Lively clubs and restaurants line the main stretch of Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village, but a new cafe and wine bar is serving up an alternative for people in the queer community.
“Having a space that is quieter, having a space that feels like home when you walk in, you’re going into someone’s living room, essentially,” said Rowan Jetté Knox, co-owner of Understory Cafe.
Knox and Dani Gaede, who are both transgender, opened the cafe in late January.
The life partners decided to become business partners after Gaede lost her advertising job; Knox wanted to build on the advocacy work he was already doing in the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Their goal was to create a space that didn’t already exist in the Village.
“For people that maybe don’t want to go out clubbing, who don’t drink as much, who really just want a place to come together with people,” Gaede said.
The couple decided to use “understory,” which is the layer of vegetation that grows beneath the main canopy of a forest, in the cafe’s name.
“That’s where diversity thrives and all of this life comes together to make something more than itself out of the spotlight of the sun,” Gaede said.
“And we thought that is the perfect metaphor for being queer. So, we instantly got this idea: we wanted to bring the space alive as though it was nature.”
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That theme is reflected throughout the cafe, which has earthy tones and a ceiling covered with plants.
Understory Cafe is designed to reflect the layer of vegetation that grows beneath the main canopy of a forest.
Marc Cormier/Global News
“When we’re in a forest, it’s very healing, it’s very peaceful, and it naturally calms the nervous system, so we wanted people to come in and feel like they are in the understory, they are part of the understory,” Knox said.
Each staff member is part of the queer community in one way or another.
The idea is for customers to see themselves reflected.
“There’s a real lack of a feeling of safety among a lot of queer people right now and there’s a lack of peace, people are feeling on edge,” Knox said.
“I was very bullied growing up. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and I always felt very alone, so for me, it’s important having a space where people feel they can just come in as themselves and be safe and be seen and be welcomed.”
From meet-a-friend nights to book launches and poetry readings, the cafe hosts several events to bring the community together.
“Every day, we see people sit at these tables and strike up new friendships, start just chatting with the person next to them, and these are the things that we don’t see a lot today because everyone seems so insulated and guarded,” Gaede said.
While it hasn’t been open long, Understory Cafe already has several regular customers.
Jules Glegg is one of them. She moved to Toronto from California six months ago.
“Our community especially needs third spaces, just their place that isn’t work or home, where you can come out into what is a very big city that can be very anonymous, and find community and learn the names of your neighbours,” she said.
Matt Jarych, who runs another business in the Village, also stops by often.
“I think everybody really appreciates having inclusive, safe spaces,” he said.
“It’s great seeing something new in the community. You love seeing it grow, stay alive.”
Gaede and Knox say everyone is welcome as long as they have an open heart and mind.
“It’s not just for trans people, it’s not just for queer people, it’s for everybody who feels maybe a little on the sidelines and wants to feel connected,” Knox said.
“If you are feeling like you just need a coffee shop that feels a little bit like a hug, I think this is it, I really do.”
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