By Angel Valdez
To many students and community members, the longtime cafe on East 13th Avenue next to the University of Oregon was a second home to study and lounge. Espresso Roma’s last open day was Dec. 5, and it was demolished Dec. 11. The property was sold for construction of a new student apartment complex, Alder Chapter.
To celebrate its legacy, employees and close friends of the cafe gathered to give a final goodbye.
“Espresso Roma has always been a staple of Eugene for me,” says Walker Cullins, 23, a UO student who was walking by during the demolition. He adds, “I’ve had many late nights and early mornings at Espresso Roma. It’s kinda sad to see it go so suddenly.”
Robert Schofield, another passerby and decade-long patron of the cafe, adds, “It was where you’d meet your friends, and where you’d meet new friends.” He says, “It was always the best coffee shop in Eugene.”
Opened in 1984, the cafe had been serving students, professors, and everyone in between for the last 41 years.
It was originally a bookstore with a dry cleaning shop attached to the side. Sandy Boyd, 69, took over and began renting the space. He opened a cafe and named it Espresso Roma. This was not Boyd’s first Roma. In fact, he owns many coffee shops across California. He opened one in Eugene to expand and wanted it next to the university — a pattern consistent with his other cafes. He also owned nearby Cafe Siena, which served Mexican food until it closed in 2019.
The name “Roma” comes from the original Latin name for the city of Rome, Italy. Boyd liked to name his cafes after cities in Italy.
“Eugene always had a special place in my heart,” Boyd says. “There was a real appreciation there, and it showed in the numbers.” He adds, “The people that went there made the store what it was.”
Boyd wanted to create a safe space, not only for students and staff of the university, but for anyone who wanted coffee and a place to hang out. “We wanted to be accepting of everyone and we don’t care what race they are or what sex they are. We wanted it to be open to everything and make everyone feel comfortable there.”
On Espresso Roma’s official last day open, everyone in the cafe took turns smashing the walls with a club hammer. This included Boyd, customers and employees, as well as employees from shops around the block.
Boyd has no plans of bringing back Espresso Roma. He describes the cafe as having a lot of “soul.” “That soul died when they started taking the hammer to the walls,” Boyd says, “It’s no different than a person dying.”
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519