RASTA BARISTA
Sei and Melissa Kidau each spent part of their childhood years in Liberia and Jamaica, respectively, and both have a history of coffee farming in their family. At Rasta Barista, their coffee shop and café, the couple imports premium Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans and roasts them in small batches for their coffee drinks. Try the smooth nitro brew, or sip a cappuccino, latte or macchiato.
The Kidaus grow their own Scotch bonnet peppers at Madison-based Troy Farm to bring the heat to their Jamaican-inspired lunch dishes, including the jerk chicken lollipops and sandwich. Also available is the flaky crust beef or curry chicken patty — the Jamaican equivalent to empanadas.
The cafe’s affogato is a scoop of hazelnut gelato topped with two shots of espresso and dusted with Biscoff cookie pieces and cocoa powder. (Closed weekends.) rastabarista.com
HAYES PLACE
Connee and Dwight Hayes opened their special event space in Northgate Shopping Center in 2023 for weddings, birthdays, reunions and corporate gatherings. Hayes Place also hosts public events throughout the month, including music bingo, food and drink nights (such as tacos and tequila), karaoke and even an annual Thanksgiving dinner. DJs and performers are common, and there’s typically a pop-up food vendor onsite. Some events are even aimed at the 35-plus crowd. hayesplace.net
JUICY ORGANICS
With a soothing green forest mural, vibey music and comfy lounge seating, Juicy Organics is not your typical juice bar. With the help of his partner, Ashiantii Collier-Slaton, Corey Marionneaux transitioned his pop-up juice bar into a brick-and-mortar spot on the Capitol Square that whips up plant-based drinks. One offering is the Iron Woman, a combination of blueberry, banana, beet powder, goji berry, almond milk and peanut butter…