Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
East 59 Cafe was scheduled to open in The Village at Lee Branch by the end of August. It is in the space next to the AMC theater, and has a full service coffee bar and will begin offering sandwiches, salads and more sometime in September.
When Amber and Stephen Tolbert opened their first cafe, their vision was to create a place where people could make meaningful connections within the community.
After restoring a building in East Lake near where they lived at the time, they opened East 59 Cafe in 2013. Their space offered great coffee, simple comfort food and a cozy seating for conversations.
They opened a second location in the Hoover Public Library in 2017. Although it has been closed since March due to COVID-19, they plan to start back up there once the library reopens.
After the East Lake location closed in December 2018, the Tolberts began looking for a space that would be a good fit. They had moved to Shelby County, off Alabama 119. Amber’s parents, Mike and Jeannine Glenn, who are also involved in the business, live nearby as well.
“We were looking all over the city, and this stood out as a spot that would be best for us,” Amber said. “We want to connect to the community where we are now, so that’s why we chose this area.”
East 59 Cafe is set to open in The Village at Lee Branch in August. The original plan was to open in May, but due to setbacks and approvals from the city (and COVID-19), the timeline was pushed back several months and construction didn’t begin until April.
The space had to be completely gutted, starting with all new electrical and plumbing. The build out includes an eating area for customers, which is in a U-shaped around where the baristas will be in the kitchen. Tolbert said one of her favorite things about the new location is the high ceilings and all the natural light that comes in through the windows.
Another feature will be a meeting room that can be reserved online for things like business meetings, church groups, nonprofits and more. It will have a white board and media equipment.
“I imagine the meeting room will be used a lot, even more so on this side of town with people trying to find spots to meet,” Tolbert said. “It will have modular tables that can be adjusted to fit the space as needed.”
The cafe will offer a full-service coffee bar from Counter Culture Coffee with classic drip coffee, espresso-based beverages, fruit smoothies, loose leaf teas and more. Breakfast is served all day and includes a variety of items such as homemade quiche, fresh fruit, yogurt parfaits and assorted pastries.
The lunch menu features hot pressed sandwiches, homemade Southern salads (chicken salad and pimento cheese are favorites) salads, soups and baked items.
Tolbert said one of the positives during COVID-19 is that they have been able to keep their entire staff (from the Hoover library location) even though the cafe has been closed.
“Having such a small staff at Hoover, we have been able to have them help us with launching the new location,” she said. “They will all be starting back at Hoover when it reopens. For Lee Branch, we will be hiring all new staff, at least a dozen employees.”
The Lee Branch location will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily, although Sunday hours may be more limited.
East 59 Cafe also does catering, boxed lunches and to-go meals. Tolbert said they will be flexible, and if an increase in COVID-19 cases causes another partial shutdown, they will do other options including take home family dinners.
“We have been doing this a long time,” she said. “We are used to being flexible. I think that’s a good skill to have.”
Tolbert said as an extrovert, being home has been exhausting. She is looking forward to getting back to the cafe with her customers and meeting new ones.
“At the new location, developing a new community is what we’re most excited about,” she said.
For information, visit east59.net.
