I’m the only one in Lo-Fi Coffee. Just myself and the owner. Across the construction-ridden street is a vacated retail space. It still bears the sign, “The Royal”, above its boarded-up entrance.

Over a year ago, this tiny building was a movie theater - an art house if you will - that closed over a year ago. Playing quirky indies and cult classics wasn’t enough to keep the place open. And today, it’s just an empty space with remnants of a good idea that couldn’t make it.

Mesa’s quiet. Too quiet for its own good perhaps. But that construction on the street is for the new light rail extension. A little train that’ll run right through here coming all the way from Phoenix. Maybe then Lo-Fi will be a little busier, the old Royale building will be filled in with something new and exciting, and maybe Mesa will get a little less quiet.