There are also the people who use Gold's coffee shop for more practical purposes, such as meetings for writers, artists and musicians. Every Sunday evening at nine, connections are made in some way or another with The Pillary, an open mic reading session Gold's hosts for anyone who wants to listen or read. And they usually get some interesting readings. He proceeded to prophecy in an epic poem he had written. There are so many interesting people who come in here, people from all over the place that want to contribute to what is going on in Eastown.
People come in here and they are actually writing and sharing with each other.
Even though the community is flourishing, Gold's is still in a business that does not work without people buying coffee. But Smieska still believes that his business is serving the community and he wants to stay as independent as he can. Independent is relative. I'm dependant on the community. Smieska does not seem to be running a business, but more of an ongoing project.