What’s new in town: the Amity Café

Jane Hoffman

Patti Chuang and fiancée Adam Swank always talked of their own subterranean dream of having a coffee shop as they traveled and visited coffee houses along the way. It was something that materialized this winter when she pulled it all together and opened the Amity Café at 4429 East Superior Street in Lakeside.  Employing two of her sons and a few locals, she embraced the Duluth nostalgia of preserving the local culture by using local talent and products right down to the coffee beans.   Local artist Aaron Kloss decorated the bathroom with graffiti art which was his original medium in the art business.  He also has a massive amount of artwork on the café walls which gives a Duluthian the sense of being in birch forest with a touch of cubism.   The coffee beans are purchased from local suppliers.  The cookies are from the Positively 3rd Street bakery and the scones and muffins are from Sara’s Table.  The tables were crafted by St, Germains Glass Company of West Duluth. The tables have Amity Café inscribed on each one. The interior construction was done by Mike Haag of Haag Built LLC of Duluth.  The East side of Duluth needed another coffee brewhouse as the nearest geo-coffee fix ended at Dunn Brothers on London Road near East 24th Avenue.  Patti and her sons, Jordan and Nate Pykkonen, have a customer friendly attitude and provide excellent service whether it is a low key morning or insanely busy.  One never gets the feeling that they are not there to serve your needs.  There is a full-scale coffee range of choices including alternate drinks.  The brightly defined chalkboard behind the counter includes easy-to-read palette choices with prices, clever drawings and the wifi passcode.  Elegant lighting and a back area for pleasure reading and children’s play encourages family visits.   The Amity Café reveals a golden touch along Lakeside’s corridor of a hardware store, gym and local post office.  Let’s face it.  Almost 182 days out of the year, Duluth is below freezing.  If you are looking for warmth, comfort and local friendliness, this is the place.  On the last Friday of the month, the stage is open from 5 p.m. on for local artists, novelists, poets and singers to showcase their work.   This Sunday, April 12th at 2 p.m., local author Tera Freese will present her children’s book “Remind me that I’m Wild.”