Para Coffee owner Eric Kelley
PHOTO BY DAVE MCNAIR

Three weeks ago, Para Coffee on Elliewood Avenue joined the ranks of local coffee houses, and we finally had a chance to stop by and chat with owner Eric Kelley. Located in the former Blue Wheel Bicycle and MOD building, the newly renovated space is light filled and cozy, complete with living-room like nooks occupied by inviting coffee tables strewn with newspapers and magazines, stylish lamps, and old comfy chairs and sofas. For a small space–it only has room for 49 people–it has the feel of a much larger space, thanks in large part, we imagine, to Kelley’s composition skills as a professional photographer.

Which prompts the question: why did a professional photographer decide to open a coffee shop?

As Kelley points out, he was already working for Holland Photo Arts, was doing work for C-Ville Weekly and other publications, and started his own wedding photography business in January that had him shooting 31 weddings this year. In addition, he admits he was never much of a coffee drinker.

For Kelley and his partner and fiancée Lora Keady, however, opening Para appears to be part of a larger mission.

To explain, Kelley describes a bike trip he had planned to make two years ago, from Alaska to Argentina, and how he had asked the Pastor at his church about the idea of soliciting donations for the trip. Instead of endorsing the trip, his Pastor suggested he stay here in town and find a way to help the community, such as by working with the homeless, etc. So one day he was walking by the MOD space–his office was on Eliwood–and saw that it was closing and thought, why not open a coffee shop as a way to do something for the community, with some of the money going to various charities?

The name Para, Kelley explains, is Spanish for “for,” as in “this is for you,” though the Spanish meaning indicates purpose or intent, such as Es hecho para niños (It is made for children. It is made to be used by children). “It means something for an intended purpose,” Kelley explains, which in Para’s case, he hopes, will be directing some of the cafe’s spoils back into to the community.

Clearly, Kelley is trying to differentiate himself from the Starbucks at the other end of the street, a symbol of corporate coffee greed for many, and he’s hoping Para might be an alternative.

Looking forward, Kelley says he plans to host local acoustic music acts and art shows, and wants to eventually be open to Midnight or 1am, as most coffee houses, including Starbucks, only stay open as late as 11pm.

As for the coffee, that comes from Shenandoah Joe’s, where Kelley trained as a barristo over the summer, and he’s also offering tasty goods from the Albemarle Baking Company.

While we await Para Coffee’s future good deeds, there’s another very important way they’re serving the community now: offering Corner-goers that Belmont treasure, Spudnuts doughnuts.

“We pick them up every morning,” Kelley says.

–Last updated October 7 at 4:24pm