Morning rain streaks two plate-glass windows tucked into a redbrick facade. Three coffee drinkers, one with her nose in a book, perch on bentwood stools beneath a pressed tin ceiling, elbows on the white countertop. Stocked with cinnamon-dusted morning buns and ready-made sandwiches, a pastry case hugs the front door. Bags of artisanal masa and bottles of small-batch fish sauce line trim blue shelves. The vibe is Borough Market, London. The music, in this music-obsessed college town, is low and inconsequential. At Birdies, a new market café in Athens, Georgia, the soundtrack that matters is the hum of neighbors talking to neighbors.
Once beloved for Saturday football and cheap beer, college towns like Athens have evolved into hives for creative entrepreneurs who want to live culturally rich and neighborhood-focused lives.…
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Garden & Gun (Digital) - 1 Issue, June/July 2024