About Us
Café on the North Bank connects coffee drinkers to coffee growers
Welcome to Café on the North Bank! We are committed to breaking the distance between our South American coffee farmers and our Cincinnati consumers. We do this by hosting live learning events during which our customers can learn about our unique, South American grown blends. Here, you will always be greeted with a high quality brew, a learning opportunity, and a space to socialize and relax with friends.
How we got our start
We are an independently owned, local coffee shop with roots in sustainable farming practices
Café on the North Bank began with an unlikely friendship between founders Ben Fisher and Dan Davis. Back in 2014, Ben was a purchasing agent at Nestle's Bolivia office, and Dan was a graduate student completing his work in international relations and sustainability during a study abroad trip. Ben was hired to give a tour of the Bolivia office to all the graduate students, but in reality, the tour ended up being more of a personalized tour for Dan. The pair discussed all things coffee for the entire two-hours and came to the agreement that there are two main issues with most current coffee shops:
​
1.) The lack of socialization/interaction present in many coffee houses
2.) The continuation of economic and environmental struggles in South America
​
Ben and Dan quickly agreed that it was time to address both these socialization issues and these South American economic and environmental issues caused by a lack of sustainable farming practices for coffee beans. They decided to break away from the large corporations like Nestle promoting these unsustainable practices and make a change on their own. Soon after, Café on the North Bank was created in the name of socialization and sustainability.
Founders Ben Fisher (left) and Dan Davis (right) inside of our newly opened Café on the North Bank.
Our Mission
We strive to both share the cultures of our South American farmers with our Cincinnati coffee drinkers and ensure the economic survival of our farmers
While the geographical distance between our South American coffee farmers and Cincinnati customers may be great, that doesn't mean that the cultural and social distance has to be. By placing our farmers at the heart of our unique blends, we are striving to achieve the following missions:
​
1.) To introduce Cincinnatians to the cultures and challenges faced by South American coffee growers
At the heart of Café on the North Bank lies our mission to connect our customers and our South American coffee growers. We do this by hosting learning events and live shows that feature music, readings, and baking demonstrations that teach Cincinnatians about South American culture. Instead of mindlessly enjoying one of our brews and moving on with your day, we offer customers the opportunity gain an appreciation for the tender hands that helped your coffee go from bean to cup.
​
​
2.) To ensure the continued economic, social, and cultural survival of our coffee farmers
​
Climate change is on the rise and bringing about more coffee-plantation destroying pests than ever before. With these pests destroying these crops and the high heat index casing coffee beans to ripen too quickly, the livelihoods of our South American coffee farmers are at risk. By attending our sustainability-focused learning events led by environmental and political leaders and purchasing our unique coffee blends, you are supporting our initiative towards creating sustainable coffee growing practices.
​
​
​
​
​
A pest-infestation of a South American coffee plantation.
Our Values
We value authentic producer to consumer relationships and serving you high quality brews the most
We believe that having high quality relationships with our producers allows us to serve high quality beans to our customers each week. Unlike many shops that use mass produced beans picked by the hands of strangers, our involvement in every step of the coffee bean production process means that we settle for nothing less than the best ingredients. It is our goal to preserve these relationships by:
​
-
Continuing to lessen the distance between grower and customer through our learning events
-
Advocating for sustainable farming practices among South American growers
-
Remaining involved in the bean-to-cup journey to serve our customers high-quality, unique blends
-
Creating an engaging, yet relaxing space where our customers feel eager to learn
​
​
" The relationships with our South American coffee growers lie at the heart of everything that Café on the North Bank does. We believe in honoring our farmers by bringing a taste of their culture into this city space."
-Dan Davis, Company Founder
Our Brews and Desserts
We offer our customers a variety of unique blends and freshly baked desserts that represent cultural tastes
Tasty, high-quality brews and desserts is the name of our game. We aren't like Starbucks and other chain coffee shops who use mass produced beans and artificial sugars in their coffee. We would never serve you a donut made from dough that has been frozen for months, either. What makes us unique is our dedication to serving our customers quality roasts using handpicked, South American grown beans. Each year, we offer 10-15 new cultural brews for our customers to enjoy.
To accompany your brew, we also serve freshly baked, South American desserts made by none other than Ben's wife, Maria, and her sister, Camila, who grew up in Sao Paolo, Brazil. As a learning event, we hold baking classes to teach you about the cultural tastes, ingredients, and values that our deserts reflect.​
​
Ben's wife, Maria, adding finishing touches to her dulce de leche (carmalized milk) filled cookies called Alfajores.
Relax, Socialize, and Learn With Us
We create a unique atmosphere in Café on the North Bank where customers can spend time alone, socialize with friends, or join us to learn something new
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
The space within Café on the North Bank is accommodating to all customers! Our building's interior is well-lit, spacious, modern, and filled with plenty of tables and comfortable chairs. Use our café as a workspace to knock tasks off of your to-do list, a place to get comfortable with a brew and a book, a place to grab coffee and a desert after an evening downtown, or a place to gather with friends and participate in one of our learning events! Even if your schedule is busy and you're in a rush to get to work, you are always welcome to grab a brew and a dessert to-go! No matter the occasion, we will welcome you with a warm brew and a smile!
​
​
