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Finding Coffee, Wraps, And So Much More At The Livingstone At Amani Ya Juu

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Dining Out

I keep being reminded of the need for everyone (myself included) to slow down and look at your surroundings. You might be amazed at what you discover.

I was driving along Willow Street when I saw this dark painted building looking like the exterior of a European Café. It stood out because the adjacent building was white, so the dark paint popped out. You can’t miss it.

The signage read, the Livingstone and I wondered what the place was. When I looked it up, the place is actually called the Livingstone At Amani ya Juu, a coffee shop attached to a store that sells authentic hand made African apparel and products.

The interior of the coffee shop gives off Bohemian vibes with a dark colored ceiling, patterned wallpaper and elegant chandelier. The menu offers a variety of coffee and tea options as well as a few soft drinks. It also lists their various pastry and lunch options.

Their rotating pastry consists of in-house muffins, scones, truffles and biscotti with flavors that rotate weekly.

The small diner was packed with locals sipping on their coffee or tea, discussing business, talking about their zodiac signs, working on their laptops or getting their food and sitting at the outside patio.

I tried the chicken Caesar salad wrap with a side of their pasta salad and a cortado, coffee which is equal parts espresso and steamed milk. I was tempted to buy one of their chocolate chip cookies or scones, but the coffee took care of my sweet tooth for the time being providing the rich tasting espresso in direct contract with the sweet frothy steamed milk.

The salad came with croutons, chicken, Romaine lettuce and Caesar salad dressing wrapped up like a burrito and lightly toasted on the grill. It was delicious. More so was the side of pasta salad with tiny cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, pasta, diced cucumbers and feta cheese.

I plan to go back and try their ham star biscuit. Seared Ham served on a house made, star shaped biscuit served with a good morning sweet and spicy Sunburst Sauce. Or their avocado toast, Sliced Niedlov’s sourdough toasted and topped with tomato salad, sliced avocado, balsamic glaze, and feta. You can add an egg too.

Both sound amazing.

After I finished my lunch, I walked through the opening into the gift shop. Turns out all the products were made by women in Kenya and Uganda. According to their website Amani ya Juu is Swahili for “Peace from Above.”

Amani ya Juu is a non-profit organization. As I walked through the store I inadvertently ran into the foundation’s Executive Director Andrea Kauffman. She greeted me and said all the items are made by once marginalized women who are now able to work and receive a living wage. She said they added products made by Dekko Trading featuring handmade items made by women in India who were in a similar circumstance.

Kauffman walked back to her office, and I walked around the store observing the bright colors of the aprons, blouses, jewelry, dresses and house items. The craftmanship is incredible.

I drove by this place so many times and had no idea we had a shop here in the city representing women and communities from across the globe.

According to their website Amani ya Juu was established in 1996 when American missionary, Becky Chinchen, fled the civil war in Liberia with her husband and four daughters. They ended up in Kenya among other refugee women. Working alongside other women inspired her to help these women realize their worth and be treated with dignity.

In 2012, Amani Chattanooga was established as the US distribution center, led by Joanna Vaughn, Becky Chinchen’s daughter and her husband Pete. In 2023, Amani Chattanooga opened the Livingstone Cafe to support the shop and to invite Chattanoogans into a place of peace.

Amani ya Juu ha shops in Chattanooga, Kenya and one in Uganda. Learn more about the store, the foundation and their mission at amaniafrica.org.

The Livingstone At Amani ya Juu