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Repeat customers Mary Akinkoye (left) and Laverne Scott
await lunches at Big Chair, Jan. 21..
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After three years of renovation work, planning and meeting with the community, Ayehubizu Yimenu and family opened Big Chair Coffee 'n' Grill on Jan. 11. The shop is located just opposite the iconic Big Chair – at 2122 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE – and a few blocks from the Anacostia Metro stop. Big Chair's status as the first independent coffee shop east of the river has been much discussed. But the lunchtime crowd seems focused on more substantial aspects of the menu.
“I came back because of the food,” said Laverne Scott on Jan. 21, enjoying her second lunch at Big Chair since its opening. “It's terrific, and I will be a repeat customer.”
Scott and her co-worker, Mary Akinkoye, particularly recommend the fries. Akinkoye had already visited Big Chair several times – for breakfast and lunch – by the shop's second week.
Several others, including an employee of a nearby barbershop, were also repeat customers.
“I've been very impressed,” Akinkoye said. “It's refreshing to have this type of place ... the friendliness, the cleanliness, the delicious food.” She and Scott reported walking some distance to reach Big Chair and were delighted to have the new option in the area. “I try to get here every day,” Akinkoye concluded.
In renovating the former plumbing store, the owners tried to retain as much of the older building as possible, says family member Mewded Gebeyehu. (Photos of the building in varying states of renovation are available at AnacostiaNow.blogspot.com.) “This is a historic place, and it needs a bar and coffee shop that fits the neighborhood.”
Big Chair offers bar seating and several tables on the main level. Additional seating, including a couch and coffee table, is available on the second floor.
The menu includes coffee and coffee drinks, pastries, sandwiches and breakfast items – most for under $6. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Gebeyehu says Big Chair plans longer hours to accommodate the after-work crowd. In addition, owners hope to add wine and liquor eventually and are considering a hookah bar – “Whatever the neighbors want.”
The partners have been attending Advisory Neighborhood Commission and community meetings, Gebeyehu says, and have been working with neighbors to develop a business that fills a need. The community has been very supportive, he explains, but church support will be crucial in keeping the shop open seven days a week. So partners are also visiting area churches hoping to draw some of the worship communities to Big Chair after services.
In addition, Big Chair hopes to be part of a larger economic revitalization. And for that, Gebeyehu says, “We want competition.” |
