Every student has their favorite spots on campus to eat, to study, to socialize. For some it’s the Fishbowl in the EMU; for others it’s the quiet floors of the Knight Library or the field facing the business school. Though these places do offer the chance to eat, socialize or study, there is one spot that provides the chance to do all three — although it’s not technically on campus.
Just across the street from the Northwest side of campus, East 13th Avenue between Kincaid and Alder streets offers a variety of diverse and active student-oriented businesses ranging from restaurants, retail stores and other services offered to students.
“It’s a really good hangout. All of the places around there are kind of catered to students being able to have a place to hang out,” University freshman Bridget Davidson said of East 13th Avenue.
Though new to the University, Davidson has lived in Eugene for most of her life and has frequented several of the businesses.
“I really like the Caspian Cafe,” Davidson said. “They have such big servings for such little money.”
This feature — offering cheap food to college students — is one of the main draws of the street, according to Davidson.
Open past midnight during most of the week, Caspian offers a variety of food on the menu, ranging from classic Mediterranean food such as gyros, falafels, and shawarmas, to Philly cheesesteaks and double cheeseburgers, each priced at $5.95.
Noodle Head, another affordable restaurant, recently opened for business in July. Located across the street from The Duck Store, it features a number of Thai-style noodle and rice dishes in their menu, all for $5.75, and promises cheap food made quickly for students.
“We know that the students don’t have much time to come to the restaurant, they don’t have time to wait 20 minutes to get their food done,” said Tony Chulacharit@@http://kezi.com/news/local/217570@@, a co-owner of Noodle Head. “So if they need to get to school or if they only have a half-hour break, they can come in and out very quickly. That is what we do here.”
In addition to these two restaurants, East 13th Avenue also houses many other restaurants, including East Meets West, a Chinese food restaurant with entrees for under $10, Yogurt Extreme, Espresso Roma, Cafe Siena, Starbucks, Quiznos and Qdoba.
The street isn’t only known for it’s cheap food dishes, however. Many establishments have been operating on this street for years, offering convenient services for University students.
Some of these operations include The Red Rooster Barbershop (open for more than 40 years), The Kampus Barbershop, a Lane Transit District station with routes running to and from campus, one location of the Eugene Police Department and Blue Heron Bicycles.
Open for about 20 years, Blue Heron is “really proud to be keeping the campus running by bicycles,” said Alexander Hongo@@http://www.kval.com/news/82848977.html@@, an employee at Blue Heron. This bicycle shop provides new bikes, repairs and tuneups — but that’s not all. According to Hongo, “We’re not just a bicycle shop; we don’t just sell bike parts; we are into human and bicycle relationships and making them happier together.”
Finally, East 13th Avenue is home to multiple retail stores, allowing students the opportunity to purchase books and textbooks, Duck gear, school and art supplies, and electronics (all at The Duck Store), as well as various types of clothing (at American Apparel and McKenzie Outfitters).
Overall, East 13th Avenue is busy and crowded with a lot of food, retail and service opportunities for University students, and it is, to some, “… just the place to be,” Davidson said.
East 13th Avenue offerings add spice to students’ lives
Daily Emerald
September 18, 2011
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