PDXme

When I was growing up in Portland, which oddly enough seems like forever ago, I attended Robert Gray Middle School and Wilson High School in SW. My senior year of high school I had begun to continue higher coursework in Spanish at Portland State University. Three mornings a week I would carpool with my friends Leanne and Emily to delight in early morning grammar and literature sessions. Yes, they were early, but it was awesome.

One one of the reasons we took a car downtown was that we all needed to make our second period class after our scheduled "late arrival." Before heading out of downtown, we made it a habit of getting coffee. The nearest café to our Neuberger Hall class was Broadway Coffee shop on, curiously enough, Broadway, between Hall and College.

We got to know the owner, Amir Rahimi. Amir is an immigrant from Iran who has grown to be a much loved figure in the PSU community. He went to school here in the States and opened up Broadway Coffee in 1996. The café building is three stories, with the café on the ground level, Baan-Thai, a pretty good restaurant one up from that, and Amir's apartment upstairs.

I promise not to post too many of my crazy youtube videos, but here's one I took of the inside of the café while hurrying to catch a train back to Eugene, where I attend school:

The café offers a variety of loose leaf teas and delicious crêpes. The best part about ordering is Amir's jokes. He'll make a comment about something you say and relate it to some fictional Farsi word. He'll play it off like the word actually exists. It's great. If you are interested in politics, Amir reads the New York Times daily and is up to speed on current events. You'll often see him reading it on your way out of downtown. Look to your left when you're on Broadway!

Broadway Coffee at Portland State University, downtown.

Amir looks out from his front perch at Broadway Coffee.

What most of all excites me about Broadway Café is the community I have become a part of just buying locally. I've gotten to know people who frequent Amir's, and our conversations give me belonging. The fact that we have a wealth of local cafés and a vibrant café culture here in Portland speak volumes to Portland's community atmosphere and neighborhood feel.

No matter which part of Portland I'm in, I know I'll have a local café to stop in where one may find his or her zen. For me its a matter of principle. I want to support my local economy, but what is more, I want to make connections and relationships in order to make me feel at home in the city I love. Have you ever gotten that going to Starbucks?