Uncommon Atmosphere
In-town coffee house specializes in personal attention and ambiance

Since taking over ownership and operation of Common Grounds Coffee House last summer, business partners Tom Carey and Kelly Spencer have concentrated their efforts on better defining and better serving their core customers: inveterate coffee drinkers with a reliable sweet tooth.

Carey, an experienced restaurateur from Marietta, Georgia, and Spencer, an accountant originally from Somerset, Kentucky, manage the Rockabilly Café as well, and have brought improved training and inventory control methods to both enterprises. But they know what brings the customers in – ambiance.

"Our atmosphere is what sets us apart," says Carey. "We're in a hundred-year-old building in a beautiful city neighborhood. We offer reasonable prices in a relaxed setting."

Besides a daily spread of 1520 pastries and bagels, Common Grounds offers a tasty lunch and dinner menu as well. Among the highlights are several vegetarian dishes, like vegan chili, Hummus Amotigous, and a Greek salad; two to three daily quiches; the Bail Evan pita pizza; and various soups and pastas of the day. Desserts include their famous carrot cake, tiramisu, and cheesecakes. A new menu debuted last month.

The proprietors' stated goal is to be Lexington's favorite coffee house, with a focus on outstanding quality and service. Their 20 employees are predominantly college age, and they have begun to orient their services toward a more mature clientele than in the past.

Recent changes have included limiting smoking to the back room only (cigars and pipes are welcome there), offering a dozen types of bottled beer, and featuring live music every Friday evening and an open mike every Monday night. They also invite one or two artists to display and sell their work every month or so, drawing no commissions on the artists' sales.

For Spencer and Carey, it's all just part of being a neighborhood business. Even their approach to the area's infamous parking/towing battles is low-key and neighborly, with a humorous note on the menu referring to the Bermuda-like Tow-Zone Triangle. "We're trying to work with the lot owners one-on-one to make the situation better for everyone involved," says Carey.

Meanwhile, the personal attention offered by the people at Common Grounds promises only to improve on an already delightful atmosphere.

Adam Bruns is a staff writer for The Lane Report.

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