Nativ Café has both inside and outside seating. Current hours are Monday through Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Nativ Café, located in the old North Shore Café site at 166 E. Jewett Blvd., strives to offer high-quality, sustainable and ethical coffee from Upper Left Roasters and tea from True Tea, both located in Portland.
WHITE SALMON — It’s the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest (at least before noon). Just the aroma alone can perk you up, and now White Salmon welcomes its newest café serving coffee, teas and specialty coffee drinks, along with breakfast, lunch and smoothies: Nativ Café, located in the old North Shore Café site at 166 E. Jewett Blvd.
Owned by brothers Chris and Josh Durbin and friend Dylan Clancy, the eclectic café strives to offer high-quality, sustainable and ethical coffee from Upper Left Roasters and tea from True Tea, both located in Portland.
The Durbin brothers, who also own Pixan Taqueria and Cantina just a few doors down from Nativ, and Clancy have a true love for crafting a coffee culture and their combined experience has elevated the morning cup of coffee into a quality experience.
Dylan Clancy, left, and Chris Durbin are two of the three owners of Nativ Café; not pictured is owner Josh Durbin.
Richard Joyce photo
“One of our highest priorities,” said Clancy, “is to do everything at a high level. We like to be creative and plan on doing lots of things as we expand.”
Some of those things are small-batch hand-bottled organic syrups, Hawaiian-inspired sweets such as Li Hing Mui, Asian and Pacific Islander inspired pastries such as savory scones with bonito flakes, gluten free mochi sweet rice cakes, pina colada bread, and shortbread cookies made in house by pastry chef Chris Durbin.
And Nativ is introducing a drink that not too many people are familiar with: Kava.
Kava is a root that grows in the South Pacific and holds a traditional and cultural significance to Pacific Islanders. Traditionally it involves grinding up the root by crushing or chewing, soaking it in cold water, and producing a drink for ceremonial purposes, traditionally served in a coconut shell.
According to Clancy, the drink promotes happiness and relaxation and contains stress-fighting compounds called kavalactones, which target the nervous system, and also has a sedative which induces a mouth-numbing, muscle-relaxing effect.
Nativ Café has both inside and outside seating. Current hours are Monday through Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Richard Joyce photo
“It’s a social and relaxing drink,” said Clancy. “It helps with sleep and anxiety. It’s a good alternative to alcohol.”
Because the Kava root has an earthy flavor, Clancy is experimenting with adding chai and chocolate to make the drink more palatable to local café customers.
Nativ Café, located in the old North Shore Café site at 166 E. Jewett Blvd., strives to offer high-quality, sustainable and ethical coffee from Upper Left Roasters and tea from True Tea, both located in Portland.
Richard Joyce photo
In addition, Nativ offers a selection of breakfast and lunch treats. Their breakfast burrito is out-of-this-world delicious. Even their smoothies are unique to their mission, which is offering quality products, a quality experience in a quality environment.
Looking down the road, Clancy hopes to offer some open mics, community events, trivia nights and a focus on helping Native American youth through fundraisers and clothing donation drives.
Nativ Café has both inside and outside seating. Current hours are Monday through Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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