Since classes have just started and I have not had much homework, I will admit I have not tried anywhere new this year to study at. However towards the end of last semester while cramming for finals, I ventured downtown into Irving’s to fuel up on caffeine and buckle down on studying.
For those who do not know, Irving’s is a coffee shop/breakfast cafe/lunch spot that it seems just about everyone has heard of (since it is consistently included on lists of downtown coffee shops “people just can’t miss”). I had gotten coffee there before ad attended club events held there, however I had never actually sat and studied there, so I decided that it could be an interesting place to test in the grind leading up to finals.
Located across from Old Main Lawn and near the Sackett building, Irving’s is only a step across the street from the southwestern portion of campus, an easy journey for most majors.
Stepping into Irving’s it is immediately apparent that the cafe is meant to hold a fair amount of people with a sizable amount of seats available for people to sit at (definitely more than most cafe’s usually offer). Tables ranging from a couple of barstool tables to more typical wooden tables and chairs, with one bench running along a part of the wall in the corner of the seating area.
Underneath this bench, several outlets are strategically placed to offer electricity to the people sitting there without overcrowding the amount of people demanding to use the outlet.
I studied at Irving’s on a Sunday so it did not start getting crowded until around 12 or 1, however I was mostly done with my work by then so I did not mind the dull roar that was steadily building. However, I would say that if you are a person who needs to study in near-silence, I would not recommend Irving’s to you since not only are there the typical coffee-shop sounds of grinding coffee and frothing milk but there is also an abundance of conversation and typical noises in the area.
I do not think I would study at Irving’s very often, during the school week I tend to enjoy staying on campus and studying, but I can see myself venturing out to get coffee on the weekends and grinding away at some work while I am there. Overall, the seating is not very comfortable since it is wooden and it is rather loud, but it is near a quick caffeine-fix so there are definitely both pros and cons to studying here.