Small Business Spotlight: Katherine and Lisa, Co-owners, Hark! Cafe
Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 3:48AMArticle by Becky Fillinger
Check out the new 100% vegan, gluten-free, celiac-safe restaurant in the North Loop – Hark! Cafe! We talked to co-owners Katherine and Lisa about the inspiration for their café and what treats to try on your first visit.
Lisa (left) and Katherine
Q: Please tell us about your history as friends and how that led to Hark! Café.
A: We met at Oberlin College in 2009, where we became best friends bonding over a shared love of Homestarrunner.com, doughnuts, and Ben Folds. At Oberlin we both went vegan out of concern for the environmental impact of the animal agriculture industry and our love and compassion for the lives affected by this industry. The name Hark! is an homage to the Harkness co-operative at Oberlin, which we belonged to and love dearly. We’ve dreamt of creating a vegan food business together since joining Harkness Co-op. After Katherine was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2017, we wanted to create a completely vegan and gluten-free cafe where we could guarantee there would be no cross contamination.
Hark! Cafe is located at 430 N 1st Avenue, #150, in the historic Kickernick Building
Q: What discussions did you have about opening a restaurant at this time in this location?
A: From the beginning we wanted to open our cafe in downtown. We love this neighborhood, and are excited to be a part of its reinvigoration. The timing is truly just a matter of fate! After months of searching for the right location and negotiating our lease, we ended up signing our lease the day Minnesota went into lockdown in March 2020. Safety for our employees and customers has always been of the utmost importance to us. We opened doing take-out only and will continue to focus on that, and not open for dine-in until we feel it is safe to do so. The creativity and flexibility with our menu has been heavily discussed during this time as well! Highlighting dishes and drinks that might be more exciting for people to get as take-out, dishes that travel well, and food that is comforting above all else. We are also focusing on curating and providing special pre-order menus. We have ones for Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl coming up!
A Mini Key Lime
The Bagle Sandwich
Q: Please let us know about the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day menus. What should we try on our first trip to Hark! Cafe?
A: Our special seasonal coffee drink is a chocolate orange mocha, and it is a must-have. Pair that with a bagel sandwich, and grab a bit of dessert for later - like our mini key lime!
Q: Delicious ideas - how may we follow your news?
A: Our Instagram and Facebook are great places to follow us! Visit us - Hark! Cafe is located at 430 N 1st Avenue, Suite 150. Hours are 7am-4pm Tues-Fri, and 8am-3pm Sat-Sun.
