First Look: Roasted Opens Sister Location in Lakewood

From the mind that brought you Roasted Tremont in 2022 comes an all-new location to help spread the java love. 

Sofia Syed, the 29-year-old founder and owner, officially celebrated the opening of her second cafe, Roasted Lakewood, this morning with an adorable balloon arch and sugar cookies at the ready for the first 100 guests. The new brick-and-mortar , the company's second, on Madison Avenue near Thai Thai is a perfect addition to brighten up its Lakewood neighborhood. 

“It felt like kismet,” says Syed of Roasted Lakewood’s origin story. “My sister owns a yoga studio over here called Lakewood Yoga, also on Madison Avenue. Funnily enough, a week prior, I toyed around with the idea just to myself. Then my sister called to tell me a new location had just opened up and that I should check it out.” 

At first, Syed didn't think too seriously about it. “I thought, I don't know, I guess I'll pop on by.” 

By what felt to her as a stroke of luck, she arrived while the landlord was still on-site, and after touring what would become her beloved Cleveland coffee shop’s second hub, her heart was sold and her mind was in business-mode. 

“It was a little weird because if you've been to the Tremont location, you’d notice that it’s a very similar setup," she says. "The same entry style, barn door, and even back room.” 

These similarities, along with her earlier good fortune from the day, gave her the confidence to take this project on. “It felt right, like a spark inside of me just ignited when I walked inside. I knew that I could do this again.” 

Once she had convinced herself, the hardest part was over. She told the landlord that she was interested and roughly two weeks later, the lease was signed. She still remembers the exact day she got the keys: December 1, 2022, exactly a year to the day since she had received a set of keys for her first cafe, Roasted Tremont. Talk about deja vu. 

The venue itself is spacious, allowing for group sittings and study sessions at their counter bar, entrance tables, window-facing side-seating. Even the back room has been loosely converted to be a work and study lounge. The cafe seats at least 40 and comes with more formal table-and-chair seating for those seeking a destination to work. Couches and cozy corners invite in patrons who wish to simply relax and chat.

“A modern upcycle retro reminiscent of its Tremont location but not quite the same,” says Syed, who describes gathering much of the decor from a marketplace and hand painting the jumbo murals on Lakewood locations’ larger walls.

With the cafe open from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. on weekends, there is plenty of time to try out the colorfully unique menu, complete with fruit smoothies and tasty pastries. In traditional offerings and specialty drinks, Roasted's coffee program is based around a small-batch female coffee roaster in Honduras. Right now, Syed's personal favorite non-coffee drink is the house-made Masala Chai ($5), which is influenced by the owner's half-Indian upbringing.

"My dad is from Hyderabad, and I just got back from a four month visit to India last Tuesday, so it's on my mind. We make ours in-house, so the Masala Chai is completely from scratch. It's really authentic to the Indian flavors. But we do make it unsweetened. It's always easier to add vanilla, simple syrup, or whatever flavor a customer wants versus taking away sweetness."  

When contemplating the future of Roasted Lakewood, Syed happily shared that she wants to put the true meaning behind the cafe’s name at the forefront. Not roasted, as in coffee beans, but rather in comedy shows.

“We'll have live music on Friday, and there will always be the space for a comedy event to pop up," she says. "We’re not that serious, we’re fun and like to be silly.”

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