Article Text
When Cafe Kindred opened at 450 N. Washington St. on April 12, 2015, Falls Church had few places competing for the city’s coffee-and-pastry crowd beyond Starbucks and Panera.
A decade later, at least six more coffee shops operate within the city’s 2.2 square miles, with several others potentially on the way. Yet Cafe Kindred remains busy, has earned regional recognition and has grown strong enough for owners Jennifer Demetrio and Gary O’Hanlon to launch another business, Leesburg Diner.
Their path from a nearly empty cafe to a thriving local gathering place involved financial risk, repeated mistakes, changing customer demands and a pandemic-era realization that their business depended as much on people as products.
From pastry chefs to cafe owners
Demetrio and O’Hanlon met in the early 2000s while developing their skills as pastry chefs for Ritz-Carlton hotels. Their careers later took them to different places, and they crossed paths only occasionally before reconnecting in New York City. O’Hanlon was working as a pastry chef at The Pier, while Demetrio was at the Ritz-Carlton in Central Park.
Originally from Ireland, O’Hanlon began baking after leaving school at 16 and securing an apprenticeship. He has now spent about 35 years in the baking business.
He came to the United States in 1992, a World Cup year, and remains a devoted Liverpool FC supporter. Liverpool matches became part of Cafe Kindred’s identity and are regularly shown on its two televisions.
O’Hanlon later moved to the Merrifield area to become pastry chef at Washington’s Willard Hotel. After Demetrio returned from California, the couple rekindled their relationship and married two years later. Their long-held idea for a pastry-focused cafe was ready to become a business.
The launch required nearly everything they had.
Demetrio said they cashed out their retirement accounts, took personal loans and spent virtually all their money. The cafe opened with less than $1,000 available, leaving little for decoration. The posters, guitars and other objects that now define the room arrived later.
Their gamble came in an industry where roughly 30 percent of restaurants fail and about 17 percent close during their first year, according to National Restaurant Association estimates.
A cafe built around personal passions
Cafe Kindred’s personality reflects its owners. Its rock, punk and New Wave music, football culture and wall-to-wall memorabilia are not a manufactured theme.
O’Hanlon describes the cafe as a version of his childhood bedroom, now with a bar. The Townshend Bar takes its name from The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, while posters and artwork reference acts including the Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Kinks, Arctic Monkeys and Frank Sinatra.
Some guitars belong to O’Hanlon, while others were loaned by Matt Baker of Action Music. Relationships with people at nearby businesses, including Action Music and CD Cellar, helped the collection grow.
Although the soundtrack can appear to contrast with the cafe’s older customers and relaxed conversations, Demetrio said many guests grew up with the same music. For them, it feels familiar rather than out of place.
The decor and playlist are only part of the cafe’s identity. Its owners say music, football, friends and family have always been at the heart of the business.
The pandemic changed their priorities
From 2015 until 2020, Demetrio and O’Hanlon routinely worked as many as 90 hours a week. The pandemic forced them to stop and reconsider how the cafe functioned.
They began to recognize how deeply Cafe Kindred had become woven into customers’ lives. During the lockdown period, regulars visited frequently, checked on the business and expressed their hope that it would survive.
That support revealed that Cafe Kindred was not simply selling breakfast and coffee. It had become a place where people formed routines and relationships.
The owners also reconsidered how they treated and developed employees. Demetrio said their early years were marked by relentless work and frequent tension. Building a capable team eventually reduced that pressure while giving employees opportunities to learn, accept responsibility and grow.
Cafe Kindred formalized that approach through core values centered on appreciation, approachability, community, growth and close attention to detail. Employees are encouraged to exercise “lateral leadership,” meaning anyone can speak up when a co-worker is about to take a shortcut or fall below the cafe’s standards, regardless of job title.
Demetrio acknowledged that the business once struggled to retain workers because the owners did not always hire carefully, provide sufficient training or offer employees a path forward. They now spend more time addressing concerns, preparing staff properly and helping people develop.
O’Hanlon’s own apprenticeship followed a far harsher, old-fashioned model. He recalled physical punishment when he made mistakes at 16. Cafe Kindred’s current approach instead emphasizes support and shared accountability.
The result became visible when the owners could enter the cafe on a busy Saturday without having to manage every detail themselves. Staff members could operate as a cohesive group and hold one another to the expected standard.
That trust was essential when Demetrio and O’Hanlon turned their attention to opening Leesburg Diner. For several months, they were largely absent from Cafe Kindred, leaving employees—including staff member Amber—to carry their vision forward.
Customers followed them, too. Falls Church regulars began making the trip to Leesburg simply to see what the couple had created next.
Competition, training and social media
The pandemic also reinforced the importance of social media. Younger employees took responsibility for making humorous video skits that promoted the cafe.
Training became more playful through the “6x6 Competition,” which challenges baristas to prepare six drinks in six minutes while maintaining precision. The cafe created a leaderboard showing employees’ personal bests. Many baristas eventually completed the challenge in less than four minutes.
Demetrio said participation is driven largely by the employees themselves, turning necessary practice into friendly competition.
That combination of training and teamwork has allowed the owners to step back from daily operations without abandoning the service standards they established.
High standards behind the menu
The owners say staff development would mean little without strong coffee, fresh food and careful preparation.
Cafe Kindred has worked with Vigilante Coffee Company since its first day. Early in the business, Vigilante owner Prince spent hours with Demetrio and O’Hanlon as they practiced on the espresso machine. His position was that anyone selling the company’s coffee needed to represent it properly.
O’Hanlon said the cafe uses ingredients comparable to those he worked with at the Ritz-Carlton. He views every dish as the end of a chain that begins with farmers, producers and other people who have already invested skill and care in the product.
For him, respecting that work means maintaining freshness and paying attention through the final step. It also means respecting the customer receiving the food or coffee.
Demetrio believes businesses can no longer assume customers will accept impersonal service, inflated prices or lower standards. She said the entire point is to combine quality with pride and human interaction.
Why laptops disappear on weekends
Cafe Kindred’s people-first philosophy led to one of its more unusual policies: laptops are prohibited at customer tables on weekends.
The decision followed a change in the cafe’s atmosphere. Demetrio and O’Hanlon noticed customers sitting silently with headphones while families worried that their children might disturb people who were working.
That was not the environment the owners wanted. They envisioned a destination where friends and families could eat, talk and laugh. Asking customers to put laptops away on weekends was intended to restore that social character while leaving space for families.
O’Hanlon’s idea of hospitality draws heavily on his upbringing in Ireland, where small cafes, pubs, restaurants and shops served as community gathering places. People met before or after work, ate breakfast and talked over tea.
For him, a successful cafe includes everyone: guests, kitchen workers, front-of-house employees and owners. Each person should feel invested in the space.
Learning to abandon the original plan
Continuous reassessment also transformed Cafe Kindred’s menu.
The owners initially envisioned a pastry-forward operation. They woke early to make Napoleons, lemon fruit tarts and other desserts, only to discard too many unsold items at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, customers repeatedly asked for a broader breakfast selection, including bacon, eggs and toast. Demetrio and O’Hanlon initially resisted changing their concept, in part because they were operating in survival mode and feared that any adjustment would undermine the business.
Eventually, they recognized that they already stocked many of the necessary ingredients. The menu shifted away from its original heavy emphasis on pastries and expanded to include full meals.
Cafe Kindred now serves choices ranging from an English breakfast, croque madame and avocado toast to oatmeal and four varieties of poutine. Lunch offerings include salads and sandwiches such as a BLT, caprese and Reuben with fries.
O’Hanlon said Falls Church gave the business room to make those mistakes. The owners spent their first five years learning through trial and error, but customers did not abandon them as they adapted.
New cafes bring both fear and opportunity
Demetrio acknowledged that every new competitor creates some anxiety. When another cafe opens, customers naturally rush to try it, and Cafe Kindred may temporarily become quieter.
But many guests return.
She attributes that loyalty to consistent quality and the relationships employees build with customers. Familiar service, good food and personal recognition are the same reasons the owners revisit their own favorite restaurants.
Both owners also see competition as beneficial. More independent businesses can make Falls Church a stronger destination, drawing visitors who may tour several local cafes rather than choosing only one. Cafe Kindred already attracts some customers from Washington, including people who return monthly.
Their response to a crowded market is to keep improving without chasing every new trend. Demetrio said businesses need to understand their core values, trust them and remain consistent.
A decade after starting with almost nothing
Cafe Kindred also joined Falls Church’s second annual Restaurant Week, held from Jan. 31 through Feb. 9. Demetrio praised the effort, including work by Trisha Barba of Preservation Biscuit, and said it encouraged diners to try independent restaurants outside their normal routines.
She also described a small group of local restaurant owners who meet independently to find ways to support one another. Each business has different challenges, but the owners see value in sharing help where they can.
For O’Hanlon, flourishing independent restaurants demonstrate that customers still recognize care, craftsmanship and personal service.
What began as an empty shell funded by exhausted savings has welcomed thousands of people over the years. After a decade of risk, adaptation and hard-earned growth, Demetrio said she and O’Hanlon can finally step back and feel proud of what they created from nothing.