Café Alma, located in the heart of Pleasant Ridge, is a Cincinnati treasure. It is an amazing coffee bar and full service restaurant, and it is also a place for community. As owner Lainey Richler says, “more than anything, Café Alma is a place where we want to bring people together.”
Café Experience
Walking into Café Alma, it is very clear that this is a place where people love to come for a latte, a sophisticated cocktail, or a delicious pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan meal. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and at any given time of day you can find people meeting up with friends, celebrating events like a birthday or baby shower, having a business meeting, or just enjoying time with family. It is one of my favorite places to go for a special meal with my family and we even hosted my daughter’s graduation party at the Café. I love everything on the menu, but my personal go-tos are the Lasagna and the Challah French Toast.
The Heart and Soul of Café Alma
Lainey and Yair Richler are the owners and masterminds behind Café Alma’s success. This past year has been one of huge growth for the café. They recently expanded their hours to include dinner service on Wednesdays through Sundays. They also opened a satellite location at the Blue Ash Recreation Center which offers a full service coffee bar as well as smoothies, healthy grab and go options like salads, chia pudding, and yogurt parfaits, bakery items and fresh bagels with spreads.
I asked Lainey what she and her husband are most proud of after 3 years of being restaurant owners. She answered, “First, we are so proud and happy that we are still going strong. A huge percentage of restaurants fail after just their first year. The fact that people still want to come here and enjoy our food is what we are most proud of. We are also so proud of the beautiful community we have developed here. This includes our customers, and also our team of staff. We have the most amazing staff. They are hardworking and supportive and have also become lifelong friends.” Having a full service restaurant and a full service coffee bar in one establishment requires a huge team of staff to keep the quality so high and Café Alma employs over 50 people!
Café Alma seeks to bring a taste of the Mediterranean and the Middle East to Cincinnati. Incredible coffee and espresso along with amazing, high quality food allows us to experience true café culture right here at home. I recommend you check them out! Visit their website, cafealmacincy.com, for hours, catering info, daily specials and events.You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for regular updates on menu items and other news.
Photos: Catie Viox
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