My Favorite Coffee Shop Closed And It Reminded Me Of The Power of Great Spaces
I don’t think I’d moved to Atlanta yet when I first discovered Octane Coffee. I was staying at my parent’s house in Fayetteville, about 40 minutes south of the city, and I needed to get out. Coffee shops have always been my favorite type of space so I searched for one to unwind for a few hours.
When I arrived, there was nothing in the area. It looked like an abandoned warehouse district. Yet, there stood this place that would become my center of calm for many years. It stood perfectly at a weird intersection (that I’m surprised didn’t have more accidents). As the area transformed around it, it served as a steady reminder of the best of what Atlanta could be like.
When I found out that Octane was closing, I spent a lot of time thinking about what made this place so special to so many people. (My friend Kat Goduco, whom I met at Octane, thinks it was the science tables. I think this is a reasonable explanation.) They’d go on to open other locations, but not had the same feel as the original outpost on Marietta Street. It was the type of place where strangers talked to each other all the time. There were creatives, students, and everyone in between. My favorite regular was the postman that read a book after what I presumed was the end of his shift. It was a place for all.
After I posted about the closing on Instagram, the photo was flooded with comments from those that were just as touched by this place as I was. Some of them, I’d met at Octane, others I’d been on dates with there, others I’d had meetings with there and others were still complete strangers. It was beautiful to see the diversity. This place had bonded us all together. I guess it doesn’t matter why, just that it happened.
Thank you Octane for the memories.