Offbeat, off the beaten path

When I saw the announcement for a new concept cafe coffee house in Salem, Oregon, I was immediately intrigued. Offbeat Coffee as it was tagged, would be filled with cozy furniture, plants, and paintings of classic rock stars like Kurt Cobain and John Lennon in oil. When I stopped by a few days after opening, I was surprised to find a new layer I never expected. There was one room filled with stacks of old record albums coved in plastic near six turntable listening stations with headphones loosely placed next to them. I chose to just soak it all in for my first visit, drawing in my little sketchbook while awaiting my chai latte, but hoping to return to indulge more thoroughly in thumbing through the record stacks, perhaps even spinning a disc or two later. I had not participated in such activities since the early nineties.