Beerline Trail Cafe Opens Friday
Kuumba Juice and Coffee will serve Anodyne coffee, teas and light meals in Harambee neighborhood.
Site of Kuumba Juice and Coffee, 274 E. Keefe Ave. Photo taken Jan. 20, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
A community-oriented cafe is set to open in Harambee this week, bringing food, drinks and a comfortable gathering space to a newly-activated building along the Beerline Trail.
Kuumba Juice and Coffee will begin its soft opening on Friday, Feb. 2. The cafe is located within the Connector Building, 274 E. Keefe Ave., which opened in September 2023.
After more than three years of preparation, owners Alexander Hagler, Joe Ferch and Ellie Jackson are thrilled to see the project come to fruition. But nobody is more enthusiastic than neighbors, said Ferch, who noted that the trio receives constant questions about the cafe’s opening date — shouted from car windows and called out by passersby — every time they’re at the building.
Starting this week, the cafe will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the duration of its soft opening. A grand opening date is yet to be announced.
The menu at Kuumba will emphasize healthful options, serving Anodyne coffee and espresso drinks, teas and a variety of cold pressed juices. The cafe will also offer soup, salads and sandwiches, with plans for expanded grab-and-go food offerings down the line.
Once open, the cafe plans to offer a wide variety of community programming, but will also serve as a welcoming spot to grab a coffee and get some work done, or chat with a friend over lunch, Ferch said.
The name Kuumba is inspired by the eponymous principle of Kwanzaa, a week-long holiday that celebrates African heritage and Black culture. Kuumba, the sixth principle, symbolizes creativity and the drive to care for and create positive change within one’s communities and gathering spaces.
Other principles of Kwanzaa include Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose) and Imani (faith).
Hagler, Ferch and Jackson have been friends for years, and each has pursued paths centered on arts, wellness, community and small business — both as individuals and together.
In 2019, Hagler and Ferch opened a cafe and yoga studio, Center Street Wellness, at 2701 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. The concept was short-lived, due to the untimely arrival of the pandemic. Even so, the venture equipped Hagler and Ferch with lived experience, preparing them for their current work.
Kuumba Juice and Coffee is just one piece of an ongoing project, spearheaded by the Riverworks Development Corporation, which aims to revitalize and activate the area around the Beerline, a former railroad that’s been converted into a paved trail. The trail runs diagonally through Riverwest and Harambee, from the Milwaukee River and N. Humboldt Ave. to W. Capitol Dr. near N. 3rd St. The reconstruction of Interstate 43 includes an extension further northwest.
In addition to the cafe, the Connector Building contains a versatile event space that will host trail programming, neighborhood gatherings, community classes and more.
Beyond the Connector Building, Riverworks is progressing towards a broader vision, which would see the 2.7-mile-long trail function as a linear series of community spaces.
Backed by the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC), B-Line Park will eventually include two additional hubs to the north. Future expansions include plans for activity pavilions, garden plots, entertainment stages, barbeque areas and greenhouses, among other amenities. Future additions to the Connector Building may include additional green spaces, a bike shed and a temporary classroom and tool shed.
Starting Feb. 2, Kuumba Juice and Coffee will be open Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cafe plans to expand those hours following its grand opening.
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