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In Asheville, N.C., not on the West Island, Barack Obama shakes hands with a supporter. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)
Obama's got a lock on the West Island, according to tip poll
Customers at Java U on St. Charles weigh in with their gratuities
Mike Boone
The Gazette
Friday, October 3, 2008
In Asheville, N.C., not on the West Island, Barack Obama shakes hands with a supporter. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)
You've read the results of enough scientific polls. Here's
one from out in left field:
Specifically Pierrefonds, where nine of 10 Java U patrons hope
Barack Obama is elected president of the United States. The poll has
a margin of error of plus/minus three lattes.
Gary Brown, 43, has had a Java U franchise on St. Charles Blvd. for
almost three years. Like other coffee shops in the chain, Brown adds
some whimsical flourishes to receptacles near the cash register
where customers can leave a gratuity.
"We try to make the tip jars entertaining," Brown said, "and I kind
of like topics that juxtapose each other."
Brown has set up two adjacent coffee cups with stir sticks bearing
the logos of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Canadiens. Another time
it was likenesses of Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny.
More recently Brown's Java U has offered his customers a choice
between American politicians. During the primary campaigns, it was
Obama and Hillary Clinton. No surprise: women tippers favoured the
junior senator from New York.
For the last three weeks, the tip tussle has been between Obama and
John McCain.
"I printed out two pictures and tried to make them both look good,"
Brown said. "But it was hard to find a picture of McCain that made
him look sympathetic. He always looks angry."
Hey, give the guy a break. You'd look pained too if you spent five
years in a North Vietnamese prison and eight years under a Bush
presidency.
But the contrast between a scowl and a smile can't fully account
for the overwhelming Obama support among Brown's customers.
"The kids did a calculation the other day," Brown said, "and 94 per
cent of the tips went into the Obama cup."
And that wasn't a one-off aberration. On at least 10 occasions, a
customer has poured the McCain tips into the Obama cup - as was the
case when it was Leafs vs. Habs.
The Obama coffee groundswell would not be surprising if Brown's
Java U were near McGill, Concordia, the U de M, UQàM or any other
part of town where patrons tend to be the kind of snooty,
cappuccino-sipping elitists who exceeded 400 on their SATs.
But the 'burbs? Isn't that where moms stop for coffee on their way
to hockey?
"I'm in an area that's more French-speaking than Pointe Claire or
Beaconsfield," Brown said. "And I find my francophone clients are
much more passionate about Barack Obama.
"A couple of customers have told me, in essence, that if McCain
wins, they'll give up on America."
But by going to Java U rather than Starbucks, haven't they given up
on America already?
"I hope so," Brown laughed.
He has purposely avoided tip-polling his customers on our own
election. In addition to the clutter of five tip cups, Brown wants
to avoid caffeinated arguments among his customers.
"I try to stay away from anything controversial," Brown said. "And
I'm happy we're not having a provincial election, because that would
be even worse."
There's also a greater degree of interest in American politics. The
smiling - or, in Steven Harper's case, unsmiling - faces of Canadian
candidates would not send gratuities soaring.
"This is just my opinion," Brown said, "but as much as we have a
love-hate relationship, we look to the States for hope, like this is
the way the world is heading. And that's why a lot of my customers
hope Barack Obama will win."
The way the tea leaves are being read, there could be high-fives at
Java U on the first Wednesday morning of November. Because to
paraphrase the great troubadour, you don't need a barista to know
which way the wind blows.