The historic Florence neighborhood in North Omaha welcomed a new community cornerstone last week with the grand opening of Cups Cafe, a project by local nonprofit No More Empty Pots (NMEP). Located at 8501 N. 30th Street, the cafe officially opened its doors on Jan 7. Cups Cafe aims to support local food entrepreneurs and become a place where the community can connect.
The cafe reopened after a pandemic-induced closure in early 2020, following several months of operation at its current location in the No More Empty Pots Food Hub. Prior to that, the cafe was located in the Little Bohemia neighborhood from 2017 to 2019. The reopening marks a fresh chapter of opportunity for the Florence neighborhood and North Omaha.
“We are thrilled to finally open Cups Cafe this year with regular hours — it’s been a long time coming, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome the community into this space,” said Cafe Lead Nyarok (Rayn) Tot in a press release. “Our goal is to create a welcoming and vibrant environment where coffee enthusiasts and community members alike can gather, learn, connect and find solace.”
A gathering space for the community
Cups Cafe fills a gap in the Florence area by providing residents a much-needed “third place” — a space separate from work and home where people can gather and connect. This focus on community needs is particularly significant in Florence, a neighborhood with limited gathering spaces beyond its library, and a rise in social isolation.
“We don’t have a lot of those in that part of town in Florence…because people don’t have a space to come together, they have to go somewhere else to get that,” said NMEP CEO Talia McGill. “We felt strongly that there was more of a need to build space for the community than it was about the coffee. The coffee is a perk that just kind of is the gateway.”
McGill emphasized that people shouldn’t have to leave their neighborhood or community to find what they need. The cafe creates a space where that is possible. She envisions Cups Cafe growing alongside and supporting the community’s evolving needs. To this end, the cafe is actively seeking feedback from community members.
The North Omaha Commercial Club (NOCC) advocates and communicates for the Florence and North Omaha communities to advance the area’s education, civic, social, commercial and economic interests. The group advocates for improvements in the area, promotes local businesses, hosts candidate forums and serves as a conduit for community information.
Mele Mason, president of NOCC, expressed enthusiasm for the reopening of Cups Cafe.
“We feel it’s an extra draw to the Florence community and offers a cheerful, bright area to enjoy a cup of coffee, meet with neighbors or get some work done outside of the home or office. It’s a wonderful addition to our established restaurants and businesses,” said Mason.
Mason noted that NMEP has hosted many meetings with the neighborhood and was awarded the NOCC 2022 Community Betterment Award.
Supporting local entrepreneurs
Cups Cafe doubles as a launchpad for local food entrepreneurs, providing opportunities for small businesses to showcase and sell their products. Sweet Meatz Desserts and Busy Vegan, both tenants of NMEP’s commercial kitchen space, sold their items to customers at the grand opening.
McGill explained the cafe purchases products from local food entrepreneurs, serving as a marketing vehicle to help them gain exposure and awareness.
Cups Cafe also sources local resources to run the shop, with milk from Picket Fence Creamery, tea from Benson Bounty and coffee beans and syrups from Hardy Coffee Co. McGill sees this as a collaboration, not competition, with other local coffee shops and food businesses.
Every visit to the storefront will help build a stronger, more resilient network of small businesses coming together, said a NMEP spokesperson.
NMEP plans to launch a 16-week cohort-style food business development program called the Kauffman FastTrac in 2025. The program is specifically focused on food business, as opposed to general entrepreneurship programs, with the hope that cohort members will use the cafe’s space as a testing ground.
Broader mission
“It takes a village. So you might come to us for a chai, but we might send you somewhere to somebody who does something way better than we do,” McGill explained. “We’re just trying to get our community to work more in tandem.”
The reopening of Cups Cafe aligns closely with NMEP mission to transform food systems and foster economic resilience.
“We have such a robust local food system here, but it’s hard sometimes for people to access it, and we know that thriving communities start with small business, and so it’s really important for us as an organization to uplift them,” said McGill
NMEP opened a Micro Market, a small organic grocery store at the Highlander Accelerator in North Omaha where you can find organic produce from both the attached greenhouse and local producers in Nebraska and Iowa.
Mason believes the general population does not widely recognize the work NMEP does. She says Cups Cafe provides an open door to the community and offers a place to promote the other programs NMEP is involved in.
In the back of the store, a corkboard labeled “Mad Love” embodies a pay-it-forward approach to helping neighbors. “These vouchers have been purchased in advance for free use by our patrons. Take as many tickets as needed to satisfy your order,” it states. Attached to the board are vouchers ranging from one to five dollars
“Whether you are a paid customer who can afford these things through disposable income, or you may be a customer that we utilize grant funding and other sources…We feel like there’s dignity in everybody being able to have access to the same types of experiences, ” said McGill.
A vision for Florence and beyond
“We want to not have a difference. We want that feeling of no matter where you are in town, there’s no stigma, there’s no stereotype,” McGill said. “All the opportunities you can find in any other neighborhood you can find here.”
Cups Cafe’s reopening highlights Florence’s potential for growth. McGill envisions the cafe as a key part of the neighborhood’s revitalization.
“Where the Cafe is located in Florence, I believe in a few years time, it’s going to be very similar to Little Bohemia, or even what’s happened in Benson, where there’s a reinvestment in that neighborhood,” said McGill.
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