The Blue Dragon Coffeehouse has reopened.
Beth and Brian Rosen bought the coffee shop, which closed in July, and have had it up and running since March 1.
Longtime Dragon patron Holly Buehler is glad that one of her favorite hangouts is back.
"I used to go to open-mic nights to enjoy tasty beverages and musical entertainment," she said.
The Rosens previously managed a Northeast Heights coffee shop, Kathy's Café. Beth Rosen said that when it shut down, they moved the staff to the Blue Dragon, and no one lost a job.
Every worker has been trained to do everything, she said.
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"If it gets busy," she said, "it's important that we can all move from station to station."
Rosen said keeping the original name was important.
"It had a lot of history behind it. And if we changed it, we thought people would be sad," she said. "So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive."
But not everyone feels that way.
Lee Felicetti said the Blue Dragon was once his favorite place to study, but the new environment is disappointing.
"It's as if the people who reopened it had never been to the original Blue Dragon and had possibly never been to a real coffee shop in the first place," he said.
Coffeehouse patron Miles Anderson said the place was his second living room before it closed.
"It was more rambling before," he said. "Now, people understand a business needs money to run. Before, kids would come and not contribute."
He said the atmosphere used to be more interesting.
"The art used to be more controversial," he said. "There used to be drawings everywhere. They took the character out of this place."
Rosen said they're trying to preserve the old shop's atmosphere by continuing to offer free, all-ages live entertainment, such as belly-dancing, blues bands and folk musicians. Former Dragon owner Norm Everett will perform May 2.
Open-mic night is back Wednesdays from 6 to 10 p.m., hosted by Matt Righter and Lance Robotson.
Righter said the quality of the Blue Dragon depends on the community's contribution.
"It can be whatever we make it - that's so cheesy," Righter said. "The whole idea of renovating and reopening the place is to kind of revamp what was already going well and address some things that weren't working out so well. They're just looking at the business end of things, really evaluating the longevity of the business and how that can work out."
Going hand-in-hand with open-mic night is a weekly arts-and-crafts bazaar.
Righter said that so far, a few jewelry-makers have showed up to sell their wares.
One of the original Blue Dragon's biggest draws was the food: vegan pastries and organic choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Rosen said they have decided not to go the organic route, but the food is based on the old menu.
The shop still has gourmet pizzas and breakfast burritos, and there are plenty of vegetarian options.
The Blue Dragon is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, but Rosen said she would like to stay open until midnight.
"The more people who come in, the more likely we are to extend our hours," she said.
Kate Mitchell contributed to this story.
Blue Dragon Coffeehouse
1517 Girard Blvd. N.E.
Monday-Sunday
9 a.m.-10 p.m.
