A Passion for Art and Coffee

1578 Words4 Pages

Jazz music and aromas of vanilla and espresso bean pervade the air half a block before I reach the entrance of the shop. Creamy white trim outlines large, glass window panes beyond which one can glimpse into the interior of the Midnight Rooster. Framed photographs, some color depictions African tribal members and others in black and white of derelict shacks and barns, adorn the gently-hued walls. Overstuffed armchairs and a black leather couch encompass a coffee table laden with New Yorker magazines and a chess board. A tiled walkway funnels into the robustly-antiqued wooden front door. Above, Christmas tree lights coiled around clear, grapefruit-size balls dangle from a rectangular-shaped, burgundy awning which, in a type-writer font, bears the store's name, "The Midnight Rooster." The facade is fresh, spontaneous, and uniquely hip compared to the 1950's architectural style adopted by its neighboring buildings which line the streets of downtown Hartsville.

I briefly pause amid several small, circular stainless steel tables and matching metallic armchairs which cover the sidewalk in front of the shop and notice a familiar looking figure sitting in one of the three chairs in front of the right window. The petite young woman dressed in khakis and a black sweater appears relaxed with her feet resting in one of the chairs and a white mug of coffee on a paper napkin beside her on the table. Glancing up and seeing me, she folds a canvas-covered sketchbook before introducing herself.

Jessica Avant, known to many Hartsvillians as Jessie, is the owner of the Midnight Rooster Coffee Shop. She is twenty-three years old. Curly, dark brown, bobbed hair outlines her thin freckled face, and narrow, modern-looking, ...

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...gets motivation for her art from a number of different things. "Walking with the Lord has an influence on my work, although it's not obvious from looking at it. I also get ideas from images and conversations I have with people." I asked Jessie if art, a seemingly ubiquitous aspect of her life, was something for which she was passionate. "I've always liked art, and I have a wonderful gift for creating art, but art is very much a discipline for me. I've had to learn to become passionate about it."

Finally I asked how, in retrospect, she views her decision to start the Midnight Rooster. She paused thoughtfully before answering, "I never really thought I'd be a business person, but I guess its good to have that sort of mind set; go with the flow. I'm not too concerned with money. Relationships with people and doing what you love are more important to me."

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