36 nshoremag.com April 2014 photographs by fawn deviney
Visit
ne
locale
A Café
Life
At once a coffeehouse,
performance space, and
gallery, Gulu-Gulu Café is a
center ground for North
Shore creatives.
By Kiley Jacques
perhaps authentic is the word best
befitting Gulu-Gulu Café—its scuffed
floorboards, well-worn and mismatched
furniture, eclectic artwork, hand-chalked
specials, and the ever-present high-
pitched hiss of a steaming espresso
machine all add up to a fun bohemian
vibe. "It's loosely based on a café where
my wife and I met in Prague," says Steven
Feldman of their space on the corner of
Essex and Washington Streets in Salem.
Following a two-year stint in Lynn
where Feldman and his wife, Marie, tried
to make their original establishment work
during a crumbling economy, the couple
opened the Salem location in 2007. Once
home to The Phoenix School, the space
needed revamping to make it work as a
café. "It was god awful," says Feldman.
"There was a drop ceiling and a blue
linoleum floor. We put up walls, killed the
ceiling, and threw wood on the floors."
Though he holds a master's degree in
business administration and has years
of experience in the restaurant industry,
Feldman wanted something different. "I
was looking for a more cultural place—a
place that intersects all the things I really
enjoy—the music, the art, the coffee, the
beers." It's this intersection of interests
Salem Scene
Gulu-Gulu is a
second home
to many North
Shore artists.
REV_36KJ Apr14 Gulu.indd 36 2/21/14 4:35 PM
