Coffee shop revived in film

Strong's Coffee Shop returns.

No longer in business on Franklin Street, the former hangout appeared in a documentary detailing the cultural phenomenon of the coffee shop Thursday night.

The 75-minute film, produced and directed by juniors Franklin Horn and Aislinn Pentecost-Farren, opened to a full house in Gardner Hall.

Horn and Pentecost-Farren created the film as part of a semester independent study last spring.

Done in conjunction with the anthropology department, "161 W. Franklin St.: Our Experiences at Strong's Coffee Shop," explores the idea of community through the stories of dedicated coffee patrons and employees.

Horn introduced the concept to Pentecost-Farren when they lived in UNITAS theme housing. Faced with no budget, they used digital cameras loaned from the multimedia lab in Graham Memorial Hall to film the documentary.

Horn said he believes the coffee shop to be an obvious thing taken for granted. "As an anthropology student, I am fascinated by the obvious," he said.

Whether corporately or privately owned, the coffee shop offers a gathering place where patrons can escape the home and workplace.

"It becomes their coffee shop," Pentecost-Farren said. "They take ownership of it in a very informal way."

Strong's was a magnet for Chapel Hill residents, making it the sentimental choice for the two undergraduates.

The filmmakers said the screening served as a memorial for the shop, which closed in June, and turned the project into a case study for other independent businesses on expensive Franklin Street properties.

Former owner Kevin Brouwer, who was present at the screening, cited financial concerns for closing his coffee shop's doors. "The primary lease was up," he said. "It wasn't favorable for business to renew it."

Even for baristas at Strong's, the closing came as a surprise. "It was really unexpected," said Leanne Simon, a nanny to Brouwer's two children and a former barista. "I came in that morning, and he said, 'Tonight. Light's out."

Horn and Pentecost-Farren collected more than 20 interviews from frequenters of Strong's. Besides the general inquiries about why they came, the two asked unique questions such as, "What type of coffee would you be?"

For a few hours once a week, they shot B-roll to collect footage and began to be considered regulars themselves. "It was an odd process how you got more and more involved," Horn said.

Junior Josh Bercovici, who attended the screening, said he still suffers. "There's other coffee shops, but nothing like Strong's."

Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.