By Chelsea Wiggins
Pine Whispers
It’s 8 p.m. and the baristas are rushing to steam the last few café lattes for their anxious customers before local country singer Sean Mettler takes the stage.
While the music on Trade Street has proven to be one of the main attractions downtown throughout the years, the Community Arts Café now offers a unique twist on the area music scene. The Café Theatre is a recent addition to the facility and is meant to encourage interaction within the community by means of local performances.
Reynolds junior Charli Tedder is an associate at the Community Arts Café and helps support the success of local talent. Her parents, Jim and Cathy Tedder, own the facility and have worked to develop an environment in which local artists feel comfortable enough to share their abilities.
“The Community Arts Café is an art center that provides the services and resources required to spark artists’ development in the local community,” Charli Tedder said. “We created the facility so that artists could have a place to learn and be encouraged to pursue their dreams.”
According to Tedder, the addition to the business has been fairly successful thus far, but continues to develop and improve.
Not only does the Café Theatre provide local entertainment, it also offers coffee, finger foods and assorted baked goods. Some of the past performances include concerts, stand-up comedy acts and movies.
“Whenever I’m downtown, the Community Arts Café always catches my eye,” junior Stacey Pastrana said. “Although I’ve never been in, I would really like to try it out. It’s awesome that there’s not just music. The food and drinks are a nice touch, making it more appealing to the younger crowd.”
The Community Arts Café also includes a book publishing studio, spaces for hosting private parties and other offices. All are pieces of the facility that existed before the theatre was added.
Since the Community Arts Café is in the Commerce Plaza building, it shares space with several other businesses. Encore, an American bistro, offers cuisine relative to the area and strives to serve mainly foods from local farms.
“One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is to go out to eat downtown with all my friends,” senior Sandra Mendez said. “I’ve definitely scoped out the Community Arts Café, but the restaurants in the same building are a significant draw. I hope the Café Theatre stays successful. It’s nice to experience the artistic ability that exists in our community.”