Out of all of the incredible places in Charlottesville, there is one that will never cease to warm my soul: Milli Coffee Roasters. The atmosphere is always comforting, the people are always friendly, and the coffee is always delicious. While I have not been to Milli's too many times, I have amazing memories from here that prove how incredible this place is.
When I first went here I was in high school. Another friend and I visited our best friend who works at (and practically owns) Milli's. She made us drinks with beautiful latte art and introduced me to the wonderful world of coffee outside of Starbucks Frappuccinos. I fell in love with the cozy location and very Instagram-worthy lattes and wanted to come back almost as soon as I left.
I was actually not able to come back until I was in college because of not having a car, but the happiness that I felt when I was there was still the same. It is such an amazing place to study, spend time with friends, or anything in between.
When I had to do a group project for my Italian class, I realized how incredibly kind and helpful all of the staff members are. My partner and I were comparing Italian coffee with American coffee, so we decided to go to Milli's. We were expecting to just order a lot of different kinds of coffee and watch the process as much as we could from the other side of the counter, but the person working allowed us to have a much more in-depth look. He invited us to join him behind the counter and explained the whole process of making each type of drink. His generosity made our project a lot better than expected and only strengthened my love for this place and the people associated with it.
Sadly, Milli is closing their doors on May 12th, but its memory will stay with me for a lifetime. It has made my days brighter, given me wonderful coffee and paninis, and has brought together a community of extremely kind and compassionate people. Being best friends with the coffee house's namesake, I feel like I have such a personal connection to the place, but I have no doubt that Milli's is able to have an impact on everyone who steps through its doors. It is a staple of the downtown Charlottesville community, and it will be so deeply missed.
