A new brunch spot in the Woodridge neighborhood just south of Mount Rainier is now open for breakfast and lunch.

Starting this week, Emma’s Torch is serving food from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at its location at 2212 Rhode Island Ave. NE near Zeke’s coffee shop and roastery. There’s a small indoor seating area.

The menu includes coffee and pastries, avocado toast, egg and cheese on a biscuit and coconut yogurt and granola for breakfast and crispy chicken sandwich, black-eyed pea fritter salad and caramelized onion tart for lunch. Several of the dishes are gluten-free and vegetarians.

There are also grab-and-go items like sandwiches and wraps, potato salad and shaved Brussels sprouts salad as well as their own house brands of hot sauce, granola, cookies and hot cocoa mix. They’ve also applied for an alcohol license.

Named for the poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty, the nonprofit cafe is run by refugees who are learning the culinary arts in order to get jobs in the dining industry.

Founder Kerry Brodie was recently featured in the New York Times. She noted that the nonprofit has helped 305 refugees from 42 countries to date, including a Syrian man who recently opened his own restaurant.

The D.C. cafe is run by Alix Haber, who previously worked with Foodhini, a meal delivery service that works with immigrant chefs.

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