A BRIEF HISTORY of the COFFEEHOUSE

Tucked behind Wilson Dorm on East Campus, the Duke Coffeehouse is a mecca for alternative culture at Duke as well as a link between the University and the Durham community. The Coffeehouse was founded in 1981 by SHARE (Student Housing for Academic and Residential Experimentation, Duke's first non-Greek selective living group), and run by SHARE until 2003, when it reopened under the administrative umbrella of the Duke University Union. During the week, students study and socialize amidst the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. On the weekends, the Coffeehouse is transformed into a live venue for local and touring musicians, plays, open mics, student performances, and the occasional drag show.

"The Coffeehouse is an authentic hotspot of counter-culture on the premises of an ever-more corporate Duke."

- Joost Boosland for The Chronicle, 9/22/04

"With its high ceilings, multi-colored couches and heavily graffitied restrooms, the Coffeehouse invites one to sit back and relax before delving into to the next pressing midterm. Completely informal, far different from your average Starbucks, the Coffeehouse offers a charm that even West Campus residents might find difficult to ignore."

- Braden Hendricks for The Chronicle, 9/27/07

"Back in the ‘90s, when the independent-rock scene raged, so did the Coffeehouse’s reputation as a venue where anything could happen. Lore still circulates about infamous shows (when food fights and fires broke out) and the days when Beck, Guided By Voices and Yo La Tengo played there as relative unknowns."

- Sylvia Pfeiffenberger for Duke News, 10/5/06