17 The Daily Collegian Brewmasters Student managers take the reins of the Coffee Cellar By KATE DAILEY Collegian Staff Writer It's 2 p.m.on a Tuesday, and Patrick Iselin. new manager of the Coffee Cel lar, 130 Locust Lane, sits on a stool at one of the tables. Tonight, the small basement restau rant/coffee shop will be packed with regu lars, grad students and anybody else who wants to eat, study or smoke in peace, and Iselin, whose new title doesn't relieve him of his latte-making duties, won't have time to sit and chat. But for now, the room is empty save for a few customers. "We're still trying to target students," Iselin (non-degree) said of the Cellar's typ ical clientele as he looked at the empty seats. "But we're (also) trying to target a new kind of student the kind that gets up in the morning." Or the afternoon, for that matter. The shop has been open since 11 a.m., but the crowds won't start coming in until 4 p.m. (Jr 5 p.m. The Cellar has a reputation around town as a late night hangout, a refuge from bars and boredom. The sign says it's open until 2 a.m. on weekends and midnight on weeknights, but chances are the last drop won't be served until after that. "We're very flexible with hours, and we stay open late," he said. "If the place is busy, we'll stay open later." The Cellar has been around, on and off Roadside robbery `Borrowed' traffic signs become apartment art By NIKKI PETROWICZ Collegian Staff Writer Sure, the flow of traffic around the apartment can get a little crazy at times the rush hour toward the bathroom before morning classes, the bottleneck at the foot of the keg dur ing party situations and the moment of panic during the occasional grease fire. Official road signs would hardly seem to solve the problem. Nevertheless, students have been known to post everything from stop signs to yield markers to speed limit postings on their apartment walls. Of course, while students can come whipping around those corners pretty fast, safety rarely drives a student to collect and display ill-begotten traffic control devices. This concern much more often takes a hack seat to the pride, challenge and tacky aesthetic value. Matt Hauck (non-degree) said he has snatched a couple signs in his day. He has his reasons. Once he spotted a street sign with his name on it, he said. Yet unfortunately for him and perhaps fortunately for the township the marker proved even tougher than the deviant whose name it bore. "We tried for like a half an hour," Hauck said, "but it wouldn't come out." Jason Brown (senior-architectural engineering) pilfered the sort of traf fic-control devices he figured were guaranteed to impress his friends. Yet since 1996. It underwent extensive remod eling in 1998, which closed the shop down for almost a year. The previous "kitchen" was an island bar in the middle of the room that served up coffee and sometimes dessert. Now, the Cellar has almost three times the capacity to prepare food. "We're going to start promoting the food aspect more," said Iselin. "We want to he a place for after a movie. We're a block from the movies and are open late." But the remodeling didn't stop with a new kitchen. The management staff has been remodeled as well, and now Iselin, a Penn State student, is in charge of the whole operation. "I do everything," said Iselin. "From bookkeeping to ordering, marketing, hir ing and firing." in terms of cri activity, Brow was what you might call pas sive-aggres- sive. "I wouldn't go to the extent where I'd cut it (a sign) down," he said, "but if there was oni falling over, I' take that." Of course, if it sounds like a crimi nal offense, and it smells like a crimi nal offense, chances are it's punish able in a court of law. Brown does recall one exception to his purely incidental approach. "One time in a really rural area, we saw this really cool sign," Brown said. "It was like 'rabbit crossing' or some thing. So we got tools and wire-cutters and everything." But suddenly Brown and friends pricked their ears to a rustling in the underbrush and dove for the nearest thicket. "The neighbors must've heard something because they came out, so we ducked down," Brown said. "We were stuck in these muddy ... hushes for an hour 'til they went inside." At that point, Brown and Co. simply made like jackrabbits_and bolted. "We just left. We were too scared to finish our job," Brown said. "And that was the end of my thieving career." It's probably just as well. If appre And while Iselin is not looking to make drastic change, he hopes to make art, entertainment and student service a more integral part of the Cellar experience. The Cellar has always been known as one of the more artistic venues in State College, with art filling the walls and music bouncing off them. "On Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, there's almost always music and never a cover charge," Iselin said. One of the big goals for the new management is to turn the Cellar -dr: even more of a haven for local artists "A lot of artists need exposure, and a lot of aspiring artists don't have that opportu nity," he said. "There's always been a poli cy that anybody with a guitar can per form )." But Iselin doesn't want to stop there He hopes that not just musicians, hut artists, poets and anyone else who wants to per form, will have a venue at the Cellar. An upcoming show of poetry readings is planned for November. "If that takes and that's popular, I'd be perfectly willing to have an open mic night every week," he said. A new customer overhears. He's taking English 213 ( Introduction to Poetry and wants to share some of his work On stage. "If you want to take a look at my stuff, I've got it right here," he says, indicating to a corner table in the hack. "Sure," says Iselin, who is in the middle like any other little would have faced stiff con- hended, Brown evildoer sequences The lowest possible charge to fit the crime is a summary offense for crim inal mischief, said State College police officer R. S. Keen. Between the fine and court costs, this penalty generally rings up at about $2OO. "If, on the other hand, we decide to get technical with them, we can charge with theft and receiving stolen property, - Keen said. "What's signifi cant about that is it's a misdemeanor Penalties for misdemeanors can include potential jail time up to about a year and a fine of $2,500, plus, of course, court costs and lawyer costs. Gulp. Jail time? "Not in my recollection," said Bruce Kline, university police assistant director of administrative services. "It's mainly fines plus court costs. Plus it becomes part of your perma- Please see SIGNS, Page 22. TOP: Jon Lamberson (junior-art history). Ryan Dodson (senior-forestry). Mickey Aleksic (senior-art history) study Thursday at the Coffee Cellar. 128-130 Locust Lane. ABOVE: Mark McDermott (sophomore-liberal arts). left. orders an oolong tea from John Miller (junior-journalism) last Tuesday also at the Cellar. LEFT: The view of the Cellar's coffee syrups. of a staff meeting and an interview and still needs to organize some new inventory. "I'll be over in a minute." "All I'm trying, to do is meet students' needs,'' he said later. "I want to provide an outlet for anyone who has something to say ur ~h() He's also actively seeking university organizations that could make the Cellar a home away from home. "I've been talkin -, to clubs on campus. and .. we're more than happy to present an off-campus venue for on-campus groups Groups that want to sponsor perfor mances are invited to use the Cellar as a stage, he said, adding the Black Caucus is Musician takes on new role New lead singer Matt Santry gives bar band staple Dunston Ashe a new vocal sound. • By JON FASSNACHT : Collegian Staff Writer As far as the State College har scene goes, Matt Santry is ready to break into the big time. A senior majoring in psychology, the singer/songwriter has experienced the sweet taste of success this year, releasing his first album and taking over the lead vocals for one of State College's most popular hands, Dunston Ashe. Influenced by his father to play guitar at age 16, Santry began jamming with friends in high school. During this time, he developed his style of guitar playing with finger picking reminis cent of Jewel and Paul Simon and strumming patterns resembling the Goo Goo Dolls and had his first stab at writing original music. His first experience in college was a Top-40 cover band called Smooth Friction. Although the band broke up after a year due to the graduation of the other members, an important discovery was hit upon. Inside John Mellencamp brings his Rural Electrification Tour to State College Page 19 Student cartoon: Hall of Heads Page 23 Friday, Oct. 22, 1999 planning a Nov. 3 poetry reading and jazz performance. Iselin also hopes the Cellar will expand into more than a coffee shop. Between the new menu, which he said is the largest of all the coffee shops, the late hours and the Cellar's smoker-friendly policy, he sees the shop as the next great hangout. "I think I could help make this place popular," he said. "I think I could provide a service to students, giving them an alter native to bars." The Cellar doesn't have a liquor license, and instead of Aqua's "Barbie Girl" blast ing through the speakers, early Sarah McLachlan hits come over the stereo sys- Please see COFFEE. Page 22. Matt Santry plays guitar Tuesday night at The Lion's Den, 118 S. Garner St. Recently. Santry has become the frontman for the popular bar band Dunston Ashe. "I started singing in Smooth Friction," Santry said. "Originally I was just rhythrri guitar, but our singer wasn't very good, so I took a stab at His strong baritone is a mixture of Scott Wei land and Eddie Vedder. His voice recently land ed him the job with Dunston Ashe. Please see SANTRY, Page 22 Movie and music listings Page 18 Weekend events Page 22 Love Letters hits Schwab Page 26 Collegian Photos'Lee McMahon Collegian Photo Gordon Marshall
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