Despite its vintage-looking hand-painted signage, The Spot is not just a coffee shop. Sure, it has a decently strong dark roast and a java chip freeze, but The Spot is much more.
The Spot is a vibe.
Since the day I arrived in Chattanooga, I’ve heard co-workers gushing over the breakfast paninis, chicken salad and Cuban sandwiches, which I saw reporter Ben Benton devour within the blink of an eye from the cubicle next me. And to be honest, I was devouring one of those Cuban sandwiches as I wrote this.
(READ MORE: Three Chattanooga restaurants give a new meaning to ‘home-cooked meal’)
Opened in the summer of 2017 on the corner of Main and South Hawthorne streets, The Spot took over the brick building that housed Freeman Mattresses. Wordigo board games, Disney coloring books and empty lava lamps contributed to an uncouth charm that people loved about The Spot. It seemed to be one of those neighborhood spots (so to speak) that you wouldn’t know about unless you were cool enough or lived in that particular neighborhood. It was a place you could tell people frequented on a daily basis to lounge on that burgundy, double-sided velvet sofa, drink root beer floats and write poetry — haikus probably.