Sunyatta Amen, a naturopathic physician and fifth-generation herbalist, has been offering tea and natural remedies for whatever ails you at her Calabash Tea & Tonic cafe on 7th Street in Shaw since May 2015. The store has been featured in The Washington Post, Eater DC, and even W. Kamau Bell’s show United Shades of America, where he highlighted Calabash as part of the “real” D.C. Now, she’s launching another store in Brookland, and it officially opens for business on Wednesday, following a brief soft opening.
Calabash promises to provide an educational and healing experience to everyone who walks in. There’s a menu of teas, tonics, and other drinks on the wall, but usually someone behind the counter also asks you how you’re feeling. Based on that, they can prescribe a specific type of tea to cure your ailments—be they physical or emotional. Amen says she hopes to build relationships with her customers and create a community dedicated to well-being, curating a space that’s different from your typical cafe. “We ask hard, personal questions,” she says, “but it’s because we care.”
The Brookland location’s offerings will be similar to those found in Shaw. At the Brookland location, there’s said to be over 50 organic tea blends—all based on “Amen’s Cuban-Jamaican great-grandmother’s time-tested formulas,” per a press release. Try the flavor Get My Mind Right if you’re looking to boost your brain power, for example, or Love Potion #10 Chai if you’re there with a date. And if you’re hungry, you can choose a snack among an assortment of vegan treats. The menu is reportedly 99 percent vegan, with a few vegetarian options, and everything is soy-free. Drinks include only plant-based milks, and there are gluten-free options on the menu as well. Both locations also serve CBD shots.
However, in the new location, many of the types of teas Calabash offers will incorporate the herbs locally grown in the new “teaching and learning garden” just outside the shop. There, Amen will hold classes on how to grow and care for plants, which she has also done in the original Shaw cafe (albeit with less space and no outdoor patio). She’s a big fan of incorporating the herbs that physically grow near you into the food and drink you consume.
“Here, it’s a petting zoo,” Amen says with a laugh, “but the plants are petting you.”
Inside, plants from Cultivate the City hang from the ceiling, while containers built by students from IDEA High School house an assortment of herbs and flowers.
“It should feel like your aunt’s house,” Amen says, describing the vibe as “witchy and super well-traveled.” The goal of the environment, she explains, is to transport people to faraway places, to get them to take a break from D.C.’s concrete jungle. “City living is rough,” she says.
Calabash’s Brookland location will also have a brunch vibe on the weekends. She’s working to create a menu of traditional brunch meals that will leave you feeling energized—not sleepy. The offerings will be both vegan and vegetarian. “You shouldn’t be tired after you eat,” Amen remarks.
Brookland, where Amen lives, is already home to a healthy array of local food options, including Brookland’s Finest, Fox Loves Taco, and the Tastemakers food hall. Amen says she hopes to bring more variety and a sense of community to the area.
“Our job is to make sure we stay connected to the community,” she says, noting the increasing gentrification forcing local residents out of D.C. To create this community, Amen has been giving classes on herbal medicine—for kids and adults—at Calabash-Shaw and will continue to do so in Brookland.
In the future, Amen is hoping to create new franchise locations across the country. She specifically wants to provide these business opportunities to single parents, women of color, and returning citizens. “This is a great opportunity for them to learn how to run a business,” she notes, as well as to learn more about traditional medicine.
“We want people to feel a difference,” says Amen. “We actually want to help people.”
Calabash Brookland opens Wednesday at 2701 12th Street NE. Hours are Wednesday-Friday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
