With Othello Station near completion, but light rail operation still more than a year away, New Holly resident Allen Jefferson has taken a chance and given birth to Kwik Cup Espresso in the patiently waiting space. His shop, open since early January, meets a need in the Othello neighborhood. Besides a sporadic stream of customers dropping in to grab a latte and run, many stay and meet with friends or business acquaintances while sipping a mocha or carmelita, the shop's specialty, from porcelain cups. Kwik Cup is quickly becoming a neighborhood gathering place.
Jefferson's vision for Kwik Cup Espresso was of a place where work-at-home parents could bring their laptops and kids. It would be a place where neighbors can get out of their homes and offices to meet one another face to face.
Kwik Cup's furnishings and décor are designed to fulfill Jefferson's goals. At the far end of the room are a couch, coffee table, and comfortable stuffed chairs along side a play area for children. There is a colorful alphabet rug full of toys and stuffed animals.
The front wall is a window open to the sky and lined with a counter where customers can be seen sitting on stools pouring over their portable computers, making use of the free wi-fi service. Near the entrance is a bulletin board filled with notices of community events. There are two large, round glass-topped tables where neighbors gather to hold meetings or just visit and chat.
Jefferson's design of the shop as a gathering place seems to have worked. On a typical day, the Neighborhood Services Coordinator might meet there with a local neighborhood organizer. Someone from the Community Development Fund may have coffee with a local business owner. The South Precinct chief of police may meet there with the chair of the Crime Prevention Council.
More than once Jefferson has kept his shop open in the evening to allow a group like the Othello Park Alliance hold its regular business meeting.
Jefferson even once worked with South Precinct Officer Damon Deese to hold a meeting with representatives from New Holly, Union Gospel Mission, Van Asselt Community Center, and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods to talk about coordinating efforts to prevent youth gang membership and crime.
Dream fulfillment
Jefferson earned a culinary arts degree in San Francisco and spent several years in restaurant work. Since moving to Seattle a couple of decades ago, Jefferson graduated from Seattle University with a business degree.
He has worked in historic property management and information technology, but his dream has always been to manage a business of his own. Believing in the hope of light rail bringing increased pedestrian traffic to the Othello neighborhood, he decided this was the right time and place.
In fact, Allen and his wife, Bregeita, bought their home in the diverse Othello Station neighborhood because they wanted to be part of a new paradigm of ethnically diverse urban villages centered around public transit.
Although his fledgling business barely breaks even at this point, Jefferson is confident it will be successful over time, especially when light rail is up and running.
Prominently displayed on the Kwik Cup community bulletin board is a poster to which Jefferson calls his customers attention as they stop and chat. Announcing an all day "Coffee for Kids" event that Kwik Cup will host on April 19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the notice features photos of smiling children in colorful native dress. It's a fundraiser sponsored by a youth organization called the Zambia Club. Customers will get free coffee in exchange for making donations to the club's philanthropic activities.
Members of the Zambia Club are Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAAS) middle school and high school students. The organization helps support four schools and two orphanages in Lasaka, Zambia. The children collect shoes, mattresses, and laptop computers, which they ship and/or personally deliver to Lasaka.
The Jeffersons sacrifice to send their two daughters to SAAS, which is a private school. They feel an important part of a child's education is to connect in a real way with other cultures. Jefferson's daughter, Breanna, was selected last year to go with several other students and deliver gifts to Lasaka. Jefferson said it was a profoundly changing experience for his child to visit the home of a woman with several children sleeping on a dirt floor.
During their "Coffee for Kids" fundraiser, children will tell visitors about their adventures in Zambia. It promises to be a more than typical day for the Jeffersons with their customers experiencing both local and global community at the diverse coffee shop.
Mona Lee may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.[[In-content Ad]]