacoma. It is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
5. Antique Sandwich Co.
Antique Sandwich Company has amazing sandwiches including the reuben and the cucumber cream cheese. They also have a lot of yummy desserts that are gluten free and vegan. The atmosphere of Antique Sandwich company is very interesting. There are chairs and tables of every typed mixed and matched together in a huge open space. There are also old chandeliers hanging above the open mic stage and art from Roman to Eastern Asian. It’s a really fascinating space in general and I highly suggest checking it out
Antique Sandwich company is located at 5102 N Pearl St, Tacoma. It’s open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. with the exception of Tuesday when they close at 10:30 p.m. due to open mic performances.