The Mojo Café (from March/Apr '05, by Andrea Clark)
2825 Brambleton Ave., Roanoke
The word “mojo” conjures the image (at least for me) of Mike Meyers’ character, Austin Powers, winging around in a British-flag-bedecked automobile chanting, “yeah, baby!” He credits his charm or “mojo” for his way with the ladies. This café tries to work its mojo through its shade-grown fair-trade coffee, and comfortable atmosphere.
They've got mojo. Fresh, homemade soups, sanwiches and quiche - as well as organic shade grown coffee - are standar fare at the Mojo Cafe.
Co-owners Sybil Barrett and Nicole Litwiller strive to create an inviting setting for their clientele.
“We opened with a happy and positive atmosphere, says Barrett. “It makes the rapport between everyone better and already helped us establish a steady clientele.”
My first experience with Mojo was a quick cup of their featured shade-grown, organic coffee on the way to work one morning. I found it to be very mellow and not as bitter as what other coffee shops served.
On another harried morning I snagged coffee and breakfast from them. The egg, bacon and cheese croissant was fresh, hot and quick. It was also too large for me to finish, so I handed half of it off to a coworker.
I’ve had a couple of lunches at Mojo and am really fond of the warming soup and sandwich combos on cooler days. I’ve had a totally ocean lunch of fish chowder and yellow-fin tuna melt and a perfectly porcine midday meal of a BLT and onion bacon soup. My favorite was the open-faced tuna melt due its wonderfully thick but non-fishy tuna and generous blanket of melted cheddar. On one occasion a dining partner in crime and I both ordered the tasty onion bacon soup, which was fortunate, because we’d have fought over the dregs if we’d only gotten one bowl for the two of us.
Specialty seasonal items such as hot-spiced cider and the pumpkin spice latte provide a nice change from the standard coffees. Mojo offers other specialty coffee drinks regularly; Black and Tan, Death by Chocolate, and Griff’s Buttery Ripple – some sounding oddly like liquor-based drinks.
“They’re variations on bar drinks only with coffee,” states Barrett, whose partner, Littwiller, is a former bartender.
Mojo also has live music on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and rotates works by locals every six to eight weeks.
What's the Deal With Fair Trade, Shade Grown Coffee?
Mojo Café’s menu proclaims they feature “Fair Trade, Shade Grown, Organic Coffee.” Why does that matter?
The Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center says that over the past 15-20 years coffee production in northern Latin America has undergone changes, including the clearing of all non-coffee vegetation that “profoundly affects migratory bird diversity and other ecological indicators of environmental health.”
Shade-tree growing methods for coffee offers a natural sanctuary for a variety of migratory birds. Organic coffee is grown without pesticides and chemicals that can harm the environment (and us).
Fair Trade coffee means that the coffee has been purchased at a minimum “fair price.” According to Global Exchange: “many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt.”
Groups such as Global Exchange, a human rights organization, seek to break the poverty cycle by encouraging consumers to purchase coffees bought under “fair trade” conditions.
