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A community theater production about blending culinary traditions along Columbia Pike extended beyond the stage on Sunday, Feb. 23, when local food businesses served multicultural treats outside Thomas Jefferson Community Center.

Encore Stage and Studio’s original play, “Flip the Script: Jamila’s Table,” follows a young African American restaurant owner in Arlington who hopes to expand her family’s generational soul food restaurant by incorporating Vietnamese and Hispanic cuisines found along the Pike.

Madaline Langston, Encore’s director of programming, said the production was conceived about three years ago and developed collectively by a team of student writers. Encore’s Flip program has brought plays to communities from Halls Hill and Green Valley to Columbia Pike.

To connect the theater experience with the play’s themes, organizers invited local food trucks and vendors to serve audiences during intermission and after the performance. The Rossana coffee trailer parked beside La Raza, which offered Hispanic food, while Rosa’s Baking Company sold homemade cookie sandwiches filled with dulce de leche in the lobby.

Despite the weekend cold, Rossana co-founder Randi Milton served a honey-apricot thyme latte as the day’s special. Hot chocolate proved popular with children, while Milton said the salt-and-pepper cappuccino was likely the business’s bestseller.

The drink begins with simple syrup boiled with Szechuan peppercorns for 12 minutes and left to steep overnight. Baristas then add two espresso shots, steam sea salt into the milk and finish the cappuccino with another light sprinkle of salt.

Milton and her sister, Maria, are both trained baristas who rotate flavors seasonally and make their own syrups. A peach-basil latte that became a favorite last summer is expected to return.

Milton said the sisters enjoy experimenting with combinations of citrus and herbs, testing new ideas to see which flavors work.

They launched Rossana in May 2023 after working in the hospitality industry and deciding to become their own bosses. A mobile operation appealed to them because of the lower initial investment and because they did not see a similar business already serving the area.

The sisters named the company for their mother, Rossana, who taught them the importance of hospitality, kindness and inclusion. Milton said the name serves as both a tribute and a daily reminder of the values they want the business to represent.

Although the sisters used their trailer at the theater event, they normally operate from a food truck that is being converted into an electric vehicle. Rossana can usually be found around Virginia Square and occasionally Courthouse, operating six days a week while also attending special events.

Its next scheduled event is a Women’s Day celebration on March 8 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 3550 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington. Rossana plans to partner with Chiboo Bakery, creating a special orange latte to accompany the bakery’s macarons.

Rossana also offers baked goods including scones, cakes, muffins and cookies, with croissants available each Friday. Milton estimated that about 30% of customers return, ranging from weekly visitors to people who stop by several times a week.

For the sisters, those familiar coffee and tea routines have become an especially meaningful part of the business.