Ashmont Is Getting a New Coffee Shop

It didn’t take long for another cafe to set its sights on the Ashmont space left vacant when Flat Black Coffee Company closed its doors there last month: Ripple Cafe will take over the space, which is located inside a branch of Eastern Bank in the Carruth building (1906 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, Boston). (Flat Black remains open elsewhere in Dorchester, in the Lower Mills section, and also has three downtown Boston locations.)

Ripple Cafe got its start as a pop-up inside a Jamaican restaurant in Codman Square, selling coffee, tea, smoothies, and pastries sourced from local purveyors.

“We self-financed the entire operation and continued to do so until the pop-up was able to sustain itself,” wrote owners James Guerrier and Elle Ducheine on their GoFundMe page, where they are hoping to raise money to help get the new location up and running. “It took a lot of hard work, but it was sweet to see it flourishing on its own and to gain a glimpse of that organic growth and effect we had been longing for.”

The duo has expressed a commitment to partnering with other local businesses and social enterprises for services and products, providing a living wage for the cafe’s staff, hiring local youth seeking their first jobs, and investing in the community through “charitable tithing” of Ripple’s profits to support organizations consistent with their values.

Guerrier and Ducheine have signed a three-year lease on the Eastern Bank location, which is steps from the Ashmont MBTA station, and they expect to be up and running as soon as October 1. Keep an eye on Ripple Cafe’s Facebook page for updates.

• Ripple Cafe to Fill Vacant Coffee Shop Space in Ashmont [DN]
• We’re Expanding! Cafe Renovations [GFM]
• Flat Black Coffee Has Closed Its Ashmont Outpost [EBOS]