In-season: Coffee
Whether we sip from our morning mug of coffee for the rush of caffeine or simply to enjoy the flavor, our culture has become obsessed with coffee. It’s often referred to as “liquid gold”—mostly for br...
Come hang out with us
“It’s a safe space mentality. It’s respectful. It’s uplifting. It’s what’s edifying to the community.”
Patrick Quigley is talking about The Well, a coffee house, music venue and River Park neighborhood event space in South Bend, Indiana, where he organizes concerts. Mandi Quigley, his wife, manages volunteers, supplies and operations, as well as donations to other local not-for-profits.
“Everybody is a volunteer, top to bottom of the organization, and it has been for years,” Patrick says.
The Quigleys have been hanging out at The Well since it opened in 2013, and they were married there in 2015.
The building was originally purchased and renovated by a church in Granger that no longer exists. Now, The Well is owned by River Park Grace, a church that meets in the coffee shop on Sunday mornings. The Well has its own board, made up of the Quigleys and other leaders in the River Park neighborhood; they’re the only board members who attend River Park Grace.
“This is a way for a church to give to a community,” Patrick says. “These resources would have otherwise been quiet and dormant, just costing money throughout the week and not helping anybody if we didn’t do something. It’s generally those church people that are making financial contributions to make this thing happen at the bare resource level—keep the lights on, pay the base bills.”
The coffee shop serves tea from Apothica Teas in Niles, Michigan, and espresso drinks (regular and decaf) made from locally roasted Cloud Walking Coffee using a machine they got for a good deal from the Electric Brew in Goshen, Indiana. The space has a stage for performances, lots of cozy thrifted furniture, vintage mugs, and local art on the walls.
“Coffee is something we’re passionate about,” says Patrick. “Financial accessibility is important to us, too.”
A mug of tea is just $1, while an espresso drink, like a mocha, costs just $3. Fifty percent of the money that comes into the coffee shop goes back to buying more supplies, while the other 50 percent gets donated to the local organization The Well has chosen that month.
The amount they donate (called micro-grants) varies each month, from about $200 to $900 depending on how many events are on the schedule. The Well has awarded micro-grants to the Center for the Homeless; Indiana University South Bend’s Titans Feeding Titans Food Pantry; Transgender Resource, Education and Enrichment Services; The LGBTQ Center; Dismas House of Indiana; St. Margaret’s House; Nuner Fine Arts Academy and others.
The Well is a home for book clubs, Super Smash Brothers tournaments, knit-athons, clothing swaps, annual all-ages drag shows, its Bloodline Music Festival and a monthly open mic/waffle night.
“The last Tuesday of the month is our open mic night, and it is also waffle night!” says Mandi, who posts a schedule of events every Monday on The Well’s Facebook and Instagram pages. “One of the chefs from LaSalle Grill volunteers with one of their friends to make homemade vegan waffles and toppings. We also do hashbrown patties and vegan sausage patties. It’s all really affordable.”
In addition to the coffee shop, there’s a basement space with orange ’70s carpet and wood paneling where they host shows with up to 90 attendees. There’s also a big room on the ground floor that can hold up to 160 for a range of events, such as weddings, birthday parties, improv shows, karaoke and fundraisers. The room features a mosaic-adorned garage door that can be opened up to let in fresh air in warmer months.
“We want people to be able to come and share art and music in a community with low barriers,” Patrick says. “Usually we’re doing music events in support of a small traveling artist, though we do have some local bands that just hit us up and say, ‘We want to put together a show.’”
Twenty-seven-year-old Jess Gloster was introduced to The Well when her theater group rehearsed there about a year ago. Soon she was also coming for the DIY music scene and volunteering as a barista in the coffee shop.
“Bands and people that know these musicians just make it happen,” Gloster says. “It’s its own little community. Come hang out with us!”
The Well
Tue–Fri 6–10pm
2410 E. Mishawaka Ave.
South Bend, IN
thewellriverpark.com
Katie Jamieson is a poet, massage therapist, former publisher of Edible Michiana and associate editor of Curl magazine. Find Katie @breath.of.freedom.poetry on Instagram, breathoffreedompoetry.substack.com and breathoffreedommassage.com
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