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The World Wide
Web can be a vast expanse of corruption, from instant messaging’s
distortion of the English language to media piracy. It spawned
creations like Facebook, and gave us new phrases like “on-line
dating” and “lmao.” Regardless, some intrepid venues have managed to
preserve the integrity of the Internet and one of those operates in
the heartbeat of Downeast Maine.
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Opera
House Internet Café offers online services...
...and a great place to relax.
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photos by
grace olson |
It’s called the
Opera House Internet Café in Bar Harbor and mixes AIM, e-mail and
chattrooms with the culture of opera itself.
The wood barely
shows through the assortment of framed photographs on its walls
which sport autographs by Renee Fleming and Luciano Pavarotti. Cozy
light from reading lamps illuminates the exposed rafters, beneath
which customers bow their heads over a laptop, a daily newspaper or
a warm mug of tea. And when the weather is nice, many choose to take
their latte to a table near the front where the awning rolls back to
let in the summer air.
“We don’t shoo
people out,” said Matthew Hochman, the café manager. “People can
stay as long as they like ... We try to make it as homey as
possible.”
Customers walk
into the café at 27 Cottage St. via a path overhung by Japanese
cherry trees. They are confronted with three choices. If they look
to their left they can order from the café, which offers lattes,
coffee and a variety of flavor-shots. Turning right gives them the
opportunity to grab a pastry or cookie from the table of baked goods
and take it to the front tables to enjoy in the morning sunlight.
And venturing to the back of the building will reveal 35 PCs set up
in what looks like the living room of a cozy lodge.
Pressing a
button on the time clock will print out tickets with individual time
codes. Customers take these with them to their computers and bring
them back to the register when they leave.
Hochman grew up
in restaurants. His parents owned one in the Bar Harbor area for nearly two decades. After
spending some time in New
York, Hochman moved back to the Bar Harbor area last year and landed the job at the
café by chance.
April Blair
Carlson, the café’s owner, appreciated his first year of work, and
this year made him manager.
“I was sitting
inside the Opera House doing some work on a computer,” she said. “He
and his family were walking by when he saw a sign and just stopped
by on a whim to see what the job was all about. Turns out it was
right up his alley and he was right up mine, too. I liked him and
had a good feeling about him immediately.”
Since then, the
café has continued to flourish, drawing in hoards of tourists and
locals alike to take advantage of the ambience Hochman and Carlson
work to achieve.
On a recent,
rainy day, Mary Vogel and friend Allison Bovee, both from North
Carolina, took refuge in the café when the weather put an end to
their kayaking plans. They sat near the front, reading to each other
highlights of the local paper.
Summer visitors,
including passengers off cruise ships, often utilize the café’s
facilities, be it the quick Internet connection or the coffee bar
behind which Tom Roberts, a café employee, is often busy fixing
drinks.
“I love it
here,” he said, pouring a shot of coconut into a steaming cup.
“There are other Internet cafes out there, but not anything quite
like this one.”
Carlson and her
husband, Bruce, acquired the Opera House after they moved to the
area in 1980. The plan was to spend the summer.
“We’re just
trying to make sure the customers are happy and have a good
experience,” said Hochman. He and Carlson encourage anyone
interested to drop by and take advantage of what the Opera House has
to offer.
Computer rates
are $2.50 for the first 15 minutes and 15 cents per minute after
that, which works out to $9.25 per hour. The second hour is reduced
to $9. Also available are a fax machine and phone service offering
15 cents per minute, worldwide.
The café is open
from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.,
every day until the end of September. For more information, or
off-season hours, call 288-3509. Check local libraries and area
hotels for other venues with Internet service. Many accommodations
offer services with the rooms. Public libraries often have free
Internet service on a sign-up basis.
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