Evangelina Delaney ’30
Staff Writer
As I sip my coffee, immensely relieved to have midterms in my rearview mirror, I’m reflecting back on my recent fall break visiting my brother in Nashville. As I strolled down the iconic 12 South, scouring for cute shops, prospective new dinner spots, and hot chicken joints, while appreciating the abundance of cowboy boots on seemingly every passerby, I stumbled upon La La Land Café. I was immediately drawn to its exuberant yellow branding, but initially deterred by the endless line, which wrapped all the way around its corner and down the street…not an ideal wait, particularly on a sweltering 90-degree day. However, as I looked more closely at the cheerful facade of this new-to-me cafe, I noticed something very basic, but profound: everyone seemed happy, despite the wait. Intrigued by the array of fun, fall-themed drink concoctions held by every pedestrian within a 250-foot radius, my mom and I decided to stay and embrace the aura. Within seconds of standing in the energized line, we could hear cheerful conversations of customers and watched in awe as employees strolled the line, making friendly chit-chat and engaging their excited customers.
While waiting, we quickly realized that this was not the traditional in and out, impersonal, and purely transactional coffee shop experience that is an expected and accepted part of today’s antiseptic culture. It’s meant to be an experience, however small, that brightens people’s day. From sweet little touches like heart-shaped straw toppers, to the staff exclaiming “bye, love ya!” to customers (which you would think would be cringy, but was somehow not), La La Land not only nailed its flavors, but delivered cura personalis in spades.
Adorning the sleeves of its cups with mottos like “be kind” and “just love each other,” La La Land offers an exceedingly upbeat and welcoming atmosphere that leaves you feeling energized, like your decaf was actually a triple espresso, and somehow makes you forget about baking on the sidewalk during its hour-long wait. Watching the effervescent staff pour my perfectly-made matcha into a happy yellow cup, I looked around and felt like I was witnessing everyone’s hearts grow two sizes like the Grinch’s.
That afternoon was a wonderful reminder of Kurt Vonnegut’s famous quote: “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” Truly, the simple acts of being kind to one another and wearing a smile really do go a long way. Our world would be a better place if we embraced La La Land’s pure and simple mottos. Talk about cura personalis.
Leave a Reply