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R.I.P., Café au Play.
The 5-year-old kiddie cafe on Southeast Division Street closed for good on Sunday, Dec. 6, with an abrupt message to patrons on its website that the operation was no longer sustainable.
A coffee shop that goes out of business typically doesn't make the news, but Café au Play occupied a unique place in Portland's blossoming kindie music scene, playing host to performers like Red Yarn and The Alphabeticians, among many others.
The story of how it came to exist on Division is a brave one—a tale that predates the invasion of fixie-riding condo dwellers.
Twelve years ago, federal agents raided 5633 SE Division St.—then the site of a derelict convenience store—and found ingredients for meth hidden in the building's ceiling tiles, The Oregonian reported.
The feds seized the property but eventually turned it over to a coalition of concerned neighbors, who wanted to run the property as a community space through a nonprofit. They teamed up with Kristin Heying, a mom who envisioned turning the space into a coffee shop for parents to connect over lattes while their tiny tots safely played with others.
It took years for Heying's idea to come to fruition. In that time, volunteers pored over every detail, transforming the location that once also housed a gas station into a vibrant cafe with both indoor and outdoor play areas.
"This wasn't easy. It's still not easy," Heying told The Oregonian when the cafe finally opened in 2010. "A lot of people have asked us how they can create a space like this. I warn them, it's a serious commitment. You're going to have to make sacrifices. You're going to need to be deliberative. You're going to miss things in your own life. But looking around, it's worth it. We've created a space where people are going to be making connections for years."
On Friday, Heying told WW it's been tough to say goodbye. In addition to hosting regular, by-donation kiddie concerts, Café au Play offered parenting classes and an inexpensive place to host private birthday parties.
Heying posted a second emotional farewell on Wednesday on the cafe's website.
"It's been a really hard time," she tells WW.
What happens next at the location is up in the air. The nonprofit Southeast Uplift will continue to own the space. A community "re-envisioning" process starts now.
Willamette Week