BlueRoads

New Roads and Blueys. Blueys and New Roads. Blueroads, if you will. The relationship between a school and neighboring cafe might not interest most at first glance, but is there more than meets the eye when it comes to Blueroads relations?

According to Jimmy Morrissey, the Dean of students at New Roads upper school, “Blueys is the first place many students want to go as soon as they are granted off-campus privileges.”

Now this is true for many people, as an influx of New Roads students can be seen at Blueys between 8:00 to 10:00 AM (known as the breakfast rush), during lunch, and again between 2:30 to 4:00 PM, at the end of the school day. Most students will purchase items such as coffee, varying teas, banana bread or muffins, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. From Freshmen to Seniors, Blueys seems like it’s the go-to hang out spot.

However, Blueys is not always thrilled by this influx of hungry students. In a recent interview with Dave Harper, one of the owners and founders of Blueys, he said New Roads students can always improve on behavior. When asked about the behavioral issues of these students, he commented “many students will move things around, or change up the table settings. Some of the kids will leave trash everywhere, or cause scenes.”

Morrissey can also confirm that New Roads-ers are not always angels. “We have gotten some calls about our students breaking rules,” Morrissey said. “Some of the most memorable calls I’ve gotten were about some students smoking or vaping on Blueys property.” What’s worse is that there seem to be issues with safety as well. Harper spoke about how reckless New Roads students can be on the road and in the parking lot. “So many kids are going way too fast around the areas surrounding Blueys. You know it’s only a matter of time before a small child or animal is injured. I bring my family to Blueys often, so safety is a major concern for us,” Harper said.

New Roads kids aren’t all bad though. Harper also mentioned that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blueys was faced with a lack of business and income. He explained that a lot of it pertained to no in-person school. Now that school is back, “we are having bigger business than ever.” Harper and Morrissey both agree that New Roads and Blueys thrive off each other. “Blueys treats their customers and staff as family. We hope New Roads will consider us the same,” Harper said.

New Roads and Blueys are indeed a family, a slightly dysfunctional one at that. That is something many families can relate to. My father and I often don’t get along, but every morning after an argument, he surprises me with a nice warm breakfast. The same can be said for Blueys and New Roads. After every incident, New Roads students still show up every morning, and Blueys still provides fresh OJ and a warm muffin. No one at Blueys is issuing speeding tickets or calling the police about disturbances, so what we can do in return is extend them the same courtesy, and accept the seat Blueys offers us as the breakfast (and lunch!) table every day.