While most people come home from work or school looking for a place to unwind, Mark LaHoud spends his work days making that place a reality.
“When we open our doors, we’re hosting a party,” LaHoud said. “Everyones invited, and we have no idea what kind of party it’s going to be.”
This is the approach LaHoud, the owner of the coffee shop Java Madness, takes with his employees and customers.
Located at 134 Salt Pond Road in Wakefield, Rhode Island, Java Madness sits on Ram Point, a spit of land south of South County Hospital that looks out onto Point Judith Pond. From the porch, visitors can watch sailboats motor in and out of Ram Point Marina and listen to cormorants squawk at one another on the rocks.
LaHoud bought Java Madness from its original owner Vic Gregorian, who founded the coffee shop in 2003, according to LaHoud. LaHoud is a lifelong restaurant manager, who made the move to South Kingstown over 17 years ago after leaving one of Cambridge’s award-winning coffeehouses, 1369 Coffeehouse.
It was while working in Cambridge that LaHoud first heard about the concept of a third place, which he has carried with him to Java Madness. The concept was coined by American sociologist Ray Oldenburg in 1989, according to LaHoud. LaHoud described a third place as a separate location from the home and work which provides the community an opportunity to gather.
“When I learned about it as a concept, it touched me,” LaHoud said. “I realized that’s all my favorite places.”
When LaHoud bought Java Madness, he felt like an outsider in the South Kingstown community. LaHoud said that establishing that sense of community in Rhode Island was different than what he experienced in Cambridge. As he began running Java Madness, he was struck by how tight-knit the town was by nature.
“As I was getting to know my new staff and working with them, [the closeness of] South County hit,” LaHoud said. “I was like, ‘you already know these people, all of them!’ Everyone here grew up together, went to school together. That’s their teacher, their doctor. It’s ridiculous. Dr. Pancho comes in every day to grab coffee grounds to use as compost, then I find out he’s been everyone here’s pediatrician for 50 years.”
While LaHoud is the owner and manager of Java Madness, he still makes an effort to meet his customers, chatting with them from behind the counter and always giving a wave and a hello.
For LaHoud, he doesn’t just want Java Madness to be a coffee shop with good drinks and good food. He wants to provide that third place where everyone in the community feels welcome the second they walk in the door, whether that be their favorite song playing on the radio, or the barista remembering their order.
“I think a huge part of being successful is being memorable,” LaHoud said. “You have to be a part of the community, beyond just selling stuff. That’s what Stop & Shop is for.”
While LaHoud spends his work days trying to provide a third place for the South Kingstown community, he finds his own third place in music.
“I brought musicians in here, [and] the next thing you know they got me playing again,” LaHoud said.
As a lifelong musician, LaHoud has integrated music into the fabric of Java Madness, hosting live music events on weekends and curating playlists for everyday visitors.
“To me, music in general is part of the atmosphere and identity of your hospitality’s face,” LaHoud said. “Restaurants, hotels, taverns, coffee houses – [they’re] all the same. What we’re trying to do is give a little taste of home when you walk in the door. Something that makes you feel comfortable.”
For LaHoud, music is an integral part of the third place experience, helping to immerse patrons into the atmosphere. Good music is also essential to any good party, which is exactly what LaHoud wants to do for his customers and employees.
“We’re inviting people into our home,” LaHoud said. “That’s the spirit because we want you to feel comfortable, welcome. We’re hosting the party, so that’s our responsibility. I look back on it, and that kind of condenses everything I do, it’s made my job easier. As long as I focus on that, this place should be all right.”
