When You Need a Break From the Gracement…

By: Duncan Stiller, 1st Year Health Policy & Management

It’s a feeling we have all had at least once, and will have at least a dozen more times during our tenure at Rollins. You look at your watch and realize you’ve spent the majority of the last five days underground, staring at a computer (whose screen brightness is unreasonably challenging to adjust), but your to-do list has a regrettable number of items to get crossed off. So where do you go when the work never stops but your brain and productivity might if you don’t leave the Gracement? Depending on your preferred level of ambient noise and activity, you may find the following places to be a breath of fresh air:

Ponce City Market

PCM is an obvious choice due to the incredible diversity of shops and seating areas. If coffee shops are your thing, you can go to Dancing Goats, which has both indoor and outdoor seating. If you get hungry, you can walk down to any of the two-dozen or so restaurants inside the market. With styles of food ranging from all over the world, there is certainly something to satisfy any craving. My go-to is Minero, because tacos are always amazing and they have nearly perfected the craft.

If you need a lot of distraction or just can’t decide on what you’re in the mood for, Ponce City is the place for you.

Javavino

This one is my personal favorite. Javavino is a quaint little café with few seats, and thus tends to be on the quieter side. They offer a limited food menu alongside their high quality teas and coffees to keep you going when your workload is dragging you down.

The best part about Javavino is, as you probably guessed from the name, that they also offer a limited wine and beer menu to help you switch from work-mode to leisure (or if you need a little help getting through your study session). After spending too many hours studying, there isn’t a better way to call it quits than with a nice cold beer or a refreshing glass of wine.

San Francisco Coffee Roasting Co.

San Francisco Coffee Roasting Co. is a bustling little spot with a range of all types of people from the lunching businessperson to the young family taking a stroll in the highlands. This makes it a good choice if you’re the kind of person who needs a moderate level of distraction to stay focused. They have a pretty good selection of sandwiches, and an even better selection of coffee.

They are set up fairly spaciously, which can be a nice change of pace from the typical “coziness” of most coffee shops.

 Cakes & Ale

While Cakes and Ale is a restaurant at night, it also serves as a bakery/coffee shop during the day. It is located in the heart of downtown Decatur, making it a nice destination that is fairly close to school. They have incredible pastries as well as delicious espresso drinks.If you need to take a study break, you can take a stroll and window shop at any of the plethora of businesses in the area.The only downside to Cakes and Ale is that they don’t have Wi-Fi, so come prepared to get familiar with your textbooks.

The next time your feel your spirit being crushed by the thought of staying on campus for even another minute, I encourage you to check out some of these spots. Atlanta has a lot of really great spots to study and enjoy some good coffee and baked goods.