Friday, November 21, 2008

Coffee Strong Now Open




Anyone who's been in the Army for more than five minutes knows the important relationship between soldiers and caffeine. We drink it, delight in it, and would probably cheerfully create an IV for it if we thought it wouldn't kill us. Fortunately, there's no need for such drastic measures, at least not by Fort Lewis, Washington, home of the recently established Fort Lewis IVAW chapter. Fort Lewis, for the non-Army folks among my readers, is an Army post located near Tacoma, WA that is scheduled to deploy 10,000 troops to Iraq in the coming year.


The new soldier-friendly, veteran-owned coffeehouse, "Coffee Strong", is now open.

Here the veteran-barristas work on creating concoctions for any and all comers.


At the moment, hours are Monday - Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Those hours will soon be expanded to includ evenings and Sunday.

How do you get there to grap your fresh, hot cup of often exotic and delicious joe? Well, the coffee shop is located at 15109 Union Ave SW, Lakewood WA 98498. They are accessible right off the freeway on the Berkley Ave exit (#122) on Union Ave next to the Subway.

And this won't just be your usual Starbucks imitator with camouflage lipstick. In addition to delicious drinks, good atmosphere, and friendly waitstaff, Coffee Strong also provides soldiers, families, and recent vets a place away from post where they can learn about resources available to them. There at Coffee Strong, they can meet with GI Rights and other types of counselors, and access regular VA workshops to advise them about their benefits. In addition, the coffeehouse will hold weekly movie nights, concerts, and other events.

And don't forget, feeding our delicious, delicious, legal addiction.

2 comments:

Nixon said...

I only live about 30 miles north of this place in the Bremerton-area. Is it worth the long drive...and is the coffee "strong" as advertised. You're talking to a certified caffeine addict here.

Army Sergeant said...

Coffee is indeed strong, there was some technical talk about precisely how and why that I couldn't recall, but still, strong! 30 miles isn't too far. Give your money to vets who are likely to help you spike it as jittery as you want, not some snobbish Seattle barristas.