Norm’s is your go-to spot for everything coffee and treats – and even specialty waffles on the weekends – in downtown Newton. At most coffee shops, customers order their favorite drink, get their order, and then leave, but that isn’t the case at Norm’s. Customers often spend hours of their day sitting at Norm’s with their friends and family, or even people they just met that day.
So what makes Norm’s different from other coffee shops and makes their customers come-and-stay rather than grab-and-go? What makes the customers WANT to stay and spend their time here?
When you think of the term “a third place,” you often think of somewhere that is a social space outside of your home or workplace that you can go to connect with the community you’re a part of.
This is a reason why people come to Norm’s to stay and sit to enjoy their treats rather than just grabbing their coffee and leaving. Norm’s is one of these “third places.”
When you walk into Norm’s you expect to see people sitting at the bar in the windows doing work, groups of people sitting at a table enjoying their coffees and chatting, Bethel students doing homework (or just taking a break from class), as well as the employees behind the bar with a smile on their face waiting to chat with new customers while knowing the names and even orders of regulars.
“You see different people come here everyday, so everyday here is different,” Barb Kristenson, a regular customer, said when asked about the community-feel at Norm’s.
The dimmed, warm lights and the rustic look, make for a calm and soothing environment while there is distinct chatter and laughter from customers all around the store.
You can see customers walking up to other customer’s tables to greet them and start up a conversation with them, whether they knew them before coming to Norm’s that day or not.
“Being at Norm’s is anxiety-reducing. It doesn’t matter if you know the people or not, but you aren’t nervous to talk to people here. My anxiety just goes away when I’m at Norm’s,” Donna Schulz, another regular customer at Norm’s, said when asked how she feels when she comes to Norm’s.
You can also expect to hear “Good morning!” and to spark up a conversation about your day with the Lakeys while receiving a hug from them to brighten your day (and theirs) when you enter the store.
This is all a part of the community-feel that Norm’s gives off rather than being JUST a coffee shop. Simply everyone being there for everyone else and greeting everyone positively, even if it’s just a smile, while building relationships.
“Love and friendship is why I come here instead of somewhere else. You meet so many people here that become your friends later on,” another long-time Norm’s regular, Gene Kristenson said when asked why he comes back to Norm’s.
People come to Norm’s to make connections with others in the Newton community and hear their stories, but it takes every customer buying into this concept for it to be achieved, which is what has happened at Norm’s in the recent years.
“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you,” is a quote on the back wall on the long hallway in Norm’s (along with many other quotes and the names of community donors if you are interested in taking a look) from Saint Augustine that speaks into this concept of hearing out other’s stories while you are making connections with new people in Norm’s. There is a reason you met these people, in this specific place.
By simply paying attention and getting to know other people while here, you are building a stronger, more positive Newton community just by sitting in your local coffee shop with your favorite drink and hanging out with your newly-made Norm’s friends.
“I feel better once I get here and talk to people,” long-time regular Cheryl Clayton said when asked about how she feels when she comes to Norm’s. “You leave with a much better attitude than you came in with, something good always happens at Norm’s.”
Norm’s was placed in downtown Newton for the purpose of being a locally-based coffee shop, but now more than that, Norm’s has turned into being here for community needs and a place for customers to go to be themselves with friends they have created along the way.
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