Weekend Reporting Assignment 5: The Feature Profile

By Winrich Sy for Reporting and Writing 1

Chasing the American Dream: The Highs and Lows of creating a Third Place

After visiting Communitea LIC and interviewing owner, Kafia Saxe. Brought a look into the hardships of running a local cafe, especially since the severity of the 2020 pandemic. Yet it is the perseverance and grit of Saxe that is integral to the soul of Communitea.

Small businesses are important to the American dream, the opportunity for prosperity and success achieved through hard work. Especially in the melting pot of Queens, New York in the bustling Long Island City lies a teahouse that has been around for 16 years. But the focus on the longevity of this space lies within its charismatic owner, Kafia Saxe.

Kafia Saxe is a second generation American who has made Queens her stomping ground for the last 20 years. Born to Jewish and West Indian parents, she is no stranger to hard work and discipline. This shows in her approach to her career as the owner of Communitea LIC.

Kafia and her husband/business partner Lloyd opened Communitea in 2005. “Well, my husband and partner had a bar on Vernon Boulevard and the landlord, since the bar was quite successful, approached my husband and asked if we would like the space two doors down… My husband and I both had an interest for tea so we decided. Hey, let's try a morning breakfast place with a focus on loose leaf tea and comfort food. So we took that opportunity.”

Communitea LIC is a teahouse that offers a plethora of loose leaf teas and coffee drinks. The cafe has also been known for its delicious pastries and breakfast/lunch specials. In its history, the cafe has created a special bond with locals and visitors. It has also been the venue for many community events,art shows, poetry readings, and live music performances. The cafe is also notorious for being the location of film shoots of popular films and TV shows such as: “Baby Mama (2008)”, “Ugly Betty (2006)”, and “Gossip Girl (2007)”.

Yet what makes Communitea special is due to the relationship it has garnered with the locals for over 16 years. It has been a local favorite in the thriving area of Long Island City, which was just a developing neighborhood in the early 2000s.

“Our customers are crucial to the survival of our business because we count on them and also they become our friends.” - Kafia Saxe

Saxe in the initial interview referred to Communitea as “a third place”. The goal of this teahouse is to provide a third place for locals and customers. “So the first place is your home. Where you are very comfortable…The second place is where you work, you spend a lot of time in both of those places and the third place is that other place where you spend a lot of time to unwind. -Kafia Saxe

While this seems like the perfect recipe for maintaining the dream of a thriving space for the community, it is never without the challenges and hardships. The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic has affected many individuals physically and financially. Local businesses and restaurants were hit hard due to the shutdown of the city, this led to the rise of delivery services and the decline of eating out. While this posed a huge problem to Kafia, she has navigated other options to keep the lights on. One of the biggest problems of the pandemic came with staffing.

“Staffing is always the challenge in the restaurant industry, finding and keeping staff. And so that is by far right now, our number one challenge. Just sort of figuring out how to be a restaurateur in this post COVID pandemic world that we live in right now. People are eating and working from home. We have had to pivot into doing a lot of delivery, which we never did but now we do all the delivery services, and because we need that revenue.”

Before the interview with Saxe, we were able to have a couple of words with a member of the team who works for back of house prep, Mario Dizon. Dizon who has been a part of the team since the beginning speaks on Kafia and her leadership. “Coming from the Philippines, Kafia gave me the opportunity to work here and 15 years later, I am still here. Kafia is tough, and while she is intense, she loves this teahouse and will do anything for it.”

The hardworking and resourceful leader also transformed the cafe into a sort of market/pantry offering ingredients and teas in bulk. As well as expanding their presence online, launching a website with an online shopping cart.

“Also expanding our partnership with local, creative makers such as candles and soaps partnering with female creators and people of color…Just expanding beyond our food offerings, and making it more attractive to come into the shop.”

Saxe offers more obstacles when it comes to running a local cafe. “This is not a glamorous job… you need to have quite a bit of capital because in this business the margins are small. You need to have to start off at least a year's worth of rent, because it takes time to get your regulars. You just need to be prepared because things break and you never know what is coming down the line.” Kafia is very hands-on with the cafe and you can find her there five days out of the six the cafe is open.

“Sometimes she might be at the register or even in the kitchen cooking. Just know that Kafia’s presence is everywhere when it comes to Communitea.” - from cafe regular and resident of Long Island City, Frank Olsen, who we had a couple of words with.

“I remember moving here from Michigan, knowing nobody. But I lived across the first Communitea, met Kafia and Lloyd who welcomed me with warmth. The rest is history.” (Olsen)

Even though Kafia did not spare the amount of issues that come with owning a cafe, she sheds light on the more redeeming side of running Communitea. While it can be stressful, it's all about making people happy and growing that personal relationship. One redeeming aspect according to Kafia, is growing the business along with our customers who have become family. “I always love seeing newborns and toddlers and watching them grow and run around the space that brings me so much joy. I'm so honored and blessed to really become so close to a lot of families.” During the interview, it is evident that Kafia is exhausted yet always prepared and ready to come up with the next move for Communitea.

“But it is rewarding. It's very rewarding when people tell me ‘I love what you're doing, don't ever leave.’ It’s my favorite. I couldn't do without it, it really does make a big difference.”

Following up with Kafia, she reinforces her sentiments of her passion for Communitea and hopes to recover the cafe back into the days of its prime. “I love this place even if it kills me, I love my team and I know I can be frantic at times. But it’s all out of love and my dedication to this space and our community.”

Walking into Communitea with the smell of fresh coffee partnered with the warm inviting light and ambiance. In contrast to the frantic kitchen with bright white lights. This exemplifies the hard work and dedication it takes to create that third place.

Support your local businesses!

Communitea

11-18 46th Road

Long Island City, NY 11101

(718) 729-7708

Twitter/Instagram: @CommuniteaLIC

https://www.communitea.net