Liberty Cafe, Frequented by MIT Students, Closes
by Ray Luk

Cafe Liberty, a coffee house popular among MIT students, closed its Massachusetts Avenue doors for the last time on August 14.

Although Liberty was very successful, the owners had started the cafe intending to maintain it only for a short period of time. Recent events contributed to the decision not to renew the lease and a prompt, timely closing.

The owners, Andrew Sudbury, John Sudbury, and Colin Finn, all had other plans they wanted to pursue. Andrew decided to attend school again and finish his degree. He had pondered the idea of juggling college and running the Liberty, but decided against it. He was two years into his undergraduate career in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT when he decided to drop out and start Liberty. He will return this fall to finish a degree in Management, and will reside at the TEP fraternity. His brother, John Sudbury, wants to concentrate on the Net-pods project, and Finn wants to head out west to explore other things.

The development of University Park in the area, supported by MIT, added to the decision to close the cafe.

Had they not closed Liberty, the three would have seriously considered moving it to an alternate location. Many qualities of the present location, including the basement setting and lack of accessibility, made relocation desirable.

Andrew received many requests to sell Liberty, but the owners declined them all. It was a personal decision, he said. They wanted to make sure Liberty remained true to its name, as they cared for it. They could not find an appropriate suitor.

While no definite plans have been made, the owners of the cafe concede that it may not be closed forever. "Liberty represented the way we wanted to live our lives," said Andrew. "We'll see in a few years."

History

Founded three years ago and named for Liberty Avenue in Somerville, the Cafe was started by MIT student Andrew Sudbury `93, his brother John Sudbury, and friend Colin Finn.

The cyber-cafe theme was in its earliest days then, and the three saw its promise of popularity. "It combined our skills and interests," said Andrew Sudbury. The three decided to make a business of it, and Cafe Liberty was born.

The owners chose a location in the basement of Central Square building. They remodeled the facilities and made the decorations themselves, with some help from a group of Boston University students studying set design.

Central Square was ideal because of its proximity to MIT and Harvard and its prevailing attitude, which suited Liberty's style.

Liberty first opened its doors on November 22, 1994.

The Phoenix had not opened yet, 1369 was still young, and Liberty, with it Seattle-style espresso and laid back, open attitude, quickly became popular and attracted many different crowds.

Earlier patrons of the Liberty may remember walking down the stairs into clouds of cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke. Allowing smoking helped make for a popular beginning, but, while the owners wanted to maintain a tolerant, do-what-you-want policy, the smoke eventually became too much of a problem to ventilate and began turn some non-smokers away. Thus the cafe adopted a non-smoking policy.

Liberty was unique in many ways, including location and attitude. "[We weren't] just a coffee house. Unlike a bar, we didn't remove the ability to have intelligent activities," said Sudbury, referring to the non-alcoholic counter.

Internet access added to Liberty's popularity. The owners created "Net-pods," autonomous Internet computer terminals. The terminals charged a consumer fee for timed access to the Internet. The "Net-pods" were one of the auxiliary projects that Liberty owners wanted to explore. Eventually, pods were placed at other coffee houses and similar establishments for a space rental fee to their owners, while the owners of Liberty collected the pods' consumer fee.

The Wonder Years

Over time, the cafe developed a strong set of regular customers as well as occasional oddities. The staff members were often friends of the owners.

The Nerd Herd, a Cambridge-Boston local Internet mailing list, began meeting at the Liberty, using it as a gathering place and a hang-out. In the early days, many Libertarians also met at the Liberty--perhaps because of the name--smoking cigars and pipes. Many --members of the alt.gothics newsgroup also chose Liberty, with its --Internet friendliness, as their meeting place.

They all chose to meet on Tuesdays.

"I guess Mary Chung's was closed," says John Sudbury, referring jokingly to another local favorite.

One Tuesday night, during a particularly large gathering of the Nerd Herd, the Chocolate Man appeared. In a one-time incident, the man calmly entered the Liberty and meandered his way into the bathroom in the back.

"He came out dressed in something like a clown suit," recalls John, "but I think he called himself the crash test dummy."

Wielding a large bottle of Hershey's, he proceeded to run through the coffee house. With a cry of "Chocolate!" he doused many of the night's customers, until the Nerd Herd finally succeeded in chasing him out of the building and down a back alley.

The license plate of his car was identified, but charges were never pressed.

"We still have chocolate stains on the walls over there," John points to hardened stains that remain. "I think he was an artist or something."