Dining for the Greater Good

Downtown Youngstown, Ohio: fair trade coffee, biodegradable take-out containers, poetry readings, local beer, live bands, spare barn parts, and lots and lots of dust. The café of my dreams is under construction.

On June 20, Jacob Harver will open the doors of the Lemon Grove Café for business. Jacob's vision for his establishment, as stated on the its website, is "to create the perfect amalgamation of coffee shop, bar, café, and artistic venue, with an unparalleled atmosphere. Above all we strive to make it a key component to the continual growth of a downtown community centered around the arts."

I get the feeling the Lemon Grove will pull this off. Harver describes his vision for the café as a "non-corporate Panera with alcohol." Sounds good to me and apparently to a good chunk of the downtown community. The whole time I was interviewing Harver, random people wandered in to tell Jacob how excited they are for the new establishment and that the Lemon Grove is "just what Youngstown needs."

One of my favorite things about the Lemon Grove is that a part of the concept is for diners to eat and drink for the greater good. Harver is a believer in recycling, purchasing organic/locally grown produce and free-range meats and feels an "ethical obligation" to serve only fair trade products. When you look at things macroscopically, this kind of small-scale social responsibility is so worth the trip downtown.Speaking of social responsibility, the café will be as green and sustainable as possible. Harver explained that the point of the green movement is not to go out and buy brand new stuff made from renewable resources — it is to reduce consumption. So Harver is working hard to return to those good old days when people weren't so wasteful. For example, he bought a dilapidated barn and is using the walls and roof for the floor and is figuring out how to make homemade milk-based paint for the walls.

On the artsy end of things, one of Harver's big ideas is themed nights with acts consisting of whatever strikes the artists' fancies (think This American Life) — karaoke, story and poetry readings, political debates, live music and even active painting. The stage is built. And the Lemon Grove has got its very own artistic coordinator, Eric Alleman, an Ohio dad who cuts intricate stencils, spray paints random objects, writes plays, tells stories and performs.

So who is this Jacob Harver character, the entrepreneur of our dreams? I highly recommend that you take a moment to read his fantastical biography. In reality, Jacob Harver is a Bob Dylan fan from the west side who hates cooking, majored in history and does not consider himself a businessman. Clichés aside, Jacob is not starting the Lemon Grove for personal profit; he just wants to create a "positive place for everyone."

Photo: Jacob Harver courtesy of Cherise Benton.