Tuesday, December 02, 2008

CC: Progressive Coffee House

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Subject: Progressive Coffee House
Location visited: Glassboro, NJ
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]



*CLOSED as of 7.29.10*

Alma maters, no matter how aggressive their alumni office is for money, will always carry a spot in an alumnus' heart. The same I would say would go for the location of the school (with a few exceptions I'm sure).

Recently, I had the pleasure to visit Glassboro, NJ where I spent much of my young adult life at college. While I was there, the town sadly had not a single coffeehouse of worth (though there were a few tries) but now that the town is trying to revive the downtown, a new coffeehouse named the Progressive Coffee House decided to open their doors in the place of an old bakery on High Street.

When I first heard of it, I kind of had my doubts as to their motivation, mainly I wondered what did "progressive" mean (was it politically tied, environmentally entrenched, or just a coffeehouse that plans to move forward?) but upon further investigation, I saw no evidence of any of my guesses except that they liked their name (soooo much merchandise).

The exterior preserves the original look of the place, using an old marquee-looking projection to display their sign and they kept the windows simple and big. The interior was quite different from the old bakery, as it was awash with bright reds, oranges and yellows surrounding a spacious counter and a sea of red leather couches (they had tables too).

The coffee comes from Kaffe Magnum Opus, a coffee roaster out of South Jersey that I've had mixed experiences with (I also become suspicious of roasters that sell more flavored coffee than not). But putting all past experience aside, I gave Progressive's House Blend a try and found it, to my delight, to be a bright, smooth and earthy coffee. The espresso proved a fair pull, with char sadly overshadowing a citrusy-cocoa flavor (drinkable). Their tea is Mighty Leaf.

Given the future plans for the town of Glassboro, I am happy that the town finally has a coffeehouse of decency. I think with a little work, Progressive could progress very well but for now I think their challenge will be getting Rowan University students to walk off-campus (in my day, it didn't really happen). If you're in the area, I would recommend a stop.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Bill. My name is Ana Knoblock. I am a senior at Westhill High School in Syracuse, NY. I am involved with my school's newspaper, The Glass Corridors, and am currently doing an article about coffee shops. One of the coffee shops is of course, Freedom of Espresso. I was looking for a picture to put in, and I came across a picture you took of the cafe in Franklin Square. I was wondering if I could possibly use it. There is no profit and only the students and teachers will see it. I hope to hear back from you soon. Thanks!
Ana Knoblock

Bill said...

Ana,

You may use it. Next time, leave an email so I can simply throw you an email :).

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much Bill!
I tried emailing you, but I think the link wasn't working properly. For future reference, my email address is
anaknoblock@yahoo.com

Thanks again! :]

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