Coffee ME Up is a coffee shop and cafe located in Portland, Maine. Its name is a nod to its location, with ME being the abbreviation of Maine, and its focus on care and love toward its customers. Despite the reference to its location, it is owned by a husband and wife from Albania. Additionally, you can enjoy coffee in your own home cafe!
Owned and Operated By a Husband and Wife Duo
Alba Zakja and Mateo Hodo opened Coffee ME Up in January of 2017, and though it is mostly operated by the pair themselves, they also work in conjunction with a couple family members in certain aspects and employ staff that share their same passion and ideals.
They are particularly selective about the outsiders they bring in, because to fill the void during times of the owners’ absence, they must demonstrate a high and happy amount of love and affection, not just toward the food and beverages they serve, but toward their customers.
Serving Coffee With Love and Happiness
Mateo is personally known for giving hugs, and this is reflective of the business’s overarching mindset that introducing love and happiness to a customer, be it through satisfying products or smile-inducing customer service, will create a ripple effect that the customer will hopefully share beyond the doors of Coffee ME Up, benefiting the community as whole.
As mentioned, part of the way they achieve satisfaction and smiles is through the products they serve. This is in the form of breakfast and lunch foods, coffee and tea beverages, and the environment of the store itself.
The Cafe Feels Like Home
The interior of the cafe is adorned with styles that make it seem like a home kitchen, which it actually is in some ways. The counter has a granite top and is backed by white cabinets and sitting atop a light-wooden floor. The tables add warmth with their deeper wooden tones, and the Maine-related art adds everything in between.
The logo was designed by Alba herself, but the name was thought-up by her brother, Ksenis. Another family touch is the involvement of Alba’s mother, Simina, to create some of the food menu.
Serving Delicious Food & Homemade Baclava
Consisting of breakfast and lunch items, the food includes a long list of sandwiches and salads loaded with ingredients of egg, turkey, avocado, cheese, bacon, veggies, and more. Where the sweetness lies, however, is in the family made baclava, among other baked goods.
The Coffee is Locally Sourced
The coffee sold at Coffee ME Up is supplied by the local Coffee by Design. With as much love as everything else, Coffee ME Up fashions the roasts into drinks such as lattes, cappuccinos, cafe au laits, americanos, cold brew, drip coffee, and a few drinks in a Turkish style, such as the Turkish Coffee and Salep.
Special items of both hot and cold are picked each week, recently having featured a cold Cinnamon Earl Iced Tea, which is a blend of cinnamon spice, earl grey tea, and sliced orange, and a hot Dirty Clove Chai, which is a Maine Honey Clove Chai with added espresso.
Final Thoughts
Coffee ME Up does quite a bit for being a husband and wife run shop, and all of it is done with love, and they hope to spread that love to customers far and wide.
Address
221 Cumberland Ave, Portland, Maine, 04101
