Nestled along the 800 block of South Oak Park Avenue is a cozy East African-themed café, “Addis.” As many of you know, it refers to the capital of Ethiopia. Owner and Oak Parker Kalkidan Tesfaye has been in this location since February. There’s a sofa by the window, small tables, ethnic artwork from the Horn of Africa and the luscious aromas of fresh coffee and scones. Her name in Amharic means “God’s promise, hope.” Some translate it as “covenant.”
“My vision was to open an Ethiopian café selling primarily three different kinds of Ethiopian coffee as well as homemade waffles, scones and much more. “Kalki,” as she’s known to patrons, is a charming mom with wavy hair and royal eyes who boasts “Ethiopian coffee is the best, though I do sell Jamaican Blue Mountain that’s as good, many say.” Eventually, she hopes to open up the menu to authentic Ethiopian food dishes. “I’m working with the village to make that happen sooner than later,” she promised. “Our culture adds to Oak Park culture.”
I stumbled upon her place a month or so ago when I was looking for a cool location to chat with former University of Illinois Chicago French teacher Stacy Fifer, who specializes in French/African/Caribbean culture. At the sofa by the window, we sipped a dark-roasted blend as she discussed her idea of bringing African Francophone culture to Oak Park schools.
The next week, at the same picturesque spot, I met with Afro-Cuban writer Jan Pena Davis, whom Tesfaye thought was from Ethiopia.
“You look like folks from my country,” she said.
“You, too,” she added, referring to me, perhaps after hearing me greet her in the few words in Amharic I learned reporting on East Africans. My daughter, Lauren, knows a little Tigrinya, a Semitic language from Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Her Oak Park roommate, Saba, hails from there.
Next month, a small writers group, including Jan Pena-Davis, George Bailey, Toni Nealie, and yours truly, will meet one Friday afternoon over medium-roast coffee and cherry scones to discuss our next books, all of which touch on urgent themes connecting people of color. Often I see State Rep. La Shawn Ford (whose Oak Park office is next door) sipping with constituents. Perhaps he, too, draws on the wisdom of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon associated with Abyssinia/Ethiopia’s rich history, culture and tradition.
Kalkidan Tesfaye is the newest in a group of bold, brave female entrepreneurs of color on or near the arty Harrison Street Corridor that includes: Galleryna19 (Martha Wade & Reisha Williams), Takara Design (Takara Beathea-Gudell), Whatever Comes To Mind Gallery (Tia Jones-Etu), J&W Nails (Wendy) and Sister 2 Sister Hair Dimension (Chardon/Yolonda).
As I reimagine the Solomonic tradition, I call Tesfaye “Queen of Sheba of the Harrison Street Sistas.”