As mad be-bop bounces off high ceilings and impressionist paintings, gourmet coffee brews and fuels the patrons of a Dinkytown icon.
The Purple Onion, a dyed-in-the-wool spoke of the Dinkytown culture wheel, is the students’ favorite place to jazz up with a cup o’ joe.
“It seems that in the last school year it’s gotten a lot more popular,” said Toby M., a manager at the bustling coffeehouse on the corner of 14th Avenue and 4th Street.
He added that creating a nonsmoking section, increasing ventilation and adding booth seating serves nonsmoking patrons — who want to taste the house blend of beans without the house blend of carcinogens — better.
“And there really isn’t much of an attitude here,” he said. “It’s pretty friendly, pretty laid back. People seem to behave themselves.”
The Purple Onion serves a house blend French roast every day, along with two new coffees of the day.
The recent expansion of the Purple Onion’s pastry selections and the addition of soups and chilies to the menu also make a lunch stop of the University students’ favorite coffeehouse.
— Josh L. Dickey