Northshore Magazine

38nshoremag.com April 2014 Visit ne appeals to so many. As with most cafés, "The Gulu" attracts a college-aged crowd; and with Montserrat College of Art nearby, students throng to the place. But one glance at the occupants on any given day reveals a diverse assembly—from the very young to the very old and every walk of life in between. In addition to first-rate cappuccinos, scrumptious crèpes, and a funky space, the café hosts live music five nights a week. It started in the Lynn location, where Wednesday nights saw musicians doing open-mic shows. "A lot of the performers who used to show up there, started coming to the Salem location when the Lynn café closed," says Feld- man. "Now, every Wednesday night there is a line out the door of people who just want to play." The best of those perform- ers end up playing regularly. "It's a blast— you never know what you are going to get—it could be jazz one night, it could be punk, or blues." As for the artwork on the walls, it rotates monthly, and is primarily the work of Monserrat alumni. "I love comics [and] graphic arts, so we tend to go for more modern styles of art." With a vested interest in finding new talent, Feldman recently visited the Porter Mill Studios in Beverly. "The quality of the work in that place is phenomenal," he reports. "It [has] introduced me to a lot of different artists I hadn't met before, and now I have artists to choose from for next year's shows." By keeping his finger on the pulse of the area's art scene for the last 10 years, Feldman has also seen artists mature. "Sometimes I like to have artists whose work we showed five years ago, [show again]—to see how their work has com- pletely changed." Recalling the inspiration drawn from that Prague café, Feldman notes, "When we first started out, I don't think people knew what to make of us. We have music, but we aren't a club, we have food, but we aren't really a restaurant, and when people used to say 'café,' they would think Starbucks. We definitely aren't Star- bucks." True. Gulu-Gulu is more compa- rable to Hemingway's Closerie des Lilas than the corporate caffeine giant. And that is just what Feldman intended. "I've got the best job in the world," he de- clares. "I love it. I pick all the bands, I pick all the art, I pick all the beers. I'm doing ex- actly what I want to do." gulugulucafe.com Coffee King Steve Feldman knows a good cappuccino. KJ Apr14 Gulu.indd 38 2/20/14 5:44 PM

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