With cozy chairs and Bohemian vibes, Donkey serves fair trade coffee exclusively, in addition to teas and pastries.
Christopher Pyle and his wife, Angie Clement Pyle, opened Donkey Coffee and Espresso, 17 W. Washington St., in 2002, in an effort to give Athens “more spaces where people could visit (or) read a book and just be around other people,” Angie said.
With cozy chairs and Bohemian vibes, Donkey serves fair trade coffee exclusively, in addition to teas and pastries.
“It wasn’t about the coffee; it was about the community,” Christopher said. “We wanted to stimulate community, so we brought in the coffee.”
Many Donkey patrons cited the shop’s atmosphere as a reason to keep returning, whether that be to study or to listen to local comics and musicians at its open mic nights.
Sasha Gough, a sophomore studying creative writing, goes to Donkey every Tuesday for poetry night.
"The coffee is fantastic. The people are fantastic, and usually, the setting and the mood and the aesthetic of the place is just very calming," Gough said.
