The typical bar includes cheap drinks, loud music and often, obnoxious drunks. The Strand, at 199 W. 8th Ave., is not your typical bar — there’s coffee and pizza instead of beer and peanuts, and drunks on the Web instead of in person.
The Strand is compiled of five separate businesses: Cozmic Pizza, Theo’s Coffee House, Indra’s Internet Lounge, Window’s Booksellers, and Wipf and Stock Publishers. It might seem next to impossible to cram all of these businesses under one roof, but The Strand is a wide open space with beautifully tall ceilings and plenty of room for everyone to share.
The look of The Strand is enough to set it apart from other bars. Its entryway, although located on a corner, is rounded. Inside, the colors that decorate the walls — from peach to sky blue to pea green — are very calming, and stunning murals that reflect scenic autumn days paint an equally comforting atmosphere. Huge, cushy couches and armchairs provide a great place to study, listen to music and have a cup of coffee. For those looking for entertainment, there are tables with built-in chessboards and a large stage in the center that hosts a variety of live music acts.
The smell of pizza is overwhelming, but in a good way. Cozmic Pizza, which specializes in organic gourmet pizza, offers great food at decent prices. Salads range from $3.50 to $6.75, but with ingredients such as artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese and basil/gorgonzola dressing, paying nearly $7 is worth it.
Cozmic Pizza also serves focaccias for less than $5, calzones for $8.75, and of course, a wide variety of pizzas, in either regular or fresh ground whole wheat crust. For only $2.50 patrons can buy a slice of cheese pizza, and the gourmet pizzas’ prices range from $11.50 for a medium to $22.75 for a large. Toppings such as green peppers, jalapenos, onions, minced garlic, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, kalamata olives, smoked salmon and pesto, among others, are all available. Cozmic Pizza also serves a wide selection of organic wines and fresh draft beers made with organic hops and grains.
Theo’s Coffee House serves up a mixture of inexpensive coffee drinks, from a 12-ounce latté for $2 to a 16-ounce mocha for $2.95. Unlike Starbucks, the most expensive drink is the large espresso shake, which still costs just $4.
Right next to Theo’s Coffee House is Indra’s Internet Lounge, which allows users to purchase minutes for exploring the Web. Indra’s turns The Strand into more than just a restaurant — it can be a great place to surf the Web and do homework in a chill, friendly environment.
My favorite aspect of The Strand is Window’s Booksellers. Beautiful old books line the walls begging to be picked up and read. Topics range from history, biography, poetry and plays to literary
criticism, bargain fiction, “odds and ends,” economics and literature. Most of the books I saw were less than $10, but there’s also a special selection of books that can be purchased for just a dollar. Because of their age and wide range of topics, these books probably can’t be found in many other bookstores in the area, making Window’s Booksellers a wonderfully unique book nook.
All in all, The Strand is very relaxing and laid-back. From families to students to hippies to yuppies just looking for a great place to meet up with friends, The Strand is just the place to go.

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