Zoe’s Bagels, a campus café

At Zoe’s Bagels, located in Western Washington University’s Wilson Library, students cram for midterms, readers peruse the shelves of the “Second Hand Swap”, and a variety of campus inhabitants wait in line for coffee and bagels. Its environment, cheery, productive, and social, attracts students looking to work on essays, groups collaborating on projects, and friends meeting for lunch. 
When I first began frequenting Zoe’s, I would get a mocha and the occasional bagel. I found the space favorable and conducive to my studying, while also keeping open the possibility of seeing someone I know. Now, I rarely purchase anything. I come solely for the space and environment provided, and I usually ended up spending at least two hours there. Every time, I see at least two people I know come in and sit down. I’ve begun to notice the regulars and when they usually pop in. 
Spend an afternoon at Zoe’s and it seems half the university passes in and out throughout the day. Sitting in this enclave of studiers and conversationalists, I wonder how Zoe’s attracts the people it does and why they keep coming back. What is the role that Zoe’s plays that is essential to the students and faculty of Western Washington University?
Before we examine the role of Zoe’s, we should first look back on the role of cafés in history. Cafés, also known as coffeehouses, have a long and diverse history. The first appeared throughout Mecca, Istanbul, Syria, Egypt and Persia during the 16th century. They were places where intellectuals, writers, scholars, and clerics met, talked, debated, played games, and of course drank coffee. From there, and with the arrival of coffee in Venice, the café flourished in Europe during the 17th century. Each of the major cultural hubs in Europe developed distinct styles of cafés, such as the ones in Vienna, Paris, and London, each attracting their own ensembles of writers, philosophers, artists, and academics. In fact, English coffeehouses became known as “penny universities”, because one could, for the price of a cup of coffee, hear the news, politics, and a variety of academic subjects lectured and debated. 
Zoe’s has a few characteristics reminiscent of the cafés of old. For instance, the few dusty board games, including chess and checkers, occasionally get picked up off the shelf and used. People still receive the news by picking up the paper by the door, and over coffee discuss it. Professors and students alike engage in their work and share it with others. But these activities still don’t fully explain the role that Zoe’s fills on campus. 
Ray Oldenburg’s “third place theory”, as presented in his book The Great Good Place, explains the reason why cafés became not only popular but essential to society. According to third place theory, people require a third location other than the home or the workplace. This place must be a casual and social environment, where one can relieve stress and engage in conversation. It must be a place where there is equal status among the group, and socialization is the primary activity. Alcohol or caffeine is often served, to help facilitate the socialization. This place serves to dampen the stresses one experiences at work and at home, while consequently fostering a sense of community within an area. 
Zoe’s seems to fulfill the characteristics of a third place. The atmosphere and attire is informal, coffee is served, and a comfortable space is provided for relaxing, socializing, meeting, and studying. Indeed, for many people on campus, Zoe’s serves as their third place. “Without Zoe’s I feel like I wouldn’t have a complete home, it’s the place where I study, interact with people, eat meals, rest, and relax. It’s the only place on campus that really feels like home to me, in all senses of the word,” explains a Western student and Zoe’s regular. 
At a university, however, there may be a challenge to the third place theory. For over 4,000 Western students, their home and workplace are the university campus. I am one of those four thousand; I eat, sleep, socialize, and work on Western’s 215-acre campus. Could a third place truly exist in an area that already acts as a first and second? Perhaps place is not as clear as third place theory might make it seem. If I’m working at the place I also live, and socializing and destressing there too, the boundaries are muddled between what were once clearly defined and distinct places. 
Regardless, Zoe’s continues in the long tradition of the café. It serves the Western community in its modest manner. On campus, it certainly serves as a third place for students, to socialize, relax, and meet. It fills in the gap between the dorm and the classroom. Simply, its good spot to spend an hour.

Citations:

Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You through the Day. New York: Paragon House, 1989. Print.
“Cafe | Eating and Drinking Establishment.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
“Encyclopædia Iranica.” Coffeehouse. Web. 09 Feb. 2016. 
“Cafe.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
“Coffeehouse.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.