Braddock Journey

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Friday at noon I stopped working and started cleaning. 48 hours later we had completed the set up of a two-room cafe and opened the doors for a surprise brunch: Espresso, fresh oj, hot cocoa, bloody marys, iced toddy, tea, vegan waffles, peach crepes, quiche, muffins and more in Braddock’s own The Bad Habit cafe!

For months this cafe bar hardware has been collecting dust (and lots of it with our proximity to the steel mill) in a back room at the convent. A little less than two weeks ago Jodi, Emily and I decided that we should set it up and put it to use. It would clear out that room and create a space for socializing, working, and caffeinating in Braddock. We decided to surprise everyone with a completed cafe on August 17, but to do that we needed to wait and set it up right before the event.

Jodi went back to Brooklyn and started collecting donations for the bar. My friend Liz was in town from Massachusetts, and we brainstormed cafe names over dinner. Then we came back and ran them by Emily, who came up with art for the name with the most votes: The Bad Habit. We also called on Ryan to send a series of his photographs of Braddock to hang in the cafe with Emily’s drawings and Mary Beth’s photos of Braddock. Then we waited.

Finally this week rolled around and Jodi showed up with a car brimming with cafe supplies and decor. Jodi, Mary Beth, Emily and I cleaned and shopped and set up and cleaned and moved things and disassembled and rebuilt things and learned to use an espresso maker and baked and shooed people out and hid the progress with closed doors ... until it was complete. Then we stood in the room, 15 minutes to brunch, and took a collective deep breath. Inhaling the waffles and espresso and enjoying the moment.

If chaos, excitement, and swearing in surprise are good signs, then the cafe opening* was a success. There was a good turn out for the brunch, and everyone seemed to enjoy the cafe experience.

Over at the Matchwood Festival blog there are more photos and an interview with us on the day of the opening.

*unfortunately, the cafe is only open now for private events. We have some amazing volunteer baristas, and hopefully soon it will be able to open as a full cafe.