DIGITAL EDITION

Winter 2023

It was a sunny day, but brisk. Early March, no snow on the ground. I’m sure the first taste of spring weather contributed to encouraging people to leave their house early Saturday morning, but by 9 am, the line extending from Cedar Coffee at the corner of Monroe and College in Spokane already poured out the door and stretched past the building.

Russia had just invaded Ukraine the week prior and Cedar’s owner, Igor Yorke, announced that the shop would send 100% of its sales on March 5 to help with humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Yorke himself is a Ukrainian refugee who moved to the United States in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and purchased Cedar in 2018.

I jumped into the queue, digging my heels into the gravel from the parking lot behind the coffee shop that had escaped onto the sidewalk. There were probably a dozen groups in line ahead of me that I could see on the street and likely another three or so inside, so it took me a little more than half an hour to finally get inside for my latte.

By the time I paid and reemerged onto the street, the line had grown to the corner of College and Madison. I went on my way, running errands that don’t merit a memory, but I made a point to drive past the shop again on my way back home. Near noon, the line had taken a turn to the north, now stretching to Broadway, directly across from the tower of the Spokane County Superior Court building.

I don’t know how many customers Cedar served that day, but combined with other donations, Yorke donated close to $50,000 to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

The year since has been filled with geopolitical ups and downs, and trying to figure out a thoughtful way to cover these big issues isn’t easy.

One of my driving motivations with this magazine is to connect people. Yes, it’s a food magazine, but more than that, it’s a way to share stories over a meal or with a drink. So when I was invited to Thrive Center for a fundraiser before the holidays, complete with dishes prepared by some of their Ukrainian refugee residents, along with chef families from Feast World Kitchen, I was eager to hear about how this community was fitting into Spokane.

That same week, I was introduced to Anastasia who moved here with her family in June. She came to a Chefs Shuck event at Zona Blanca where we force-fed her oysters, tacos and tequila. Questions from me and others about her time here and what it has been like fleeing a home in the midst of a military conflict were met with humorous deflections, a tactic I myself employ in situations with significantly lower global implications, but I suggested we hang out again.

Once the new year rolled around, I reached out, asking if there were any foods she had missed from home and if she or her family members had ventured to any of the European markets we have in town. Again, she turned to humor, informing me that while, yes, there were some things that she missed, she was settling in just fine and had indulged in some Panda Express the night before.

At that point, I had to interject and offered to take her out for the day to show her some local alternatives and asked if she would like to check out some of the local Slavic food purveyors to see if they passed muster.

Later in this issue, you will see more of our team’s day running around town with Anastasia. Since then, we have met up a few more times. She and her family recently moved closer to downtown, so I’ve taken her to more spots she might like. She likes seeing people gather and work at Indaba Coffee on Riverside. Over a tea flight at Revival Tea, she opened up about how she was settling into life in Spokane and the States. She shared her goals and struggles as I listened, trying to think about ways to strengthen her connection to the community and other places she might like to try. And we did it with food.

Winters are tough. The dark and the cold can make us feel more isolated than we really are. But there are brighter days ahead, where we come together in person to learn about one another, be it over a flight of tea in a basement or rounding the corner for a coffee fundraiser.

I hope to see you there.

Jeffrey Fijolek
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

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