Boiler Room Coffee

Weather: -Something°, impossibly cold but sunny
Coffee Shop: Boiler Room Coffee • 1830 3rd Avenue South • Minneapolis • First Time
Drink: Drip Coffee ($2.75 16oz)
Book: The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations by Craig & Patricia Neal


Coffee
Boiler Room Coffee has been an ideal in my head for around a year now. I heard of it from one friend and then kept hearing about it from other people, and all of them had only good things to say about this magical coffee shop. Long story short, I met the owner at one of his other coffee shops a few days ago and that was what made me decide to finally get out to Boiler Room. That and I was hungry and they have all kinds of delicious-sounding food.

Boiler Room is somewhat hidden on 3rd Ave in Steven's Square. It's on the garden level (a la "Cheers") of one of the large brick apartment buildings that permeate the Steven's Square neighborhood. It's small and large at the same time. The space is small, but the natural light, the bright colors, the ample seating, and the open space make it feel much larger than it is. On a day like today, where the temperatures have plumetted below zero, it felt cozy to retreat into a sunny basement filled with bright colors and the smells of coffee.

The menu is extensive and full of goodies. I ordered the Fancy Oatmeal ($5) which had wild rice, dried cranberries, pecans, and sides of brown sugar and cream. It was perfect: it warmed me up and stuck to my ribs. For coffee I ordered a very large but simple 16 oz drip. They have three blends that they give their own names to, but I'm not sure what roastery they come from: a French roast, a Vienna roast, and a Full City roast. I had the Vienna roast and enjoyed it. They have plenty of other food (waffles, sandwiches, pastries) and drink options (chai, espresso, bottled drinks); it's a great one-stop shop. You can also buy local art here for really decent prices, which is always fun.

I spent two hours relaxing in a booth at Boiler Room. The traffic coming in and out was heavy at times and quiet at others, but most of the tables were always filled and the shop was full of life (and dogs). It was a great atmosphere and I enjoyed every minute that I spent there. I would certainly recommend Boiler Room to anyone: it's not the trendiest coffee, it's not the most organic-local food, but it's pretty darn good and it makes you happy. If you happen to meet the owner, Michael, shake his hand and tell him what you think, he's a really nice guy!

Book
This book was not on my reading list and probably wouldn't have ever made it on there under normal circumstances. The Art of Convening appears at first glance to be a book about meetings and business leadership, which aren't particularly my areas of interest in every day life. But as it turns out the book is actually more than that. But why am I reading it? A new friend of mine, Alec, suggested that I like it on Facebook. It was written by his parents and is part of his family's business. However, I can't honestly like something that I know nothing about, in this case a book that I haven't read; that's almost as strange to me as people who say they don't like brussel sprouts but have never tasted them. So I figured I might as well read it. I've heard Alec repeat the motto of his family's company ("creating safe and generative spaces for authentic engagement") to person upon person, but it doesn't really give insight into what it actually means, so this could also be seen as an effort to better understand the people around me. Either way, it was on the docket this Sunday.

I was just starting the book today, so there's not a lot that I can say about it. It's all about changing the way we meet (or "convene") with others and how we can be leaders for creating a more intentional, meaningful, open, and purposeful space for the gathering of ideas and people. Why should meetings be seen as boring and tiresome and useless? Shouldn't every moment that we spend with others be filled with creativity, openness, ideas, and real results? Yes, of course. But how do we do that? That's what the book tries to teach. Most of what is being said makes sense to me, and I like it. It reminds me of a lot of the things Brene Brown talked about in Daring Greatly, but with a more specific focus. Each chapter leads you through an aspect you should consider when gathering people together, why that consideration is important, and specific exercises to reinforce the idea. I particularly like the real-life examples injected into the writing. Because it's a fairly deep and intangible topic that can be hard to understand, the example stories give some concrete images of what these ideas look like in practice.

Regardless of the fact that I wouldn't be reading this book of my own choosing, I'm happy to be reading it. It helps to reinforce the values already in my head and heart, and is also helping me keep my eye on my 2013 goal of practicing more Authenticity. But most importantly, it's a piece of one of the people in my life. The people I choose to surround myself with are chosen with intention, and I see it as a duty and a joy to learn about things that are important to them and part of their lives. This is why book suggestions will almost always make it onto my reading list, and why I was content to enjoy The Art of Convening along with my Fancy Oatmeal.

People Watching
Diversity! That's what Boiler Room screamed out to me. Crazy dreds, buzz cut, bald. Black skin, white skin, tattooed skin. Old, young, gay, straight. And that one really hot Euro hipster that I accidentally kept staring at. And my friend Lauren who joined me for the last half of my visit and brought me banana cardamom cranberry bread, bless her heart.

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