After class, teens plan on food and friends
CAMBRIDGE -- Forget location, location, location. When teenagers are going somewhere to meet friends after school, weather and pocket change can be just as important. Sometimes, even homework figures in.
The Broadway Market is across the street from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, and lots of high school kids gather there. "They're good kids," says general manager Richard Sabounjian. "School gets out around 2, then a lot come over here. They'll grab a drink, some pastry or candy, and sit around and chat. Then they go on their way."
By mid-winter, teenagers have their after-school routines down pat. Some head to coffee shops or cafes, where sometimes herbal teas or sodas substitute for coffee. Some are hungry, so they'll find a shop selling sandwich wraps or head for doughnut shops, ice cream shops, or delicatessens.
At the Broadway Market, most of the kids who come in after school are regulars -- for four years, says Sabounjian. "They come in as freshmen and we know them right through their senior year. We know quite a few by their first names. We've even hired a few." One, Elaine Lemos, a junior at the high school, moved from the front as a customer to the back as a bakery employee last September.
"We come here because it's warm," says Mae Beerman, a Rindge freshman. "We meet people here. Everyone knows Broadway." Jean Coletta, a sophomore, can find foods like bagels that fit her vegan preferences. Timmy Doucette, who budgets $20 a week for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, comes for chips and soda.
Markets, cafes, and bookstores all feature items that appeal to teens. Broadway Market has chips and soda. The Other Side Cafe on Newbury Street features a $9.50 platter of fruit, cheese, and bread that "is big and cheap and you can feed lots of kids with it," says cafe waiter Esteban Hernandez. Dan Venskus, one of the cooks, starts with a sliced baguette and cheddar, havarti, provolone, and Brie, and finishes the plate with grapes, apples, pears, and bananas, with a shot glass of yogurt drizzled with honey.
For some teens, the cost of food determines where they eat.Judson Macrae, shift supervisor at Hi-Rise Bread Company inHarvard Square, says teenagers wouldn't normally come inbecause of the prices of the bakery's sandwiches and pastries. Teens at Hi-Rise tend to opt for sandwich No. 2, "Fern's problem solver," which features turkey roasted on the premises, ripeavocado, Monterey Jack cheese, and Russian dressing on semolina bread. "It's popular with everyone really," Macrae says. No. 26 -- broccoli, cheddar, and Jack cheese with bacon and Russian dressing on sourdough -- has more of acult following among teens and adults.
Some teens concentrate on homework in their free time. The studious sorts head to cafes to meet classmates and prep for the next math test. "You don't have time to hang out," says Elizabeth Barthelmes, a senior at the Pingree School in Hamilton. "For people my age it's definitely a huge point to be able to study anywhere you go."
Barthelmes's sister, Rachael, is a freshman at Pingree. Laptop open, biology textbook balanced on her knees, Rachael has settled into the
Cafe and bookstore owners oblige students and others by offering long hours and wireless Internet access. John Mahoney, owner of the Atomic Cafe in Beverly, went wireless a little more than two years ago. "It's a good place to open a book or open a laptop and get some work done," he says.Mahoney and Michael Lemanski, manager of the Trident Booksellers & Cafe in Back Bay, say teens do frequent their cafes, but the age groups range up to seniors.
Even for teens who plan to study, though, nothing seems to be a solitary experience. Many customers at the Other Side sit in pairs, some platonic, others friendlier. At the Atomic Cafe in Beverly, a young couple snuggles on the same side of a booth,sharing soup and a sandwich. At the next booth, another more reserved couple lean close over mugs of coffee. Two students wearing sweatshirts with a BHS ( Beverly High School) logo share a snack.
Near the window a young man is reading T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets." His laptop is open, his iPod is plugged in, and he uses a plastic CD case as a coaster for a large coffee. Across from him sits Sarah Kirkland, a senior majoring in music education at Gordon College, who comes here three or four times a week. "At first it was more social, now it's more a place to study," she says.
For the cost of a cup of coffee, it's cozier than the library.
Broadway Market, 468 Broadway, Cambridge, 617-547-2334; Hi-Rise Bread Company, 208 Concord Ave., Cambridge, 617-876-8766; Atomic Cafe, 256 Cabot St., Beverly, 978-922-0042; The Other Side Cafe, 407 Newbury St., Boston, 617-536-8437; Starbucks, 29 Enon St., Beverly, 978-922-0885; Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 338 Newbury St., Boston, 617-267-8688. 
