Mill Avenue has its perks, but it’s not always the best place to actually meet people and have real conversations. Sadly, drinking buddies aren’t always real buddies. When it’s time to come up with something new and fun to do, most students draw a blank after bar or house party. Cartel is the solution.

Jason Silberschlag is the owner and manager of Tempe’s newest coffee shop: Cartel Coffee Lab. Located on the southwest corner of Ash Avenue and University Drive, the shop is found hidden in the same strip mall as Buffalo Exchange, HTC, Otto’s and Wet Paint.

From the outside, the meager building doesn’t look like it could be housing much more than an office desk, bulky computer and mini fridge, but the door opens up to a spacious room lined with unique art and teeming with Tempe’s locals drawn to the smell of coffee and compassion. It’s a tiny shop with a bigger purpose than making coffee — the owners are aiming for a cultural explosion.

Silberschlag opened the shop with a distinct purpose in mind. “We wanted to be able to have a space where people could congregate and enjoy themselves,” he says. He points out that if people don’t want to go to a bar, there are not a lot of other places to just hang out and talk. The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday, but on the nights of their monthly events, the shop stays open as long as the customers want.

Cartel is supposed to be a place where people can really get to know each other while appreciating art and expression. Silberschlag describes it as “a place of social change, understanding and growth.”

The employees are all extremely friendly and try to have real conversations with every customer who walks through the door. The place is filled with couches, desks, and tables accompanied by journals, colored pencils, and magazines to encourage interaction and creativity. If customers get bored, they can grab a colored pencil and draw a masterpiece to take home, or draw something in the Cartel journal for the next visitors to see.

Ben Funke, a graduate student in the School of Sustainability, says he likes “the DIY look. The owner has built pretty much everything in here.” There are homemade tables, chairs, wooden lamps and walls created by the owner himself. “There’s a pretty good soundtrack,” Funke also points out.

There’s usually a dozen customers, either quietly working at a desk or conversing with the energetic staff. There are suited men with briefcases, hard-working college students, raggedy neighborhood locals and fashionable artists, forming an eclectic mix of customers.

The red giant in the back of the room is the esteemed coffee roaster machine. Although Silberschlag admits he is still learning to roast with perfection, it’s hard to deny that the coffee beans that come out of that beloved roaster are absolutely delicious. These delectable little beans are the key to a great cup of coffee or a refreshing latte. Customers must be patient though, the baristas brew one cup at a time with lots of care.

Another aspect that makes this coffee so special is the rare Clover that Silberschlag uses for brewing. The machine costs about $11,000 and apparently makes the world’s best coffee. The Clover was rare when Silberschlag bought it and now it’s close to impossible to get, since Starbucks bought the company who makes it.

Cartel’s coffee has established a growing cult following. “It’s the best coffee in Tempe. I am not a huge coffee snob or anything, but it is undeniably good,” says Funke. Silberschlag is dedicated to making gourmet coffee for a cheap price. Both him and the workers are constantly learning more about coffee beans, how to roast them, and how to brew and make drinks well. Silberschlag is even traveling to Columbia to be a juror for the Cup of Excellence Program, a competition for the world’s best coffee beans.

To top off great coffee and a great atmosphere, Cartel is also trying to create a new Tempe night spot. Every month, Cartel hosts Final Fridays, where local artists display their work, musicians sell CDs and play a set, and coffee is sold all night.

Amanny Ahmad is in charge of designing the monthly event and also of finding local artists to participate. Both Silberschlag and Ahmad are proud to give motivated artists a chance since they might not have another opportunity to show off their work. If the artists sell any of their pieces at the shop, Cartel doesn’t take any of the profit. As Ahmad puts it, “There’s so many struggling artists. Why should we capitalize on that?”

The event is laid-back and diverse, and Silberschlag is hoping that if other businesses get involved, it will grow into something comparable to First Fridays in downtown Phoenix. Some nights, Silberschlag even brings along a keg and distributes free beer to his guests.

It’s the staff’s customer service and genuine personalities that help Cartel thrive. Customers feel comfortable as soon as they walk in, and the staff often shake hands with new people within minutes.

Silberschlag is striving to impact community and social interaction in a big way. He encourages students to “go to support local artists and local business, and be a part of something big, to be a part of something that is a little bit beyond status quo.”

Cartel offers what a bar rarely can: a genuine attempt at a real relationship. People don’t go to Cartel in clubbing gear looking for a hot one-nighter. People go to Cartel just because they like being there. As Funke puts it, “it’s a nice atmosphere. They have gone to great lengths to ensure the quality.”

When the bar scene starts to get old, ASU students now have a place to hang out and get to know each other. Even if local art isn’t your thing, the coffee is great and the people are nice — it’s worth giving up one night at the bars.

— kahavens@asu.edu

If You Go:
Cartel
225 W. University Drive
Ste 11 Tempe Az 85281
http://cartelcoffeelab.com
M-F: 7am - 8pm
S: 8am - 8pm
Su: 9am - 3pm
Final Fridays: Last Friday of
each month, 7p.m. - whenever

If You’re An Artist:
Want you’re art displayed in
Cartel?
Contact Amanny Ahab at
amanny@gmail.com