Checking out The Brakes Coffeehouse & Provisions

It seems like years since Red Poppies said they were losing their lease at 227 Lark St, but their space remained decorated and occupied, but closed. When I noticed some changes to their window I was thrilled that there was someone set to rescue yet another empty space on Lark Street.

Now at 227 Lark St is The Brakes Coffeehouse and Provisions. I had heard a few people talking about Brakes Cafe, happy that there’s a new business on Lark, but I hadn’t seen an announcement or anything from them.

Brakes Cafe is an all vegan cafe with sandwiches, salads, soups, desserts, teas and coffees. The cafe has emerged in the wake of the closing of Loving Cafe in Delmar. The staff, equipment and recipes have all been moved over from Loving Cafe. Brakes and Lil Buddha (another all vegan spot on Lark Street) work well together as Brakes doesn’t do smoothies or juices, and is open much different hours than Lil Buddha.

The driving motivation behind the space is bigger than ‘making sandwiches’.

From the Brakes Project website:

The Brakes Coffeehouse and Provisions is focused squarely on tackling climate change by providing low-carbon foods, educational programming, tools and resources to help the community transition to a “decarbonized” economy. Foods we serve will be plant-based and sustainably produced.

I had stopped in twice over the weekend and I was ecstatic to see that only after a week or so of being open, there were people at every table. The staff was super friendly even during the busiest I have seen the place. Even as I was walking past last on Saturday night there were plenty of people milling around inside.

The space has a nice big couch facing the window, where you can eat or grab a book off their bookshelf and relax with your coffee or tea. There’s a few tables throughout and a bunch of locally made goodies in support of climate change, veganism, or even just shopping local. Their mission comes across tastefully and their veganism and climate change initiatives are sprinkled throughout the cafe. It’s all presented in a way that allows those who are interested or curious about the topics to be able to learn more in easily without feeling judged.

All of the food I ate from Brakes was delicious and I will definitely be stopping in often. Give the place a try next time you’re in the area.

Brakes is open Tuesday through Thursday 7:30am-7:30pm, Friday 7:30am-10pm, Saturday 10am-10pm and Sunday 12pm-4pm.