MILWAUKEE — For years, I've been driving past the building on Keefe Avenue in Milwaukee when I'm coming back from a story. For the longest time, it was a blighted property, and it hadn't seen any love in years. Then bit by bit, the building began to transform. I always wanted to know what they were building there. Finally, I got the chance to go inside.
The building is home to one of the newest cafes in Milwaukee, Kuumba Juice and Coffee. The shop opened Feb. 2nd. It's owned by three friends Ellie Jackson, Alexander Hagler, and Joe Ferch.
“I just believe in coffee shops as organizing spaces. I believe in coffee shops as spaces where people just organically run into each other and ideas just happen and prosper," Ellie Jackson said.
Originally, just Hagler and Ferch were going to own the cafe. However, one day Jackson ran into the other two at a coffee shop. Ferch and Hagler invited Jackson to join them and the rest is history.
Kuumba is in the Harambee neighborhood at an intersection where residential meets industrial. There aren’t many community spaces or restaurants like it outside of two nearby breweries.
“We want to facilitate healthy food choices for all, and specifically for the neighborhood. Because there isn’t that option for people to come in for a quick healthy bite or just a coffee in the morning," Ferch said.
Along with its coffee, the shop sells healthy juices, a vegan peanut stew, and barbecue tofu wraps. That menu will expand in the coming months with more breakfast options. It won’t just be vegan either.
“I was born and raised on the North Side which in many ways is known as a food desert, so hopefully we can kind of help contribute to you know reducing that stigma of being a food desert," co-owner Alexander Hagler said.
This isn't the first time Ferch and Hagler have worked together. The two opened Center Street Wellness which was a health shop serving smoothies, tea, coffee, locally made products, and offering finance seminars.
Unfortunately, that cafe didn't last long due to pressures from the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the two are teaming up again and bringing Jackson along to create another cafe to benefit the community.
Beyond meals and drinks, the cafe is wrapped in murals painted by local artists. Kuumba wants to improve the community through art, food, and coffee.
“Kuumba is the 6th principle of Kwanzaa meaning creativity, and it’s the individual creativity you use to help make your community more beautiful and beneficial," Hagler said.
The cafe is not only for the community but made by the community. The Riverworks Development Corporation, a local non-profit in the Harambee neighborhood, approached the owners about being cafe operators in this building. Thanks to various local grants and business mentor programs from LISC and Brew City Match, the three friends were able to open Kuumba.
The cafe also has a large patio they want to open in the spring and summer to host bands, performers, and poets. Plus, Ferch wants to host free English classes for Spanish speakers starting in March. Go to the Kuumba website or Facebook page to stay up to date on events.
Kuumba is still in the soft launch phase, so it's only open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Eventually, the cafe will be open longer and add more days to its schedule.
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