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Conversation is the foundation of civilization, the very heart of culture and community. Face-to-face dialogue is the most significant human connection — from town meetings to pillow talk, book clubs to the café life — conversation is the way humans think together spawning ideas, projects and social change.
The café life of community and conversation enamored Sonya McDonald when she left her graduate program of French literature and moved to Paris. It also impressed and inspired her to open Kaldi’s Café when she returned to Cincinnati 10 years ago.
“I envisioned a community gathering place, centered around food and books,” McDonald says. “I never imagined it would be this successful.”
What is now the popular strip of Main Street in Over-the-Rhine with its many clubs, restaurants and galleries was much quieter a decade ago when McDonald made the decision to locate Kaldi’s near the corner of Main and 12th streets.
“I had an artist friend who had a studio down here, and I had always liked Over-the-Rhine for its architecture and historical interest. I liked that it was near downtown, and the rents were cheaper at the time. The Diner, Neon’s and 1207 were doing well, and you could see that the area had a lot of potential for growth.
The more I got to know the neighborhood, the more I was intrigued, and when I looked at this space, I fell in love with it.”
What began as a small cafe and bookstore quickly grew as McDonald doubled her space with an adjoining addition, and evolved from an emphasis on books to include local art exhibits, live music, exotic coffees and a full-service bar. With its ’60s bohemian interior — it’s easy to imagine Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac or Lenny Bruce hangin’ here — Kaldi’s became the place to hook up with friends and meet colleagues over good food and drink, or to enjoy a latte and a book in a quiet corner alone.
“Our customer base is more diverse than you’d think,” says McDonald, “(We see) everyone from downtown business men and women stopping in for their morning coffee, SCPA students, neighbors in several times a day, music lovers, meetings, first dates, a lot of (solo) diners who feel really comfortable here to work on a laptop or read.”
But Kaldi’s success took a hit 18 months ago after the April 2001 riots. “It was a pretty dramatic change in business, just in the percentage of business that we lost,” McDonald discloses. “Initially it fell off the deep side.” She adds, “We’re still feeling the effects of it, but every month gets better and we are slowly but surely climbing back to where it was.”
She believes dialogue between city government, police and community needs to continue and asserts, “The city needs to get more involved in helping this neighborhood develop, in terms of incentive for developers and home ownership for residents.”
As Kaldi’s celebrates its 10th birthday this week, McDonald seems simultaneously relieved, surprised and grateful to be here. “Kaldi’s has become such an important piece of this neighborhood (where the) daily life of relating to one another is conducted. I’m always a bit surprised when customers tell me how meaningful Kaldi’s is to them, that they don’t know what they would do if we were not here.
“It’s really become everything I dreamed of and more: community gathering together in conversation. It makes me really happy … and hopeful.” ©
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2002.