 "Photo: Joseph Herr / IC")
Members of Toledo’s art community gathered together on Thursday to celebrate the grand opening of the coffee house formerly known as Brewed Awakenings and newly renamed The Ground Level Coffee House, located on Central Avenue.
After months of planning, owners, business partners and poets Jesse Lipman and Imani Lateef said they are glad to finally have The Ground Level ready for business. The two purchased the shop in January after they saw it listed on Craigslist.com.
“It’s fun to actually be done with everything now that we’re open,” Lipman said. “It’s been busy and a little crazy but I’m glad to have a chance to be excited and finally enjoy it.”
To celebrate the grand opening, the two hosted a live poetry night where several local poets and singers performed. Around 100 people attended the event as Lipman and Lateef multitasked as cashiers, cooks, emcees and performers.
While the two said they want the coffee house to serve as a gathering spot for Toledo’s art community, they said they also hope to attract UT students.
“We want this coffee house to have a community-oriented environment,” Lateef said. “We wanted a place outside of a bar that would bring the community out and give people a place to hang out.”
Like most coffee houses, The Ground Level has two spaces, one for eating and another strictly for poetry readings and live music. Although Lateef said he and Lipman want the space to have the typical “coffee house feel,” the two are still in the works of giving The Ground Level its own, unique vibe.
The floors are from the previous owners and much of the furniture was previously owned or bought from IKEA, Lateef said. In the future, Lipman said he hopes to invite local artists to display their artwork, and he also wants to install a coffee bar and add more couches to the performance area.
“We’re still deciding on what we want to do artistically with the space,” Lipman said. “We have two nice rooms that are basic shapes, and what we wanted to do when we first came was clean it up and give ourselves a clean slate to work with. Before, we had colors that didn’t match and things that didn’t belong, so right now we just want to give it its own feel.”
Like the decorating, Lipman and Lateef are still finalizing the menu items. Along with the typical coffee house items like lattés, homemade cookies and espressos, the coffee house also serves sushi rolls and their already popular mango salad. All of the shop’s coffee is locally bought from Rhyno’s, and Lipman said he wants to partner with more local businesses to sell their products in the future.
“Small businesses are an important part of any community’s economy, and they help keep money in the community,” Lipman said. “You hear a lot of stuff about globalization, and for small businesses, globalization is really hurting them. For me, it’s about doing something community-based and doing something that will strengthen the community.”
Lipman, who is son of popular Toledo poet laureate Joel Lipman, said he would like to see The Ground Level remain a family business. Currently all of the shop’s employees are related to or close friends of Lipman or Lateef.
Given the current state of the economy, Lipman said his ultimate goal is for The Ground Level to be a staple of the Toledo community.
“My goal is to be able to make a living doing what I like to do,” Lipman said. “On a larger level, we want a sense of community where people come together in diverse groups. We want people to come. We’re trying to work with people and give something for everybody.”
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