1000 FACES
Out of all of the places on my list that I haven’t been to, 1000 Faces is by far the one that has been recommended to me the most. Every time that I mentioned this project, I was asked if I had tried 1000 Faces yet. In fact, when I reached out to my friend, Melea, to join me for this excursion, I had originally planned to go somewhere different with her. She responded by asking if I had ever heard of 1000 Faces. So, my decision was effectively made for me. That being said, my expectations are high for a place so legendary in the Athens coffee shop canon.
1000 Faces was founded locally in Athens, and now hosts two locations in the area. While most people are familiar with the location downtown, Melea suggested that we go to the newer location in Wire Park, an area I had never heard of before but somewhere Melea had been previously.
So, on Thursday, March 26, I pull into Wire Park, a combination residential-commercial space in Watkinsville, about a 20 minute drive from campus. Wire Park’s website says the development covers around 60-acres in total, and it contains a retail mall, an amphitheater, townhomes, and single family homes. Needless to say, I’m a little overwhelmed pulling into the parking lot. The route my GPS took me used mostly back-roads, so stumbling on this massive place feels like finding an oasis in a desert.
The shopping center itself, where the coffee shop is, consists of rows of retailers connected outside by steel beams and supports. It’s a distinctly industrial, yet clearly newly constructed, vibe. In this outside space is a small play area and outdoor seating, where I find Melea, studying for her upcoming accounting exam. She’s ready for a coffee break.
We walk across the courtyard to 1000 Faces, which is empty when we walk in aside from the singular employee at the counter. Besides the silent awkwardness between us and the barista, the inside of the shop is incredibly cute. The shop has two levels, with the upper seating forming a balcony over the counter and kitchen. The floor is black and white checkered tile, and the makeshift balcony is covered in striped blue and white paneling with painted flowers, and the other walls are covered in fun, colorful art. Overall, 1000 Faces is eclectic, favoring bright colors and patterns over the typical coffee shop “rusticness”.
However, some of the industrialness of Wire Park is intermingled in the space, like black steel beams crisscrossing the ceiling. This aesthetic intrusion, combined with the fact that there are hardly any people in there, diminishes some of the coziness. The lack of customers also meant that it was very quiet inside, and every time me or Melea would talk, our voices would echo across the walls. We repeatedly have to pause our conversation because the sound of our voices so loud makes us cringe. Not the best quality for a public space meant for conversation.
I order a 16oz iced chai latte (no other flavor options, which is pretty typical), and Melea orders a hot honey cinnamon latte. Considering we’re the only customers at this point, it doesn’t take long before our drinks are ready. They come out in actual glassware, which is an unexpected, but appreciated, surprise. We head upstairs, cautiously balancing our drinks, and sit at two fuzzy pink chairs shaped like seashells. See, eclectic.
In simple terms, the chai is good. It’s not very sweet (something that I’ve unfairly come to expect after Jittery Joe’s), but it’s mostly the spices that make the drink flavorful. Again, I have no idea what spices they actually put in these things, but they’re potent enough to flavor the drink without being too much. It’s a delicate balance, and 1000 Faces handles this well. It’s a little on the watery side, and even though I can taste whatever milk or creamer was used, I think a little more would have made the drink go down smoother. All of that being said, it’s a very refreshing drink, welcome on a hot day.
Melea seems to enjoy her hot latte (an interesting decision to me, given that it was nearly 80 degrees outside, and happily we continue with our conversation. We have a lot to talk about. The last time we’ve gotten to hang out one-on-one was in January, so it’s been a while. But life has gotten so busy for both of us in the past year.
Melea was my first college friend, and we met in the stereotypical way you meet all your friends freshman year, by chance.
It was important to me when I first came to UGA that I find a good student ministry to get involved in, even if the idea of going in blind scared the absolute crap out of me. I had heard about Prince Avenue Baptist Church through a girl I knew from high school, and I attended for the first time one Sunday without anyone to sit with. I walked in the lobby and saw a girl my age who was also alone. It was Melea. I asked if she had anyone to sit with, she said no, and we sat together during the service.
After the service, we walked together to the lunch the church was putting on for college students together, and, in a strange twist of fate, we discovered that Melea’s sister was roommates with the girl I knew from high school. We all ended up sitting together, and I was so relieved by how easy it had been to find a community within the student ministry. I put myself out there and received something in return.
Melea and I ended up doing community groups together, and we became fast friends. We even got coffee together on campus every Tuesday last year (which was really unsustainable for my bank account). Now, Melea leads her own community group. We still see each other at church, but we haven’t gotten to hang out together nearly as much this year.
Melea has been far busier than me. She just got back from a spring break mission trip in Slovakia, and in the summer, she’s working for the second time as a staffer for Fuge Camp. Last year, she ended up being placed at the same location my home church sends students to. I went with my church as a leader, and we got to meet in the middle of the summer. I was so amazed watching her in her element, jumping and screaming with the kids, an endless ball of energy. I was only there for one week and was exhausted by the end of it.
But Melea always has energy for the people and things that she cares about. Even now, jet-lagged from serving in Europe, with an accounting exam to study for, and the community group that she leads meeting in a few hours, she’s made time to chat and get coffee with me. And her most pressing worry isn’t related to any of it.
“They’re making me come up with a nickname for myself this year at camp and nothing sounds cool with Melea.”
It’s a pretty tough dilemma. And in the hour and a half that we’re there, neither of us can come up with anything (if you have any suggestions, let us know).
When I get to the end of my chai latte, I find it’s got the same weird white powder at the bottom as my Jittery Joe’s chai. It’s not quite as bad, but not a great end to the drink.
Normally, this would bother me, but Melea and I are so engrossed in conversation that I’ve sort of forgotten about the drink entirely. Once we start catching up, it’s hard to remember why we let so much time go in between hanging out. I’m reminded just how much Melea inspires me to get involved in something, to want to better myself by serving others. I can clearly see the ways we’ve both grown since we met, and I owe a lot of it to her influence.
When we leave, it’s a little bittersweet. I know it will be a while before our schedules are clear enough to get coffee like this again. But, we do plan to get together around finals. Every semester, we get together on finals week and play the Wii. A random tradition, but one I look forward to to take some of the stress of finals off my shoulders. Even if we’re not getting coffee together every week like we used to, I know that we’ll always make time for each other.
I’ll leave you with Melea’s review of her 1000 Faces experience.
“Enjoyed the flavor, didn’t enjoy the echo. Really enjoyed the company.”
