Valerie Encheff has a vision -- take a prominent, vacant storefront on Port Huron's main street and throw in a dash of coffee, technology and coziness.
The end result is The Back Door Internet Cafe set to start in April serving up Internet access, online gaming and a food menu at 309 Huron Ave., the former Ship to Shore gift shop.
Encheff, 37, of Clyde Township will own and operate the business along with her husband, Bruce.
Encheff, a former software and hardware administrator who took a break from work when her daughter was born in 2001, said she's been toying with the idea of opening a business that blends technology in a social setting for several years.
The cafй, which will be in the vacant storefront next to the former Diana Sweet Shoppe, fills a void in downtown Port Huron.
"I think there is a niche for what I'm doing here that can be integrated into Port Huron," Encheff said.
City Manager Tom Hutka, who in October unveiled a plan to turn downtown Port Huron into a "cool city," agrees.
"It's a great idea," he said.
"The future of downtown Port Huron is in providing specialty store and destination shopping and in short, just fun places to go."
When Encheff cranks up the broadband service and opens the doors to customers this spring, plans call for having about four desktop computers ready for use and about three wireless laptops.
Three sectioned-off areas of the cafe will be equipped with X-Box game consoles hooked up for online action and at least 30 games.
To use the technology, customers will buy blocks of time, that can be stored in a running account.
Prices are tentatively set at $5 an hour for students and $6 an hour for nonstudents.
"Awesome," said David Hunter, 14, of Port Huron. "It's something for us to do right in the city."
Technology aside, Encheff plans to have tables for street-side dining during warm weather and is considering offering food delivery from the planned casual menu.
As Encheff sees it, she's mixing new technology with the old standards of coffee, sandwiches and meeting up with friends.
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