This Side of Fifty: May 2026

First published in the Armenian Weekly May 2, 2026

A new Armenian coffee shop opened on Feb. 21 this year. Is it in Los Angeles? Watertown? Detroit, Philly, New York? Providence, Chicago, New Jersey?

Hye Ground Café opened in historic downtown Racine. Yes, Racine, Wisconsin—which may make it even more newsworthy than any of the aforementioned locales. While Racine may not have the numbers of Los Angeles or New York, its Armenian community is every bit as proud of its heritage and unique blend of Armenian-American diasporan culture.

Hye Ground Café is the creation of Ari Antreassian, John Buchaklian, Melanie Buchaklian and Dr. Nick Akgulian. Ari, John and Melanie are the proprietors, and Nick owns the building in which the café is located. They all got together and decided that downtown Racine needed a good local coffee shop—with an Armenian theme. They wanted to preserve and showcase the Armenian presence and culture in Racine, which most locals experience only twice a year at two church picnics: St. Hagop’s Madagh Picnic and St. Mesrob’s Armenian Fest.

Ari, Melanie, and Mark

They also hoped to honor and recreate a modern version of the agoumps and srjarans their grandparents and great-greatparents established to preserve a bit of their lost homelands after resettling in Racine—recreating the agoumps from 100 years ago. It is a beautiful sentiment and a lovely vision for this unique business in the heart of the Midwest.

With that vision in place, Ari, John and Melanie got to work bringing Hye Ground Café to life. They cleaned and refreshed the space and decorated it with photos taken by Melanie during Fuller Center for Housing trips to Armenia to build houses. One of the rugs was brought back many years ago by Melanie’s mother, Penny Giragosian. Wanting a place where people would stay and socialize, they created a warm and inviting setting of tables and couches reminiscent of the coziest urban coffee shops in Chicago and Milwaukee. The have tavloo, chess and other games for patrons to use.

During the week, Ari largely runs the café. Melanie stops in every morning, and John joins on the weekends. They are a good team, well connected in the community and are excited to grow their business. There was steady traffic the Saturday I visited. Patrons and workers alike seemed to know one another well. Among the regulars I met were Mike Charkoudian, Abe Ouzounian and Joe Gabrielian—Abe and Joe having also participated in Fuller trips to Armenia.

Melanie was inspired by a set-up she saw in Armenia, where coffee is prepared on hot sand heated by an electric burner. This method slowly brews the coffee at a gentle boil, rather than a full boil, allowing a thick and foamy crema to form. They duplicated this process at Hye Ground Café. The Armenian coffee was delicious, with a rich crema.

Tavlu Players

As one might expect in a srjaran, they also read coffee cups. When they read mine, they saw an “ayp” and “pen” in the cup, which we took as a positive omen, given that I was there to write this review.

Abe is not only a regular but also the café’s handyman. John joked, “He fixes things Abe-style. He fixes it and…it breaks again and he fixes it a second time.” They both burst into the hearty laughter of dear friends cajoling each other, and everyone within earshot joined in. This speaks volumes about the vibe patrons can expect when at Hye Ground Café.

My Coffee Cup

The food and sweets menu include bagels and choreg. One can get the bagel plain, with cream cheese and, as you might expect, with basturma. There is paklava and paklava à la mode. They also serve Armenian ‘S’ cookies and affogatos (like the café glace that is so popular in Armenia). Sweet specials, written on a chalkboard, vary day to day depending on what Melanie decides to whip up.

These pastries are always Armenian and always homemade, based on family recipes rooted from Tomarza and Kharpert. The nazouk comes from a recipe by Melanie’s aunt, Adrienne Dodakian, while the khurabia recipe is from John’s aunt, Mary Djibilian. As a result, both are refreshingly unique—fresher and tastier than what one usually finds in Arab stores across greater Chicagoland. Since my visit, they have also added cheese boereg and an egg sandwich to the menu.

Srjaran Sign

With the arrival of spring and summer, Melanie, John and Ari are planning to have a Hye Ground Café presence at various local events, including popular farmers’ markets. They are also looking to expand their modest kitchen to introduce more Armenian offerings. Local Armenian musicians have offered to perform in support of the café.

A grand opening is also planned, during which the local Der Hayrs will bless the café; a beautiful touch, as Ari is a tbir at St. Mesrob and John is a tbir at St. Hagop.

If you find yourself in or around Racine or southeastern Wisconsin, it is certainly worth stopping by this srjaran. You will feel at home…a Racine Armenian home.