Nadia Kharyati, owner of the Raw Sugar Café, hosts performers and community groups.
“If Ottawa were a house, then Raw Sugar would be the living room,” says Lydia Gabelmann, one of the baristas at the Somerset Street coffee shop that’s been emerging as an informal Centretown community centre.
The orange velvet couch, turquoise wall and mix-’n’-match china coffee cups give the café a casual, homey feel. But as the business enters its second year of brewing coffee and serving light snacks, it now represents not only a living room, but also a meeting place for artists, activists and others.
“There’s a need for this kind of space in Ottawa,” says owner Nadia Kharyati. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the community in that way.”
Raw Sugar sits right next to the new Chinatown archway and regularly hosts a variety of gatherings including musical performances, literary events, community club meetings, DJ nights, and activist group sessions.
The café recently held a book launch for Grant LawrenceÂs Adventures in Solitude. A week later, the Dirty Projectors rocked the brew house. And two days later it was all glitter and glue when a card-making workshop took place.
“It’s a crafter’s dream space,” says Rachel Stone, co-founder of Les Ateliers, the community group that hosted the card-making workshop.
The workshop marked the fourth event Les Ateliers has hosted at Raw Sugar.
From truffle making, to sewing your own totes, and even a small business workshop, Stone said no matter what the occasion Raw Sugar has always been accommodating.
“There’s nowhere else where the size (fits) these events. You can’t do it at Bridgehead or a restaurant,” says Kharyati.
Not only does the bistro provide a comfortable place for crafting, but it’s also free.
“If you’re trying to keep your costs down and make it as affordable as possible for people, having a space that you don’t have to pay for is great,” says the other co-founder of Les Ateliers, Lauren Potosky.
“It’s about having an open space that’s open to everybody,” says Kharyati.
She insisted that activist groups with any view or political affiliations are welcome.
“It’s not something that’s organized through me. They just come and use the space,” says Kharyati. She notes that Doctors Without Borders and the Great Canadian Theatre Company are the most recent organizations to hold meetings at Raw Sugar.
The café is, however, first and foremost a coffee house. It brews fair trade coffee as well as serving the local organic Beau’s beer, and always has a window full of homemade cakes and pastries.
Kharyati says the café lives off the hype the events create as well as word of mouth throughout the Centretown community.
“It’s got character. It’s like Alice in Wonderland or Willy Wonka,” says customer Jacob Woloshin.
Adding to the character is the décor designed to resemble someone’s kitchen and living room. Dining tables and chairs from every era are scattered around the place while paintings and photographs from local artists hang on the wall.
Kharyati’s father’s Elvis records sit on a shelf beside her late grandmother’s coffee cup.
“I just love that people have taken to it and they now see us as a community centre,” says Kharyati, “That’s awesome.”