A restful haven percolates in the midst of the bustling city

Article and all photos by JAN WILLMS

If you need a quiet space to work or study or read—and sip some Fair Trade coffee and enjoy the rich, sweet taste of baklava—you might want to stop in at Lake Coffee House at 3223 E. Lake St.

PHOTO: Lake Coffee House, 3223 E. Lake St.

Anwar Issa opened the doors of the shop nearly two years ago, and the word has spread that Lake Coffee House is a great place to go to get work done or take a break from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Sharing the building with a laundromat, the coffee shop features lots of open space, warm yellow walls and several tables and light-colored chairs. The overall atmosphere is one of calmness and light, an inviting place to share a visit with a friend or spend time catching up on work. The free Wi-Fi provides a haven for laptop users.

One corner has easy chairs and a table covered with copies of the New Yorker and Atlantic magazines, as well as a Spanish-language publication.

“I worked in coffee shops, restaurants and groceries over the years,” Issa said, “and I also was a customer in coffee shops nearly every day. I love them, and I wanted to try owning one for myself and see how it goes.”

He said the most challenging part was remodeling the building. A nail salon had occupied the space before him, and he had to redo the entire interior.

“Once you’re past the construction phase, the most difficult part is getting the customers inside,” Issa said. “It took us awhile, but now it’s okay.”

Besides baklava, he offers other pastries such as donuts and muffins. He serves all sorts of cold drinks, tea, and coffee. Issa also makes his own hummus and serves hummus wraps.

Issa arrived in Minneapolis over 20 years ago, first spending a couple of years in New York after leaving his native Lebanon. “New York is the first spot you hit, and you want to spend some time there,” he said.  “But after two or three years, you want to run away from there. Visiting is much different than living there.”

PHOTO: Lake Coffee House owner Anwar Issa said running a coffee shop is very unpredictable—busy one day and quiet the next; empty one afternoon, and later in the evening have every chair filled.

He said that he wanted to make his coffee shop a bright, cheerful and peaceful place, and he feels he has achieved that goal. Soft jazz from an FM station serves as a light accompaniment for customers. Issa himself is soft-spoken, friendly and welcoming but not obtrusive, just the right kind of host for the space that he has created for others.

According to customer Doug Guild, Issa has succeeded in making his coffee shop a welcoming place for all.

“The Lake Coffee House appears to be a really family-friendly place.  Recently, I saw a mother and her daughter there enjoying each other’s company at a table by the front window … perhaps having a time of ‘high tea,’ ‘high coffee’ or maybe even ‘high juice.’

Maybe they had the delicious baklava or cashew roll treats that I have had several times—which I eat in my car before I even leave the parking lot in front of the shop,” Guild said. “The owner, Anwar, is just a delightful person…very polite, kind and helpful.”

Artwork and photos by local artists cover the walls of his shop; one person displaying her art lives only a couple blocks away.

“On the second Wednesday of each month, we have open mic,” Issa said. “People can do anything they want—play music or sing or recite poetry or spoken word. We started doing this last summer.”

Issa said he had to spend a lot of hours at his business, especially at the beginning. Now he has a couple other employees in the summer. He comes in earlier in the day, then returns to close. In the winter, he is usually the only one working.

“When you first start a business like this, you know you are going to have to work a lot of hours, but you don’t think about it at first. As time goes on, you realize just how many hours you do have to put in,” Issa said. “There is a difference in thinking about it and practicing it.”

But the personal contact with his customers is also what Issa likes best about the coffee shop.

“It’s more one-on-one with an independent, compared to a chain,” he said. “You get to know your customers and have their drinks ready when they come in. You get to know them, and they get to know you.”

Issa said he has a lot of regulars from the neighborhood, as well as customers who use the laundromat and stop in after shopping at the nearby Walgreens. They often come in for coffee while waiting for a prescription to be filled.

Lake Coffee House is open seven days a week, from 6:30am to 9pm during the week and from 7am to 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Issa said running a coffee shop is very unpredictable. It can be busy one day and quiet the next. It can be empty one afternoon, and later in the evening have every chair filled.

The shop often hosts community meetings. Some are scheduled, and some just show up, which Issa said is fine. “It is good for business,” he noted.

A knitting group even meets there.

“You get to know a lot of people,” he said, noting that is the part he likes best about the business. “People talk to you, and it’s nice. There are always new faces, and there is always something new.”