After Nearly Three Years, Kuumba Cafe Sets Closing Date
The health-focused juice and coffee shop on the Beerline Trail will pour its last drinks.
Site of Kuumba Juice and Coffee, 274 E. Keefe Ave. Photo taken Jan. 20, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
Kuumba Juice and Coffee, a cafe and community gathering space along the Beerline Trail, will close next month after nearly three years in business.
The cafe, located in the Connector Building, 274 E. Keefe Ave., announced that its final day will be Sunday, Nov. 15.
“After much thought and reflection we have made the difficult decision to end operations here at Kuumba Juice & Coffee,” reads an Instagram announcement signed by co-founder Alexander Hagler.
The announcement did not provide a specific reason for the closure, instead reflecting on the cafe’s role as a neighborhood gathering place.
“Over the past three years Kuumba has been exactly what we wanted in a coffee shop. It has been a gathering place for neighbors, artists, organizers, friends, and strangers who have become familiar faces,” Hagler wrote.
Hagler, Joe Ferch and Ellie Jackson launched Kuumba in February 2024 after more than three years of preparation. The longtime friends brought backgrounds in arts, wellness, community work and small business to the venture, envisioning a welcoming place to work, meet friends and participate in community programming.
The cafe opened with a menu emphasizing healthful options, including cold-pressed juices, Anodyne coffee and espresso drinks, teas, soups, salads and sandwiches.
Its name references Kuumba, the Kwanzaa principle of creativity, which encourages leaving communities better than one found them.
“We’ve had the privilege of providing a space for meaningful conversations, community initiatives, movement building + solidarity, celebrations, and everyday moments of connection,” Hagler wrote. “Building and sustaining this space has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
The closure leaves questions about what comes next for a space intended to help activate the former railroad corridor.
An affiliate of Riverworks Development Corporation owns the property. The Connector Building, which opened in September 2023, was a first phase of the organization’s broader, now-delayed effort to transform the neighboring Beerline Trail segment into a linear park.
Along with the cafe, the building includes an event space designed for neighborhood gatherings, community classes and trail programming. The broader park vision calls for a series of community spaces along the trail.
“Updates on what will happen with the space will be communicated as they become available,” the announcement said.
Hagler thanked the cafe’s staff, customers, neighbors and community partners for helping make Kuumba a neighborhood staple.
“Whatever comes next I hope the spirit of Kuumba continues to live on in this space and within all of us.”
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