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[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=52683.58

Coffee For The Weary
MICHIGAN CITY - Downtown Michigan City has a new place for travelers and coffee drinkers.

Ionie Kirlew-Fly, a Michigan City resident, has opened Savannah's Café, a coffee café/dine-in carry-out establishment. The café is next to the South Shore station on 11th Street.

"Our mission is to provide customers with excellent service, exotic coffees, teas and great food in a fun, friendly and trendy atmosphere," Kirlew-Fly said.

Savannah's specializes in a number of exotic coffees and drinks, including Jamaican Blue Mountain, Intelligentsia, Organic Sumatra, Ghirardelli flavored sauces, teas and espressos.

To eat, customers can try pastries, sandwiches, soups, salads and Jamaican beef/chicken patties.

Kirlew-Fly said Savannah's Café provides a special ambiance, similar to a home environment, to commuters and travelers.

"It's a home atmosphere," Kirlew-Fly said. "It's a home away from home."

The café offers customers a chance to sit down and watch TV, movies, use the Internet, play board games or read magazines. "You can watch TV quietly without being interrupted," Kirlew-Fly said.

Savannah's also serves as an amenity for South Shore commuters. Commuters heading to work early in the morning often make the café their first stop for coffee. "They get up so early and they don't have time to get coffee at home," Kirlew-Fly said.

Originally from Jamaica, Kirlew-Fly grew up in the restaurant business. She has lived in the United States for 16 years, first in New York and then moving to Michigan City, where she has been a resident the last 12 years.

"At the age of 14 I was working in a restaurant with my mom," Kirlew-Fly said. "I wanted to be a nurse or own my own business. I started off as a nurse."

Kirlew-Fly said she came up with the idea of opening Savannah's after visiting a coffee shop while on vacation in Florida. "When I came back this place was available," Kirlew-Fly said.

What she enjoys about her job is meeting people from all over. "It's exciting to interact with different cultures," Kirlew-Fly said. "I've met a lot of tourists."

Savannah's Café also offers catering services to business parties. The cafe also sells paintings by local artists, and other gift items such as coffee cups, T-shirts, books on the Elston Red Devils and CDs from local gospel group Women of Purpose & Power.

Savannah's Café, 110 11th St., is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Contact Amanda Haverstick at ahaverstick@thenewsdispatch.com.