Jirani Coffeehouse merging arts with downtown community

Downtown Manassas will soon welcome a new, quaint little coffeehouse to its collection of stores. Located across the train tracks in Old Town Manassas, Jirani Coffeehouse plans to open its doors to locals in mid-February this year.

The coffeehouse will offer live music, shows, and entertainment that’s easily accessible right in the Manassas community. This will be a major perk for locals as it allows them to skip the drive to D.C. and grab a quality cup of joe at a live event.

The thing is, this isn’t any old coffee shop. In fact, it’s not a “coffee shop” at all.

“This is not just a coffee shop. We call it a coffeehouse because our little tagline is that we’re a third space. You have home, you have work, but it’s another place you can go. It’s the third space,” said Connie Mosemak, the Manager of Jirani Coffeehouse.

The “third space” is that space between work and home where you go and relax and unwind after a long day. Jirani means neighbor or neighborhood in Swahili and aims to be a budding environment for those who seek solace in a place and appreciate good coffee and the arts, said Mosemak.

“You can go in and you can feel comfortable. We know your name, we know what drink you like,” Mosemak said.

The establishment plans to hold Open Mic Nights and open its doors to other musical and artistic entertainment. Many of the baristas are artists and musicians and will have the opportunity to play on their very own stage in a series called “Across the Tracks”. The name is derived from Jirani’s location across from the Manassas Train Station.

Poetry and author readings as well as Paint Nights and Recitals will also be held at Jirani. In addition to that, Jirani plans to offer “Storytime” during the day for the enjoyment of parents/caregivers and their children.

Partnered with two local bakery vendors, Pies + Petals and WOWBakery, Jirani will offer light fare variety of soups, salads, and sandwiches in addition to their artisan crafted brew. The sandwiches that they offer will be more traditional on regular homemade bread, homemade bagels, and English muffins.

Breakfast options are also available, but there’ll be a limited supply as they’re crafted each morning and will only be offered until they run out.

“We want to keep it relatively simple because we want to be known for quality coffee,” said Mosemak.

The coffeehouse will feature a room called the Bean Box; a larger room that will be available for people to hold meetings, conduct workshops, enjoy corporate events, and host parties. The room will be available to the public to rent.

On Monday through Friday, Jirani will open their doors at 5:30 a.m. making it a very appealing spot for commuters who take the train every day. On the weekends, they’ll be open late, until 2 a.m.

Jirani will the be the second coffee shop in Downtown Manassas. Grounds Central Station, located on Main Street across from the Old Town Inn, provides specialty drinks and sandwiches to its customers.