Beandigen Café is the latest pop-up business to open its doors at Lansdowne Park. The café celebrated its grand opening on Nov. 12 with music, prayer and heartfelt remarks delivered by the owners and their support personnel from Lansdowne Park and Tourism Ottawa.
Owned and operated by Anishinaabe mother and daughter Paula Naponse and Jayde Micah-Naponse, Beandigen Café sells more than just coffee. In addition to lattes, cold brews and other caffeinated drinks, Beandigen is a hub for Indigenous business and culture.
As the winner of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group’s Lansdowne pop-up proposal competition this past summer, Beandigen will stay open as a pop-up business for the next six months.
The café is also home to Naponse’s small business, Ondarez Clothing and Goods, as well as other Indigenous-made goods and artwork.
Naponse and Micah-Naponse hope to use the space to host workshops and other events. Their goal is to provide a safe space for Indigenous folks to foster community.
“We feel so small, sometimes, as Indigenous people. [We] feel like we have nowhere to go. Yes there are programs, yes there are services, but there’s no social means to just enjoy yourself,” Naponse said. “[We] don’t feel the comfort that we have at home. So that was our goal.”
The mother-daughter duo also hope to create space for other, non-Indigenous members of the Ottawa community to learn about and engage with Indigenous culture.
“There’s no real social, commercial place for Indigenous folks to gather, so we want to make sure that we have a space for them and have workshops available, to gather and learn and be together,” Micah-Naponse said.
Marika Morris, Ottawa resident and non-Indigenous adjunct research professor in Carleton’s School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies, heard about the café through a Facebook group. She came to the café’s opening because she wanted to show support for an Indigenous-owned small business.
“It’s different from other coffee shops. Most coffee shops that I see are like Starbucks or some chain. And this is really different. It’s cozy. It’s a community, and it’s meaningful,” she said.
Morris said she’s happy that Lansdowne Park has integrated a designated Indigenous space into its community hub.
“I just think that it’s a little bit of home for some people who might not see themselves here and it might be a place of learning for people who are not identified with the culture,” she said.
Morris added the importance of the café can also be seen in little things, such as what she has to eat with her coffee.
“It’s the first time off a reserve that I’ve been able to have bannock with my coffee,” Morris said.
Naponse and Micah-Naponse are hopeful that the pop-up coffee shop will be successful enough to become a permanent fixture in Lansdowne.
“We’re excited. I’m overwhelmed. It’s definitely been a month or two of putting all the pieces together and getting everything into working order,” Micah-Naponse said. “It’s really exciting to have a grand opening to formally introduce ourselves to the neighborhood.”
Featured image by Sarah Malina.
