The Monkey & The Elephant

A new innovation is brewing in Philadelphia. It’s a goal nearly everyone with a heart for foster care aspires to achieve; giving aged out foster youth the tools they need to succeed in life after care.

It’s a sweet assault on the senses as you enter the quaint, yet surprisingly large interior of The Monkey and The Elephant Tea Room. The café is located at 2831 W. Girard Ave. in Brewerytown, an up and coming area of the city. Though the location may be in the City of Brotherly Love, the idea was spawned in the Outback of Australia with a young man from Zimbabwe, Africa in mind.

Maybe to understand the idea of M & E, you would have to understand the originator of that idea; Lisa Miccolis. A fearless free spirit with a desire to help others and a wealth of knowledge as a barista and café manager, Lisa has traveled the world through her work with AmeriCorps and other endeavors. On one such adventure in 2008, Lisa found herself in South Africa where she met a young man named Ephraim who would change the course of her life. Ephraim was the equivalent of what we would consider a foster youth. He had fled his native Zimbabwe in the hopes of a better life but at age 18, much like here in the States, he had aged out of the government’s help. Though Lisa had returned home before Ephraim’s ordeal, they kept in touch via phone. It wasn’t always clear that it was Ephraim who was on the other side of the phone calls so they developed a code to verify it was really him. Their favorite animals would serve as that code. Hence the name The Monkey & The Elephant Coffeehouse. The Monkey, Lisa’s favorite animal and The Elephant, Ephraim’s favorite animal.

Not only did Ephraim’s volatile situation lead to a catchy name, it also shined a light on a problem that Lisa was already becoming aware of back in the States; the aging out crisis. While in an Australian coffeehouse the notion to merge her love of coffee with her desire to help combat the aging out epidemic came to Lisa. A native of Philadelphia, she wanted to begin close to home.

It’s one thing to have an idea, it’s another to set the wheels in motion to make that idea a reality. As someone who has witnessed nearly her entire climb, I can attest to Lisa’s resourcefulness and passion for her project. I found out about The Monkey & The Elephant shortly after Lisa began taking her idea to the streets, springing up as a pop up café in different locations around the city. The problem of bridging the gap between foster care and adulthood, as Lisa so succinctly states, is a hefty task to take on but the results are immediately evident in the eyes of the former foster youth who have mastered a skill behind the coffee bar. But why coffee?

As Lisa explains, a side effect of a coffeehouse is the community it creates. As a barista for several years all over the city, Lisa has seen first-hand what a coffeehouse can provide both its’ patrons and its’ staff. Mentors, friends, business partners or just the general acquaintance can be the product of life at a coffeehouse. This built in community, like other communities, begins to draw from within itself, neighbors helping neighbors. That goes a long way when one of those community members doesn’t have a family or network of people to fall back on when things get difficult. Lisa saw this as a safe place for kids trying to find their way out of care. Often times a support system is the determining factor in whether or not a kid will make it. With 1,100 Philadelphia foster youth aging out of the city’s foster care system each year, Lisa knew the need was real. She saw coffee as a potential solution.

The campaign to make The Monkey & The Elephant a pop up café moved quickly. In just a short time, the necessary items to create the pop up were obtained, the support was evident. With a run of successful pop up cafés (setting up shop within an already established business) throughout the city over the course of several months, Lisa began to explore fulfilling her ultimate goal; a brick and mortar shop in the city with more space and the ability to employ more youth.

As she began the search for a location Lisa continued the work of M & E, training and creating capable Baristas. The kids train hard and study harder, not only to aid Lisa in running a successful café but also gaining skills that are highly transferable when seeking out future employment. The training goes on for eight months, during that time the kids learn things outside of coffee like computer literacy, finance and applying to college. It’s much more than coffee for these kids, it’s a path to a better life. The first job when you become independent can be the toughest to navigate, with Lisa’s help these youth learn what it takes to stay gainfully employed and be responsible for their actions.

A location was decided upon. Walls were knocked down. A bar was built. Machines that create refreshing treats were installed. Seating was acquired. The hard work was beginning to pay off, a coffeehouse was taking shape. Lisa poured over the details as the opening date approached. It had been five years since meeting Ephraim and now the culmination of the journey was within reach. The kids who would work at the shop put the finishing touches on their skills as they prepared to wow customers with their works of delicious art.

All that hard work culminated in a grand opening in March with a ribbon ceremony attended by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. Foster Focus was on location during the opening night festivities. The works of local artists adorned the walls of the clean, large open floor plan.

Lisa was very pleased with the location she found on Girard Avenue, as well she should be. The café is an impressive sight to behold. The place looks warm on the inside as you peer in through the large window that adorns the front of the building. A large inviting door opens up to a sea of sights and smells. A sitting area with small sofa is off to the right as you enter with tables and then booths lining the left side of the space. The rich wood floors lead the eye to the display cases and full size bar where the orders are taken. The eye is led upward to the arches that populate the upper half of the high ceilinged room. The back of the space has a loft above the entrance to an outdoor patio for warmer Pennsylvania days.

Surrounded by friends, family, patrons and the city’s foster care leaders, a proud Lisa Miccolis stood before the crowd explaining the steps taken to get to this point. She gave thanks to all those who attended and those who couldn’t make the opening but had been a part of the process. She was met with a round of applause from the room which was filled with smiles, some tears and an overall sense of awe for what had been achieved. As people mingled, the staff of five former foster youth worked feverishly to prepare all the orders being placed. Satisfied patrons showered them with compliments and you could feel their confidence growing.

It’s been several months since the March opening. The café has been a success in more ways than one. That community that Lisa had hoped for happened almost instantly. At first those most closely associated with the café comprised that community but soon regular customers would fill any voids. The café is a hive of activity. Art shows with a portion of sales going to support the business occur frequently. There are informational meetings covering everything from foster care to college admission tips are held to inform both the kids who work there as well as the public. The neighborhood has embraced the café as well. Residents can be found popping in to grab a latte and lend a hand tutoring some of the employs on the college work, like math.

The kids are still learning all aspects of how to run a business, how to live up to responsibilities and the tools it will take to make it on their own. They are learning how to be a part of a community and a cause that is bigger than themselves. They are learning all this while having the time of their lives with someone who believes in them and wants to see them succeed.

There is something brewing in the City of Brotherly Love and it smells like success.