The Library Café
Since childhood, it has been a dream of Noah Payne’s to open a bookstore and a bakery. But he never seriously considered it. Then as an adult, he began working as a barista during his summers off from school. And he loved that.
“What have I been doing?” he asked himself about his academic studies. “I have a passion for making coffee.”
So he combined his past and present goals. At the end of October, Payne and his husband Joshua Ramsey opened The Library Café, the culmination of his interests. The bookshop/coffee shop is nestled in a small charming house in Germantown. The couple liked the homey feeling of the building as soon as they saw it. And they liked that Germantown didn’t have another bookstore.
Their instincts seem spot-on: Opening day was so busy that they almost ran out of coffee.
The Library Café menu includes coffee-based drinks, including espressos, specialty lattes and macchiato. Small black drip coffee is available for those who like to keep it simple. Coffee comes from Nashville-based Crema. Payne was thrilled to be able to land them as a supplier, because of their sustainable and ethical processes for sourcing and roasting beans. Sustainability is important to Payne, who also looked for sustainable honey and other ingredients. Payne bakes a rotating selection of pastries, including wild citrus muffins, thumbprint cookies, scones and biscuits.
One of Payne’s goals to pay ethical wages to staff, and prices reflect that — so tipping is optional, not expected.
“I have only worked in the service industry, and for the last 10 years either I have had bad luck or I have experienced what everyone is experiencing, which is being exploited for the sake of profit,” Payne says. “Our No. 1 priority is our employees.”
But he wanted to balance the higher prices and make the place accessible to as many people as possible. So, locals (defined as anyone who lives in Nashville) receive a 20 percent discount off their tabs.
Of course, the baked goods are just one-half of Payne’s dream business. The bookshop/library portion of the coffee shop has many new books for sale — and they’ll take special-order requests if you don’t see what you want. And just as the menu is designed to accommodate folks on a budget, there is a shelf of take-one-leave-one free books. And, yes, there’s WiFi for any coffee-sipping, page-browsing connectivity needs.
There are currently four outdoor seats and an undeveloped backyard area that Payne hopes to convert into a tea garden in the future.
The Library Café is located at 1319 Sixth Ave. N. in Germantown. It is open seven days a week, opening at 6 a.m. on weekdays for pre-work coffee.
