There’s a sliding scale of studiers – those of us who need bustle and noise to concentrate, those of us who need a quiet, high-shelved library to hide in, and those everywhere in between. I’m the former, and I’ve found my niche.

Vigilante Coffee, located near Franklins Brewery, is tucked away in a corner of Hyattsville where you would think it would fail. There’s little to no chance of getting pedestrian traffic, and the popular development up the road, which includes restaurants such as Chipotle, Elevation Burger, and Busboy’s and Poets, is a trek up Route 1. In essence: you’re not going to just find Vigilante.

So the fact that, despite its odd location, it is full of customers whenever I visit, is testimony to its appealing atmosphere.

My first visit to Vigilante was a bit like that episode of King of the Hill when Peggy, Hank, and Bobby ate organic vegetables for the first time, and realized what they’ve been missing for their whole life. My Vigilante coffee is like Hank and Peggy’s organic vegetables. Also like the Hill family, who knew nothing about organic food, I know next to nothing about coffee. It just tasted good.

But even with incapacitated taste buds, I would still go to Vigilante, just to take part in the hip, American, small-town-coffee shop vibe. Juxtaposed against the almost nonexistent hang out options in College Park, Vigilante seems even more appealing.

The décor of Vigilante, as I’ve seen it described online, is “ industrial.” There is a large, garage-door-like opening that is pulled up and left open on nice days. It gives the store a nice connection to the fresh air. Tables and chairs are simple, well-designed, and plentiful. Just last Sunday, when I was at Vigilante catching up on some work, my chair and table had a Goldilocks comfort-level going on; comfortable enough so that I didn’t want to get up, but hard enough to not seduce me into relaxation.

At home, I find it hard to study. There are never enough hours in a day. I have no private desk at home. I share my room with my sister, so it’s hard to study there. I usually end up camping out at my dining room table or living room sofa to do my work, but that poses a problem when the irritating sounds of Mario Kart come drifting from the neighboring TV.

On such studying afternoons and nights, I wish in vain that I could go to Vigilante. (Unfortunately, they close daily at 4:30.) The music there is not too loud, but still present, adding to the store’s hipster ambiance. There is bustle, and there is noise, but not the annoying kind. At Vigilante, I can spread my things out on a table and get to work, sans household distraction. When you work at a place that’s not your home, you don’t have the fun option to go and play dress up with your own wardrobe as a means of procrastination. Vigilante gets me into maximum efficiency mode.

So go ahead and sacrifice those 3 or 4 dollars for a Vigilante coffee on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon. If you’re like me, what you’ll get in return is undoubtedly worth it: a chill lounge where you can finally get stuff accomplished. And for those who don’t have a work overload, it’s still a nice place for a chess game, reading session, or leisurely conversation.