The key to pulling an all-nighter is to find the right balance of caffeine and relaxation. This can be achieved through a bit of alchemy -- a shot of espresso and a beer every three hours.
Those without an espresso machine would be hard-pressed (that's a coffee pun -- they're hard to make, so enjoy it) to do better than the laid-back Henry's on Eighth (11 E. 8th St.) in Lawrence. The first floor feels like a well-lived-in coffee shop, its exposed brick walls covered with local art. Even at 5 p.m., people are hunched over laptops taking advantage of the free wireless Internet.
The coffee shop sits on the first floor of Henry's -- the second floor doesn't open until 5 p.m. But for the next nine hours, Henry's Upstairs is a bumping, dive bar that's hard to leave.
A long wooden bar dominates the main room upstairs, but the second floor is split into a series of adjoining rooms with comfortable couches and mismatched chairs. The zebra print room is worth a visit alone. There is no seating at the bar, which makes ordering a slow and properly poured Guinness a lot easier. Smokers tend to cluster on the back patio benches.
The coffee shop is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. (yes, 2 a.m.). The bar upstairs opens at 5 p.m. and closes at 2 a.m. Call 785-331-3511 for more information.
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