Local News Helps Midtown Coffee Shop Survive the Pandemic and Unrest
by Avantika P.
In the vibrant Cleveland neighborhood of Midtown, lies the welcoming coffee shop, Cafe Phix MidTown. Cafe Phix is owned by Cleveland native, Jackie Larkins. The Midtown location of the cafe is the second iteration, following its predecessor in South Euclid.
Larkins' inspiration for the cafe came from the person she derives all inspiration from: her sister. While Larkins' sister had dreams of opening a coffee shop, Larkins was the one who carried out the idea. After working for 20 years in the military and 13 years at a corporate job, Larkins wanted to revive the coffee shop dream. She spent two years researching, taking business classes and organizing finances to prepare.
In the early days of planning for the business, financing was the most difficult struggle as most investors were not open to helping someone who had little business experience. This led Larkins to finance the business on her own through funds she collected through her 401k.
Larkins bought her first coffee shop in 2013, but after little success, she decided to move locations and start all over again. Cafe Phix was then located in South Euclid for 18 months until one day, a member of the Midtown Tech Hive reached out to Larkins, looking for a minority-run business to move locations.
Cafe Phix has stayed in Midtown for the past four years and is constantly changing. The biggest difficulty Larkins has faced with the Midtown location is the physical placement of the cafe. The cafe is inside a building and although there is proper signage, the feel of the cafe isn’t communicated well to passersby. However, Larkins said that she appreciates that the town is bustling with many new entrepreneurs and business owners.
Although business is going relatively well in the cafe currently, it hasn’t always been like this. In late March 2020, Cafe Phix closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The shop reopened June 1. During the few months of closure, Larkins and staff worked to develop new menus, an online store for curbside pickup and new in-cafe equipment.
Once the store reopened in June, however, business was significantly slower. Cafe Phix lost regular customers who worked in businesses that transitioned to at-home work. The cafe averaged three customers per day.
After viewing specials done on news channels about struggling small businesses, Larkins decided to reach out to a few channels to do a feature on Cafe Phix. News 5 Cleveland responded and conducted an interview that was featured online and on the local news channel.
Coincidentally, the interview aired during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. In this period of time, people seeked out minority-owned, small businesses to support. Within just a couple of days after the interview was shown, long lines formed, causing business to prosper. A new set of customers were exposed to the cafe.
After business flourished, News 5 Cleveland returned to the cafe to do a follow-up. The footage from the follow-up was then used in a Rebound Northeast Ohio commercial.
With the precautions the cafe took during its down period, the interviews through News 5 Cleveland and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, everything fell into place so that the business could thrive, even during the pandemic.
“There are still ebbs and flows and we still have our slow days, but for the most part, our cafe is thriving,” Larkins said.
The cafe has changed a lot over the past few years, especially during the pandemic. Most of the changes made during the pandemic have been sustained. The cafe has signed up for food delivery platforms like DoorDash, maintained curbside pickup and kept the new indoor configuration for health and safety reasons.
During her time in Midtown, Larkins has relied on other business owners and JumpStart, an organization that helps entrepreneurs grow.
“There always seemed to be someone along the way that was willing to help,” Larkins said in reference to the early days of her Midtown cafe.
When discussing the individuality of the shop, Larkins said she believes Cafe Phix MidTown is a welcoming and special environment in which everyone–customers and workers alike–gets along. She described the cafe as a mom-and-pop environment that maintains an upscale and professional feel.
As opposed to the current business-surrounded Midtown version of the cafe, the South Euclid installment was more community-based. The cafe held many events like game nights, open mics, book signings and more. Looking at the future of Cafe Phix MidTown, Larkins said that she hopes to expand and work with customers in order to develop more community programs.
Larkins said that she wants to tell other people that if they have an idea, they should go for it.
“Find a way to do it the right way,” Larkins said. “Do your research, talk to people and get help. If it’s your dream, do what you can to make it happen.”
