Students looking for their caffeine fix now have a new coffee house to visit.

With its opening on Aug. 18, Java 101 owner Mike FitzGerald described it as “a traditional coffeehouse setting.”

Java 101, 901 Lucinda Ave., has most of the classic staples of a coffee shop, FitzGerald said. It has freshly made coffee, cappuccinos, lattes, cold and iced teas, fruit smoothies and bakery items such as bagels and muffins.

Students looking for a new place to study can take advantage of Java 101’s free wireless Internet access, FitzGerald said.

Tony Zetel, a former NIU mathematics professor, has bought coffee from Java 101 several times since its opening.

“I’m addicted to the mocha latte,” he said.

Zetel said the coffee at Java 101 is “as good or better than Starbucks [brand coffee].”

FitzGerald is working on ideas to attract more customers. Some of these plans include comedy shows, open mic nights, poetry readings, acoustic jam day and a slew of appearances of popular local and non-local bands.

FitzGerald also said they have plans to put student-artwork on display in the coffee house.

“It’s a good place to start for singer/songwriters,” Matt Kososki, a freshman political science major, said during acoustic jam day Aug. 21.

FitzGerald said he was not concerned about the competition with neighboring coffeehouses.

“We have the quality, the nice location and we have a comfortable setting,” he said. “I don’t compare myself to anyone else in town.”

Running a coffee house is a big change for FitzGerald, who has a doctorate in early childhood education.

“I got overqualified and over-experienced, so the past two years I’ve been doing consultant work and selling insurance, which isn’t that much fun,” he said. “So, I decided I would have some fun, and now I’m Dr. Java.”