We have all known the long loneliness.
The solution to loneliness is love.
And LOVE comes with COMMUNITY.
This quote, attributed to Dorothy Day, is front and center as you enter the bright and cheery space which is the Community Café. Located at 127 North Centre Street in Cumberland, this unique and welcoming place is yet another example of a reimagined Queen City. The genesis of the Community Café represents thoughtfulness and inspiration as evidenced in the organization’s vision “to be a community where everyone has access to nourishing food and is treated with dignity and respect.” And, in the spirit of “community”, this new endeavor has partnered with the Community Trust Foundation to house not one but two funds to support the project well into the future. Leah Shaffer, Executive Director of the Community Trust Foundation, emphasized the wisdom of the Café’s Advisory Board in establishing an endowment fund to ensure its sustainability and a separate fund to provide day to day flexibility.
From the seed of an idea sown during a trip to Danville, Kentucky in 2019, the Community Café officially opened its doors in Cumberland on Sunday, October 6, 2024. Current operating hours are Sundays and Mondays, 11 AM-2 PM but plans are already in play to add Wednesdays and Thursdays to the schedule. While a volunteer-driven enterprise, the Community Café has a part-time manager, Tranell Clanton, who is ready and eager to increase operating hours. Clanton, a recent graduate of Frostburg State University, earned a degree in Social Work, which may seem an odd choice to pair with management of a café. Not so, explains The Rev Martha Macgill, President of the Community Café Advisory Board and retired Episcopal priest who is serving the community through various initiatives. “Yes, we serve food—soup, a main course and dessert–but the Community Café is a place which nourishes the body and soul regardless of one’s ability to pay. Those of us who traveled to Danville, Kentucky in 2019 were introduced to the pay as you can concept at a welcoming place called the Grace Café. It was an idea that we thought would be perfect in Cumberland; a place for all people to gather, to share a meal, to enjoy fellowship, regardless of financial ability. We were ready to get started and then COVID hit. However, the concept was never abandoned and we spent the next few years developing a mission and vision, organizing a volunteer base, creating by-laws and an advisory board, and finding a suitable location.”
Truly a community endeavor, the generosity of many individuals and businesses is evident. The space was renovated with support by The Belt Group. Tables and chairs from the former Manhattan Restaurant were donated, commercial kitchen equipment was purchased with grant funds provided by the Divine Mercy Parish and Our Lady of the Mountains, and beautiful art work has been generously given and adorns the walls. The daily menu is determined by food that is available from locally sourced vendors. Pastor Alison Peters of the First Presbyterian Church and Treasurer of the Community Café Advisory Board, applied for grants through her congregation’s Presbytery, allowing for the purchase of food as well as new pieces of kitchen equipment. In addition to the generous donations from the community, Pastor Peters acknowledged the key role volunteers have played in launching this enterprise. “We have upwards of 50 volunteers and recently developed a partnership with the LaVale Lions and look forward to their help, especially as we increase operating hours.” Operational for only a few months, a growing number of organizations are inquiring about using the space and catering opportunities.
It seems that this is an idea whose time has come—a place where everyone is welcome, where people are treated with dignity and respect, where food and companionship nourish the body and soul. That place is the Community Café, 127 North Centre Street Cumberland.
Community Trust Foundation (CTF) is your local community foundation created with gifts from generous people of all income levels committed to local causes. The Foundation grants to local nonprofit organizations working to build a stronger community in the areas of Arts & Historical Preservation, Health, Wellness & Recreation, Vibrant Communities & Thriving Environment, and Education & Youth Leadership. Connecting philanthropy for community good in Allegany, Garrett, and Mineral Counties.
Donate to the Community Cafe Endowment Fund
Donate to the Community Cafe Building for the Future Fund