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GREENSBORO — For college students, coffee is more than a buzz. It's sustenance for the weary, light at the end of the tunnel, the catalyst for late-night conversations. It is, in short, a way of life.

But Greensboro College has never had a coffee shop to call its own.

"I started here seven years ago," said Christine Whittington, the director of library services. "No one really had an answer. Some just brought it from home. Some went down to Tate Street, near UNCG."

That void has been filled this semester with the opening of Wired Coffee, a student-run coffee shop in the James Addison Jones Library.

Set up in the periodicals room, the shop serves everything from drip coffee and espresso to iced lattes and chai tea — over an old circulation desk. It's open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. weekdays and from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

Wired is being run by two seniors who hope to turn it into a student tradition.

"The idea is that it will become a kind of suburban commons where people can get coffee, meet up and talk," said Justin Gardin, co-operator of the shop and the school's Student Government Association president. "We're just getting it off the ground now, but we hope it'll keep going after we're gone."

Gardin is finishing up a double-major in math and biology this semester. Cutting back from his usual 24-credit schedule, he found he had some time on his hands. He thought a coffee shop might make a good senior-class gift, but the equipment could cost as much as $1,600.

Gardin believed he'd have to put the project off, but Brent DeVore, the college's interim president, thought it was important to the college. The school kicked in some start-up cash to get the shop opened by this week.

"After that, it came together really fast," Gardin said. "Basically in like three weeks."

Gardin's partner, Amanda Vosloh, is an English education major who worked for a coffee shop back home in Craig, Alaska. When she graduates in December, she plans to devote herself to the shop more or less full time.

There were a few bumps as the shop opened Monday — the credit card machine wasn't yet up and running, and a broken espresso machine exploded with steam. But by Tuesday afternoon, a steady stream of students and faculty were making it a regular stop on their schedule.

"We're having fun with it," Gardin said. "And hopefully, everyone else is too."

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com