Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 11/98) - If you think of Javaroma as just a place in town to buy a decent cup of coffee, manager Steve Yanciw says he hopes to change that perception.

"I want to model it after the coffee shops down south," Yanciw says. "There's more competition there, but there's no reason why we can't have something similar in Yellowknife."

Something similar in Yk means adding a new dimension to the coffee shop experience by bringing patrons not only the coffee they have come to expect from the location in the Northwest Tower, but a decidedly more artistic flavour to Javaroma's menu.

"We're going to begin showing one classic movie every week. Every Thursday, we'll screen a movie, and people can come in and sit back and watch while enjoying a good cup of coffee."

Yanciw expects to bring in movies like Casablanca, Gone With The Wind and Citizen Kane, along with a few foreign films beginning in October and running until December. He also added that Charles Laird, co-ordinator of the Far North Film Festival, will lend his assistance in obtaining films for the weekly screening, but there is no set schedule as yet.

Yanciw says the coffee shop is an ideal place to screen movies in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. He's also is quick to add that the types of movies he is hoping to bring in for screenings will not necessarily be the kind of cinema that appears at the mainstream movie theatres.

"They won't be like the movies which come to the Capitol Theatre," he says.

But before any of the movies take centre stage at Javaroma, another event is set to appear next week. A co-production of the Lunch Pail Theatre Company and Dramatists Play Services of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters will be presented at Javaroma on Thursday and Saturday of next week.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the play, Love Letters tells the story of two lovers through the reading of love letters they've sent to each other over the course of 40 years.

While there may be people who don't think Javaroma is an ideal place to show movies, Yanciw says the experience will truly be for movie lovers. And while the coffee will still be on for those who just want to pop in for a quick stop, he doesn't think that will take away from the movie of the week.

"We'll still be up and running during the screening, but our patrons aren't really that loud," he says. "We're a coffee shop."

Love Letters is scheduled to play Sept. 17 and 19 at Javaroma at 8 p.m. The cost of a ticket is $15, which will include coffee or tea and dessert during the play's intermission.

As for the upcoming movie screenings, watch the Yellowknifer for a schedule as soon as one is available.