by Jenny Zilliac
Unfortunately, Mokha House was burglarized in the early morning hours on Monday. A man pried the lock on the front door, tore up the storage room and walked out with the register drawer.
I met with Hamza Monday afternoon, and by that time he had already fixed the damaged lock. Fortunately, he knew not to leave much of anything in the drawer, and the cafe itself still looks beautiful. But many expensive service items, items that add to the character of the cafe, were broken in the search for something even more valuable.
I had an interesting conversation with Hamza about where we are in this current era of high crime, and I was pleased to understand that Hamza, like myself, senses that we have hit rock bottom and the community is going to begin winning the battle for safe, neighborly streets. Hamza and I agree that we make our streets safer when we get outside and walk in our neighborhoods, meeting folks as we go.
What can you do? Help Hamza recover financially by supporting his beautiful business. Help his spirits by introducing yourself and letting him know you care.
On my visit Monday afternoon, I had an amazingly delicious Steamed Ginger Milk with Honey. Oh, wow. It was so good! My husband, Greg, ordered the Mofawar for the second time now, along with a delicious almond pastry. The Mofawar is medium roast coffee with cardamom and cream. Greg loves it!
The ambiance is lovely, with colorful cushions and walls adorned with the many expert paint strokes of Oakland muralist, Robin Gibson, who also painted the huge and amazingly colorful mural in the bank parking lot at MacArthur and Fruitvale.
It's easy to get discouraged about crime. It's beautiful when we harness our resilience and take the opportunity to explore our neighborhood businesses and meet the shop owners, like Hamza. Drop in and say hello! Get something delicious for yourself.
