An elegy for the wonderfully weird time capsule that was Cafe Sam, by Staff Writer Rachel Wilkinson // Oct. 18 2023

Rachel is a writer in the purest form of the word. She has a real knack for finding the deeper story most people are overlooking, as well as for bringing unique characters to life with eloquent prose. Both of these talents were on full display in her piece about the mysterious, quirky, now-closed Cafe Sam.

Stacy is — and I mean this in a good way — chronically online, and I thank my lucky stars for that because it makes her a whiz when it comes to social media, SEO, analytics, and digital strategy. She's also a great writer with tons of fun ideas, and this roundup of lesser-known Facebook groups we should all join was the perfect example of just that.

To say Colin hit the ground running is an understatement. He swooped in and not only took up the hard news torch, but dabbled in food and beer coverage, a bit of musical commentary, and oh yeah, spearheaded our comprehensive election guide. I was most proud of Colin, though, when he stuck his neck out with this opinion piece, knowing full well that some would disagree, and hard. Big-time kudos his way.

Amanda is not new — she's our five-year editorial team veteran — and I'm not sure if I can say "hallelujah!!!" for that quite loudly enough. Her institutional knowledge, fast work, detail-oriented nature, wit, and whip-smart takes hold this place together in many ways, and City Paper is so lucky she's stuck around. Of the many, many things she wrote this year, this one seemed to perfectly encapsulate all of the awesome things that make her so kickass at what she does.

What did City Paper do to deserve Mars? I don't know, but it must have been very good, because Mars is just the GOAT in every way. They've captured so many incredible moments around town since they joined CP, both in photo and video, and they're only getting started. Mars is so talented and makes it look effortless, but at the same time, all the effort they put in is evident in their work, as seen in this slideshow.