Friday, April 28, 2006; Page WE05
The first time I walked into Cafe Nema, I knew I’d found a special place.
Located at basement level, a few steps below U Street, the dimly lit room is a riot of conversation and cluttered decoration. Brightly colored oil paintings, both abstract and figurative, crowd the battered brick walls, and a large Somali flag hangs on a section painted fire-engine red. Framed black-and-white pictures of Duke Ellington and Miles Davis are prominently featured above the worn wooden bar, whose counter and stools have been broken in by years of use.
 Rahsaan Jackson, aka DJ Rahsaan, spins in the basement of Cafe Nema, a U Street lounge that has expanded to three floors. (By Sarah L. Voisin — The Washington Post) |
Saving options
Everything comes together in a perfectly organic and haphazardly charming way that reminds me of some of my favorite little holes in the wall in Paris.
At the bar, older African men spoke French and Arabic, tucking into plates of kibbeh (a torpedo-shaped pastry filled with beef and onions) or piles of lamb and rice. Howard University students sat at tables, gossiping and talking on their cellphones. Waitresses greeted half the people who walked in — obviously regulars — and poured them pints of Heineken or Germany’s Spaten lager. Reggae and down-tempo house music played from the stereo, just low enough so it didn’t interfere with the buzz of voices.
Ibrahim Aden, a native of Mogadishu, Somalia, opened the restaurant in 1995, shortly after the birth of his daughter, Nema. (It’s an Arabic word meaning “blessing.”) “I wanted to go into business for myself,” he explains. “My partner and I said, ‘Why don’t we open a place where the Somalis can come?’ because we saw Somalis coming into the city.”
It quickly became much more than that.
Soon after opening, Aden was approached by a group of jazz musicians from Howard University looking for a place to play. They called themselves the Young Lions and set up their equipment in a corner of the tiny room. Aden admits he wasn’t a huge jazz fan when he agreed to give them a chance on a Thursday night at his bar. Ten years later, the Young Lions are still playing weekly, and Aden says he’s addicted to the music, hosting live bands several times a week.
It was clear, though, that Nema was outgrowing its space. Just after the new year, Aden took over the two floors above his humble bar — previously the Erico restaurant and lounge — and expanded Nema’s schedule of entertainment.
“It gives me room to breathe,” he explains. “We wanted to do jazz, but sometimes you didn’t have the right crowd. It’s hard to focus, to cater to only one crowd. I think it’s better when you mix it up. The young can change their attitude, maybe listen to something new.” He pauses and smiles. “But hip-hop is okay, too.”
Now, instead of having to choose between live jazz and beats spun by a DJ, Nema can offer both.
Last Thursday, for example, as the Young Lions held forth for an appreciative crowd in the basement, local hip-hop star Asheru hosted his monthly Guerilla Lounge showcase for underground MCs and up-and-coming neo-soul groups. The patrons upstairs were younger and more casually dressed, but there was the same sense of community found throughout the building.
“Thursday, I’ll keep the Nema tradition with jazz downstairs,” Aden says. “Friday, we switch,” and jazz is featured on the second floor while a DJ spins downstairs. Saturday follows a similar pattern, and Howard Franklin and his straight-ahead jazz trio hold a regular spot on Wednesday.
The other advantage of having three floors is that Nema has room to bring in bigger names without dislodging its valued regulars or forcing them to pay a cover charge. Last month, Rene McLean — a saxophonist who has played with Tito Puente, Hugh Masekela and Sonny Rollins — came by for two nights to pay tribute to his father, Jackie, a legend of the Blue Note label. (McLean returns in two weeks, Aden says.)
Although Nema’s upstairs provides more options, it lacks the patina (and charm) of the basement. More of a resto-lounge than a bar, the brick walls are glossier, and the blond wood floors and round black tables gleam. The third level is more comfortable, with low couches and chairs that are perfect for slouching with a drink. If I’m just stopping by to check out the scene, though, I rarely venture up there.
Nema’s new digs are worth a visit to see the rotating exhibitions by local and international artists, which change every few weeks. “The art started in ’96 with a friend who is a ceramic artist,” Aden says. “Since then, we’ve reached out to different communities and shown paintings and photographs from around the world. I met a French photographer who’d taken pictures in Somalia. I met him through a Somali diplomat who told [the photographer] that, in Washington, we have a Somali community.
“The musicians, the artists, they all became part of my tribe, my community,” Aden says. “Everybody has something to contribute to this society.”
You’ll probably feel a part of it as soon as you walk in the door. If you don’t, a wiry man with silver hair and a goatee might come over to you to see how everything’s going. His name is Ibrahim.
Cafe Nema 1334 U St. NW, 202-667-3215 Scene: A cozy basement bar with live jazz and warm people now offers three levels of food and entertainment.
Source: Washington Post, April 28, 2006
