By Jasper Smith
Howard University News Service
Outside the red-brick building on the corner of a busy intersection, a young girl plays chess with her father. Edith Piaf’s “La Foule” plays on three speakers placed between the tables on the patio. The smell of fresh crepes wafts through the air from the living-room-turned-cafe.
What has been described by patrons as a “pocket of Europe” is Coin des Poetes – a Cameroonian-owned creperie located in the heart of Adams Morgan.
To Coin des Poetes customers, the business does not just offer French-style coffee and crepes – but a new, budding community of chess enthusiasts seeking fellowship in a post-covid D.C. The creperie recently launched “chess nights,” attracting a growing number of players and new customers.
“It’s nice to know there’s a place in the city where I can get a game of chess. Usually I have to go scour DuPont Circle,” Jacob Burke, who was on his third game of chess, said. “I’m happy to have a place like this.”
For some players, the chess nights provide a remedy for remoteness. According to research conducted by The Cigna Group, more than half of U.S. adults suffer from loneliness.
“I came here and immediately felt at home with the people in here, the staff, the owner, the food, the vibe – everything checked off what I wanted,” Yaser Alhusaini, a PhD candidate at George Washington University, said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking for chess places. From the beginning, I was looking for places to build community. Since the pandemic, there’s been a loneliness epidemic.”
Alhusaini shared that he now comes to the cafe at least three times a week, often leaving with new connections and two crepes in hand: one for himself and one for his wife.
Genevive Morie, who moved to D.C. from Kenya nine months ago, was drawn to Coin des Poetes when walking past the building the week prior and seeing the chess boards on the patio tables. “I love chess and I love crepes and that’s why I’m here,” Morie said.
New social events like chess nights, occurring every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-9 p.m., and “speed friending” are part of the Coin des Poetes’ mission of creating a “third space” for people to feel comfortable at outside of work or school.
“It’s a pocket of a break in the city,” Aeon McNeal, a barista and crepe artist at Coin des Poetes said. “It feels like a little pocket of Europe because you’ll see people outside the cafe, there’s music playing, they’re just playing chess in the middle of the day and that’s kind of what we are here – a pocket break from the past paced world.”
Inside Coin des Poetes, the staff of four have implemented a strict “no laptop” rule, encouraging customers to talk to one another, enjoy a game of chess or play on the console piano just steps away from the crepe grills.
McNeal shared that the curator of this peaceful environment is a self-taught crepe artist who goes by the name “Paris.” The Cameroonian entrepreneur opened Coin Des Poetes just under two years ago, and has only recently added staff to assist with the business.
From its menu, Coin des Poetes’ customers can choose from peanut butter, honey, nutella or lemon butter crepes for $10, with the option to add thinly sliced bananas, strawberries or blueberries between the folds of the french-breakfast pancake. To drink with the crepes, coffee and tea are sold for $5.
“The best thing is sitting inside because you get to have a crepe, then have a coffee, then have a nice conversation. It’s just a real good vibe,” McNeal said. “It’s an escape pod.”
