There’s an ordinary two-story brick house on Gist Avenue in Silver Spring – but inside, this house is anything but ordinary.
Through the red door, jazz tunes and the scent of freshly brewed coffee float through the air. Vintage garments, boxes of records, bookshelves, and various arts and crafts line the walls. Standing behind the front desk in the back of the room is David Fogel, founder and owner of Bump ’n Grind.
The house at 923 Gist Ave., known as Analog Market, feels nothing like a business but rather a home. The rooms remain as they were but are occupied untraditionally – even the kitchen still exists, which Fogel has turned into a coffee bar. About 14 independent small businesses occupy the space.
“We are founded on three pillars: coffee, music, and community,” Fogel said. “Our goal with our physical space is to be that quintessential neighborhood third space.”
Fogel, a DJ, was inspired to create a nightclub on H St, Washington, but with a baby on the way, he brainstormed something similar yet completely different. He combined his passion for music and community development to create Bump ’n Grind in 2013.
He said the coffee aspect was the mechanism to drive community engagement. As he began to learn more about coffee and how to be a barista, he realized how “oppressive and horrible” the industry is.
“I want to…play more of a role and be much more intentional about our number one product that we’re gonna hang our hat on,” Fogel said.
Bump ’n Grind started roasting their beans with the strict mindset of “conscientious coffee,” or using coffee from farms that grow organic beans, are Rainforest Alliance or Fair Trade Certified, and are doing good things for their communities.
Fogel loves all the intricacies of Bump ’n Grind – from the coffee to the music to the art. But at the end of the day, he said, it’s all about the people they serve and the community they’ve built.
Adam Boothman, a visual artist in Silver Spring, is a Bump ’n Grind regular. When he walked through the door, Fogel said he hadn’t seen Boothman in two weeks.
“If you hadn’t shown up today,” Fogel said to Boothman, “I was gonna be mad at you – because I missed you.”
Boothman frequents Bump ’n Grind not for the coffee but instead for the conversation. Although he admitted that coffee is often an excuse to come in, he enjoys the good conversation and interesting people he meets in the cafe.
“David is always great conversation. He’s really supportive,” Boothman said. “When you have a space like this, you feel more supported.”
What was supposed to be a “cool, fun little six-month pop-up” shop became a permanent project. This July will mark two years of Analog Market, by which Fogel hopes the house will be under construction to build their “forever home.”
The renovation will expand the house to include a full-service coffee bar, a complete kitchen, a bar, and a stage outside in the back. Some components will stay the same, such as Loyalty Books, which will remain upstairs. The goal, Fogel said, is to have a community hub that operates from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
“We’ve always worked with different small businesses,” Fogel said. “I really want to figure out a way to continue to work with some of the other small businesses.”
As Bump ’n Grind prepares to undergo a major transformation, the business started a crowd investment campaign to help fund the project. The investment platform, Honeycomb Credit, allows the neighborhood to manifest the independent businesses they dream of.
“When anybody ever talks about what neighborhood they want to live in, that neighborhood always has a bookstore. It always has a cute little coffee shop with local art on the walls. It’s got independent vibes. But the economic realities of many places where we live don’t make it easy for those places to survive,” Fogel said. “[The investment campaign] is a big win-win-win all the way around: win for us as a small business, the individual as the investor, and the community at large.”
Fogel is excited about the renovation because it will allow Bump ’n Grind to expand the community it serves. The Unofficial Hand Lettering Society of Silver Spring used to meet at Bump ’n Grind’s old location, and Fogel is looking forward to welcoming more groups like that to enjoy the space.
“I really do love [Silver Spring] and believe in it on so many different levels. I’m just thrilled to be a part of it,” Fogel said. “I can’t wait to have this place open and welcome everybody here in its next iteration.”
Photo: © Nik_Merkulov – stock.adobe.com / Interior Photos by Caroline Pecora