Venue for arts open to expand minds
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Entertainment
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EP Staff Reporter
Do you think Midland has nothing to offer culturally? If you answered yes, then for the most part you are correct in your assessment that Midland is to culture as Kanye West is to modesty.
But there's a little known coffee shop located on 203 W. West Wall St, across from the court house, called The Ground Floor. It has the finesse that would make Starbucks blush, and it doesn't charge you an arm and a leg either.
If The Ground Floor sounds familiar that's because it is. The previous Ground Floor, located on 105 W. West Wall St., went under a few years ago when the one of the previous owner's family members became ill and he had to shut it down.
Gregory Robichaud bought the contents and naming rights about four years ago and reopened last year and relocated where the antiques store Packrats used to be.
"When I first started The Ground Floor I wanted it to be a venue for art, music, poetry, anything that you can think of that can expand your mind," Robichaud said, "because there really isn't a place like that in Midland, except for the schools."
"Owning my business is really stressful and you have to find ways to make money, but I'm getting used to it now," Robichaud said.
The Ground Floor currently has only three employees: Connie Salazar, Michael Hagemann and Michael Graves.
It has free Wi-Fi, which makes it the perfect place for getting homework done or practice guitar. The Ground Floor is game for anything that's legal. The Ground Floor also brings in several music and spoken-word acts ranging from folk to the hardcore scene.
I was there for the Ivy League, Kid Liberty, Oh Infamous City and Run for Cover show. The musicians were very musically talented, but they all sucked vocally. Most songs were screamed rather than sung.
After about three hours my ears felt like they had been violated with a screwdriver. I'm not into that scene, even if I blended right in with my Volcom shirt and striped jacket and beanie. The crowd consisted mainly high school and some college kids, but I felt like a frog amongst tadpoles.
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