A comic book cafe

In recognizing that Chatham has a history of entrepreneurship, I found this concept of a comic book cafe interesting. In Philadelphia, a young lady Ariell Johnson - who understands "geek culture's importance to marginalized groups" - is about to open up this community oriented establishment.

I realize that over years there have been attempts at having an independent cafe on our part of town. For example Englewood has Kusanya Cafe and Chatham had the now closed Flecks Coffee. It's a great idea to have a shared space that's community oriented and certainly offer beverages and snacks for that purpose. The concept of a comic book cafe is very unique, and hopefully a success for Ms. Johnson in Philadelpia.

As much as I don't often enjoy being called a geek having been a Star Trek fan in addition to many comic books you can firmly place me into that category. Many of us are eagerly anticipating the release of the new Avengers movie coming out later this month. In addition to that I'm definitely going to see that Batman/Superman movie coming out next year.

Could such an establishment be welcome in our community? Check out this video from the future owner and let us know what you think of this unusual concept. Also refer to this future establishment's FB page.

Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse from MoolaHoop on Vimeo.

Tribune: 'Vulnerable' cafe makes a stand in a tough part of town

We've been hearing about Kusanya Cafe - 825 W 69th St - over the years from its conception to the eventual opening. I'm glad that such an establishment is in the Englewood community and hopefully it will be there for years to come. All it took was someone with the vision to make it real. We hear from the brains behind the operation:

When Phil Sipka and some of his Englewood neighbors opened a cafe a year ago this week, skeptics had suggestions.

How about rolling security gates over the wall-size windows? Or a permanently locked door, with a buzzer to buzz customers in? Maybe a nighttime security guard.

Sipka and his neighbors had a different idea.

"Let's be vulnerable," he said Thursday, sitting at one of the tables he made from reclaimed wood. "I think people respect intentional vulnerability."

The cafe is named Kusanya, a Swahili word that means "to gather," and though it's in a neighborhood that makes news most often when someone makes trouble, it has managed to stay safe since it opened last Nov. 19.

And more about Mr. Sipka:

Sipka, 34, is a man of several talents. A native of Alma, Mich., he studied at Fuller Theological Seminary in California. He honed his coffee skills at the popular Robust Coffee Lounge in Woodlawn. "The Steve Harvey Show" featured him (video available on YouTube) quitting that job in song, backed by a doo-wop group.

When he moved to Chicago seven years ago, he immediately settled in Englewood, just a block from the cafe. He is white in a neighborhood that is predominantly black.

"A lot of people thought I was a cop for a long time," he said. He laughed. "I'd be the worst undercover cop ever."

He built Kusanya's coffee counter and wooden tables himself. He studied YouTube videos to learn how to hang a door.

"I've always liked making things beautiful out of things people throw away," he said.

You know, I wonder what brought him to Englewood. Why Englewood for him instead of other parts of the city?

Either way he had a vision and gained the support of the neighborhood. He had some help from the community getting this place ready for business.

I'm going to put this on the list of places I should visit on the south side.

Chatham's Newest Business: Flecks Coffee

Several years ago a long time business, Creative Florist, in Chatham closed its doors for good at 343 E 79th. Many felt it would be difficult to find a quality business to take the place of the florist. While the pessimist saw doom and gloom mother and daughter team Mrs. Olga Turner and daughter Zuli saw potential.

Last month the Turner's opened Fleck's Coffee in the location. The coffeehouse was born from both ladies love of coffee and the fact that they own another business in the community and when they wanted a great cup of coffee they had to travel a great distance.

So far the response from the Chatham community has been overwhelmingly supportive and feel that this is the type of business that will ignite an economic development boom along 79th street.  Alderman Roderick Sawyer states he is very happy they chose to open in Chatham and wants more businesses like this. The cafe is a spacious , bright and airy spot at the corner of 79th and Calumet and when you enter be prepared to be greeted by the Turner's or one of their friendly staff members.

There is something for everyone at Flecks. The owners have created a socially conscious business from hiring employees from the community to the coffee they use. Coffee is the central menu item. You can get your a great cup of coffee as well as coffee frappe, latte's, macchiatos, etc. The barista's can satisfy the most persnickety coffee drinker to those who want to learn more about coffee. The cafe purchases Counter Culture certified fair trade coffee produced from various regions of Africa. If all the coffee drinks sound foreign to you don't be put off, they carry great frappes, smoothies and ice tea drinks. If you are hungry they can get cook to order breakfast items, sandwiches and some tasty pastries. If you are having an event you can host it at the cafe or you can have them cater the event for you. For all you social media butterflies, they offer free WI-FI.

The grand opening is this weekend July 19-21, 2013 and the community is invited. You can find out more about Fleck's Coffee by "like' on Facebook(Flecks.Coffee or follow them at Twitter(@Fleckscoffee).