In Harlem, old-fashioned hospitality often comes with milk and a shot of espresso.
Harlem Java House has been open for nearly five years, and that’s long enough for the small storefront coffee shop to have become a locally renowned stomping ground.
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“It was an accident,” said owner Deborah Brawner, who launched the café in December 2016 after retiring from the Navy Reserves. “There was no real plan for a coffee shop.”
Brawner wasn’t sure if the shop would even last one year. She left the military after 24 years serving and started work as a contractor that moved her to the CSRA, where she bought a home in Harlem. The proprietor of the Bubbles or Not dive shop introduced her to the owner of the space at the time and suggested she rent it out.
Intrigued at the opportunity to make the space her own, Brawner took four months to gut and renovate it. During this time, while she was trying to decide what kind of retail business she might use the building for, locals let her know that Harlem lacked a coffee shop.
She found a coffee supplier and got a good deal on a coffee machine from John and Pat Curry, owners of Buona Caffe in Augusta.
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“All this was meant to be,” said Brawner. “It was just meeting the right people at the right time.”
Brawner’s history makes her amenable to being a coffee restauranteur. She is a quarter Ethiopian, with an Ethiopian-Italian mother. She was born in Ethiopia and spent some of her childhood in Italy before her father settled the family in the Philadelphia area. This international background made java a major cultural presence in her upbringing.
“I’ve always loved coffee, I was raised on espresso,” said Brawner. “I love and appreciate Ethiopian coffee, because Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee; so, I was raised watching my family pan fry beans.”
Brawner has incorporated her Ethiopian heritage in not only the beverages. She hosted Ethiopian coffee ceremonies at the shop. Harlem Java House has also been the location for several other events, such as traditional Irish music shows; art, candle making and soap making workshops; yoga classes, open mics and artisan markets.
The shop attracts several military customers coming from Fort Gordon, alongside being a favorite hangout for local kids.
Adapting to Harlem’s small-town environment and learning by experience how to run her business proved challenging, but Brawner’s perseverance paid off due to the enthusiastic response and welcoming attitude from the locals.
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“It was a humbling experience,” said Brawner about Harlem’s warm reception. “Very open-armed and very supportive.”
As an example, Brawner recalls her first day opening, being slammed during the Christmas festival. A group of theater girls from Harlem High School came in near closing, asking about hours and seeking a place to hang out after their last show. After an engagement, Brawner reopened the shop at 9 p.m., welcoming about 30 theater kids bringing pizza, ukulele and hacky sack to hang out.
Brawner says she got emotional when one of the students hugged her, telling her how much kids needed a hang out spot.
“I thought, ‘that’s what it’s about,” said Brawner. “That’s kind of how we started and that’s kind of what kept it interesting is not just coffee and the business aspect, but community and bringing new things to this little town.”
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Harlem Java House is at 211 N. Louisville St., Suite A, in Harlem. For more information visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HarlemJavaHouse.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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