The East Row Historic District of Newport is among the most beautiful neighborhoods of Greater Cincinnati. My favorite part of the district is Overton Street, though I may be biased since my father lived there during the last year of his life.
I used to take long walks up and down Overton to commune with Dad. To remember the last days that I knew him and to recall how much I liked visiting his sunny studio apartment, with its high ceilings and large double-hung windows. We drank coffee together. He seemed happy.
Sometimes, after walking, I'll stop by Roebling Books & Coffee, located in an old service station on the corner of Overton and East Sixth Street. It's a clean, well-lit place. Like Dad's apartment, there are massive double-hung windows
that provide views of trees. Just trees.
The other day I went to Roebling to commune with a deceased gentleman who wasn't my father. Instead, it was the late poet, writer and ecologist Wendell Berry, who died on Aug. 31. I had always admired Berry, not just for his writing and his activism, but for the fact that he left his hometown of Henry County, Kentucky for a while, but decided to come back to the place he loved. And through his writing, hard work and activism, he tried to make it a better place for everyone who lived there. I never met Berry in person, but I know his daughter, Mary Berry, who ran a sustainable beef program that helped local Henry County farmers get a fair price for their beef at market. The Berrys are good people.
Part of the appeal of this Roebling Books location (there are three in Northern Kentucky) is it has a shelf dedicated to Wendell Berry, which is something I've always liked. I also like how welcoming it is; for its curated selection of books by authors from Kentucky and Ohio, as well as sections dedicated to ecology, food, politics, classic literature, kids books, LGBTQ books and books on social justice. Like I said, it's a welcoming place, no matter who you are. At night they do beer and wine happy hours. They host book clubs, craft supply swaps and special author events, too.
Did I mention their breakfast sandwiches? They are superb. Along with a standard egg and cheese on a soft toasted challah, they have sandwiches with merguez from LK butcher shop, at Findlay Market, Urban Stead quark, homemade jelly, Parisian butter and house pimento cheese. Some are served on challah, others on English muffins. All of them are excellent, especially when you add one of their sauces, which comes on the side and include labneh blended with garlic, zaatar or hot sauce.
I ordered the standard egg and cheese, called the Andre ($6.95) and smiled at how sunny yellow the yolk was−even after it was fried−and how the gooey muenster pulled from the sandwich with each bite.
I looked to my right at a display of Dolly Parton books on the counter. Parton left the world she so much loved just days before Berry. I began thinking of her and Berry and my father and if they were anything alike. I took a sip of cold brew and read a poem from Berry's poetry collection Given, which I'd just purchased.
Whatever happens,
those who have learned
to love one another
have made their way
to the lasting world
and will not leave,
whatever happens
Roebling Books & Coffee, 601 Overton St., 859-308-7086, roeblingbooks.com. Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: At Roebling Books & Coffee, reminders of things past
