Where We've Been

Named after our first child, a shared passion for community, sustainability, and quality service has shaped every detail of Cafe Cino. Our business was built on the idea that coffee brings people together, and that idea has shaped our business and by extension, our community.

What began as a small-scale pop-up in 2022 inside PLNTR, a plant shop near Dupont Circle, has quickly earned us a loyal following for our specialty coffee, curated tea program, and community-driven events. Known for single-origin pour-overs and partnerships with both local roasters and international farms, Café Cino blends sustainability and intentional sourcing with a welcoming, creative atmosphere.

Cafe Cino has grown 124% in Net Sales from Y1 to Y3, and fostered a thriving, tight-knit community of industry regulars, artists, and coffee/tea enthusiasts. Cafe Cino has been profiled by DC food and lifestyle influencers such as Devour DC, The Disco Loft, and As Told by Domm, for a collective reach of 350,000 followers. In the fall of 2025, FOX NEWS DC and The Business Journal broke the announcement of Cafe Cino’s first standalone location.

Where We're Going

Cafe Cino is excited to partner with Redbrick LMD for the opportunity to open our first brick & mortar space-- Nico’s Kitchen at Cafe Cino-- an all day cafe with a modular food prep operating in the Bridge District, serving Modern American Gastronomy.

Nico’s Kitchen at Cafe Cino will not only be a destination for great food and good coffee, with a focus on arts and culture programming, we’ll distinguish our space as a micro arts & culture venue, hosting live jazz sessions, writer’s salons, DJ sets & more, to become a hub for the city’s creative community east of the river.

Our modular food prep kitchen is optimized for near-zero-waste efficiency, and paired with partnerships to acquire surplus goods from local farms, we’ll offer fresh, healthy, and affordable options to power our community. We’ll distinguish our space as a micro arts & culture venue, hosting live jazz sessions, writer’s salons, DJ sessions & more, to become a hub for the city’s creative community east of the river.

Vision

The Third Space

A community-centered café by day with an integrated modern American kitchen, and wine bar that comes alive at night.

Our Roots, You Table

Cafe Cino featuring quality-forward and locally roasted specialty coffee (pour over and espresso drinks), loose leaf tea, fresh pressed juices and smoothies, wine and spirit-free cocktails.

Nico's Kitchen making Modern American Gastronomy, with international influence from our family’s Black American, Brazilian, and German roots.

Providing breakfast, lunch, and small plates to the Cafe and Bar. Staples that you and your kids will love alike-- think breakfast items like pao de queijo (yuca cheese bread), short rib and grits, or a sausage egg and cheese on a homemade Southern biscuit, lunch and cocktail hour items like our bratwurst plate with bratkartoffeln (scalloped potatoes with pancetta), homemade sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard.

Vision

A Kitchen Built for Tomorrow

Our ethos is centered around an investment in high-tech food preparation technology powered by pioneering food tech companies like Irinox, Rational, & Henkelman

Through the usage of sustainable food preparation technology & a connected framework of food production, service, and safety, Nico’s Kitchen is built to tackle today’s issues of food access, while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.

Big investment upfront pays off in the long run. A lean & skilled labor force allows for the equipment to do the busy work.

Food Prep anchored by three pieces of equipment

1. iCombi Pro: a smart, self-cleaning combination oven that blends dry and moist heat and automatically adjusts cooking conditions, with remote management available through connected platforms.
2. iVario: a multifunctional cooking system that replaces several appliances by providing even, burn-free heat distribution, smart cooking guidance, and safe features like a built-in drain.
3. Ironox: rapidly chills or “shock freezes” cooked food to preserve quality and safety, while also offering functions like proofing, hot holding, preserving, and low-temperature cooking.

With the “combination effect” our kitchen can achieve greater flexibility, efficiency, and savings, extending shelf life and reducing waste.

Vision

EssKultur Market

EssKulturMarkt is the nonprofit arm of our business - with an affordable membership program, community members can purchase our retail items at below market rate. Goods made possible by modern-food prep technology.

1. Ready to Eat Goods (preserves, fruit leathers, fresh jerky, pickled veggies, trail mix)
2. Ready to Drink Goods (cold-pressed juice, smoothie kits, nutritional shakes)
3. Dry Goods (nuts & seeds, rice, pasta, beans, flour)
4. Meal Kits (grab & go lunch boxes, frozen meals)

In addition, sales will directly support our nonprofit initiatives of free community events, food pantry donations, to-go lunch boxes for underserved community members.

Opportunity

Location

The Bridge District in SE DC (Ward 8)

Trend Alignment

Our concept taps into the “third place” lifestyle (not home, not work), aligning with post-pandemic desires for community, flexible gathering spaces, and experience-driven dining in an area that needs it most.

Neighborhood Growth

Located in the heart of the Bridge District, a new development in Ward 8/ Southeast D.C. This neighborhood will include more than 2,000 residential units, a 225,000 square feet cyber innovation hub, 90,000 square feet of retail. Ward 8 is projected to experience a significant population increase in the coming years, with a 65% increase in population and a 214.5% increase in employment, according to the Urban Institute.

Market Gap

No existing café or wine concept exists yet near the Anacostia Metro Station or west of MLK Jr. Ave SE. Demand for third spaces and locally-owned hospitality is growing, especially for Black-owned businesses east of the Anacostia River.

Market Landscape

Specialty Cafes in Southeast DC

Specialty cafés are expanding rapidly into parts of SE — notably Navy Yard and the Capitol Riverfront — while community-focused specialty concepts are increasingly opening in Anacostia to address long-standing service gaps. In historically underserved Wards 7/8, recent openings emphasize community needs and wellness (example: Grounded — a Black- and woman-owned plant + café + wellness concept). These arrivals represent intentional, locally rooted business models.

Key Trends & Takeaways

1. Expansion beyond core corridors. Specialty operators that began in NW/DC or inner neighborhoods are expanding into NE and SE as housing density increases. This growth is most visible in redeveloped corridors (Navy Yard) and transit-adjacent NE nodes. (Washingtonian + Eater DC)
2. Community-first specialty concepts. Several new openings in Anacostia and Ward 8 emphasize wellness, local hiring, and community programming rather than only retail margins (e.g., Grounded). This points to a blended model: specialty coffee + community services. (Eater DC)
3. Social-enterprise & mission cafés. Nonprofit and social enterprise cafés (e.g., DC Central Kitchen locations) continue to appear in growth corridors as part of workforce development and food-access initiatives. (DC Central Kitchen)
4. Market segmentation. In redeveloped SE micro-markets (Navy Yard, Yards), cafés target commuters and young professionals; in NE neighborhoods they target residents, students, and families — influencing menu, hours, and event programming