In Profile: East Village Coffeehouse

Glenn Kiff and Linda Wayne love two things: strong coffee and strong opinions.

The brother and sister duo are the co-owners of the East Village Coffeehouse, the independent café they opened at 785 Dundas Street in October 2009.

Now a local fixture, the coffeehouse offers its neighbourhood much more than just a good cup of joe.

Instead of waiting in endless drive-through lines for a quick java fix, patrons of the East Village Coffeehouse can cozy up on the couch and peruse the selection of board games, catch a Ukellettes performance, or attend the café’s monthly tarot reading.

The coffeehouse also doubles as a live music venue, partnering with local artists to present bi-weekly shows on Saturday nights.

Kiff feels the coffeehouse fills a previously unmet need among Londoners.

“When we came to London, we were shocked that there wasn’t anything like this,” he says. “At corporate coffeehouses, you just get that kind of part-timer service. It’s like, give us your money, here’s your drink. And you can find that anywhere.”

Kiff and Wanye have a very different vision of what a coffeehouse should be.

“Historically, the coffeehouse was developed in France and Italy as places where people came together to discuss social change and political and philosophic interests that they had. It was a place where people organized,” Wayne says. “We want it to be a place where people can come together and grow community.”

Wayne’s passion for fostering discussion and debate in her community has its roots in her past career as a women’s studies professor—a role she gave up after becoming disillusioned with the university system.

“When I went to university you went to become a citizen, and now you go to become a worker,” she says. “Our whole idea of citizenship has fallen by the wayside.”

But Kiff and Wayne hope to revitalize the community’s view of citizenship—one customer at a time.

“A lot’s going on right now politically, and people like to come in here and discuss it,” Kiff says. “We’ve got the whole neighbourhood’s opinions.”

And they meet those opinions with open ears.

The coffeehouse has a number of community initiatives that center on social issues and political education. They hold a monthly “transgendered night” to create a safe space for transgendered and transitioning individuals. They host political meetings to mobilize the community about upcoming policy changes. They cook all of their own food and use local organic ingredients whenever possible. And—naturally—they serve only fair trade coffee.

Kiff says that being actively involved with these issues is the coffeehouse’s real raison d’etre.

“There’s so many issues, that it’s just a no-brainer to back them because they’re for the greater good of community, which is what we’re mostly concerned about,” he says. “It’s not about our image, it’s about backing the community.”

Wayne would tend to agree.

“There’s more brewing here than just coffee,” she adds with a smile.