Cafe Main rebrands as Prefix Coffee on Red Bridge Rd. 

By Sage Wolfe Zogg

Prefix. may not look like much from the outside, but on the inside, you’ll find students studying and writing papers, a small family having breakfast, a meeting or two, and someone just getting a chance to decompress. It’s almost like taking a sample of Red Bridge. 

Last month, the coffee shop located at 3523 E Red Bridge Rd., opened after being closed for renovation in January. Formerly named Café Main–and before that, Higher Grounds–the owners, consisting of three couples, celebrated on Saturday, March 12, with a grand opening, featuring a new contemporary interior and an updated menu. 

Owners Joel and Lindsay Friedrich, Jonathan and Sarah Friedrich, and Colin and Melissa Dwyer, have created a community-focused space within the International House of Prayer strip that is open to everyone.

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The previous space was a very classic, early 2000’s, example of a popular coffee spot: multi-color painted walls, dark corners, and a concrete floor. Now, the space is open and airy, white with black trim, light maple faux hardwood floors, and a long, beautiful curved coffee bar that ties in the wood-toned seating. Incredibly, renovations took less than a month, according to owner Joel Friedrich. 

The coffee shop beckons you with a large case of pastries and the whirring of an espresso machine. Prefix also offers a golden latte (a popular combination of ginger, turmeric and other warming spices), kombucha, tea, and even hard-to-find La Croix flavors. Prefix offers exciting seasonal items such as Strawberry Basil Cold Brew and a Spiced Rose Latte. Pairings can be recommended, such as a Strawberry Basil Cold Brew with a cranberry scone. 

The coffee beans are roasted at the sister coffee shop in Grandview by the owners’ own brand, Notion. The beans are brought to a medium or light roast, fairly unusual for the area. A lighter roast bean not only contains a higher dose of caffeine but also allows the flavor of the beans themselves to come through. Currently, Prefix is featuring a medium roast Rwandan coffee, which has a very complex depth to it. 

Besides the coffee, they have two locally made kombucha’s on tap, one being ginger lime, and the other blueberry. Though many consumers aren’t fans of kombucha, owner Melissa Dwyer says that many people enjoy the blueberry flavor and try out more kombucha as a result.

A variety of pastries and entrees are made in house by Fox and Bull Bakery. (Fox and Bull Bakery will soon be moving down the road on Jackson St.) The menu includes cinnamon rolls, vegan and gluten-free cookies, homemade biscuits, pop-tarts, and scones, as well as chorizo or vegetarian breakfast burritos, sausage egg and cheese biscuit sandwiches, salads, and a turkey club. 

Prefix on Red Bridge is open from 6:30 am to 10 pm Monday – Thursday; 6:30 am to 5 pm Friday; 7 am to 5 pm Saturday, and closed on Sunday.