Bonhomie Coffee Bar (pronounced baa·nuh·mee), a Haitian-inspired mobile espresso cart, is currently nestled inside Flora & Fauna—a Black-owned plant and record shop in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square. A vibrant atmosphere fills the air here, curated with mid-century furniture, plants beautifully staged with intention, and the pulse of soulful beats. It’s where community gathers over coffee, and it reflects Bonhomie’s heartbeat—lakou, the Haitian Creole word for “yard,” but more deeply, a symbol of the communal courtyard: a shared space for generations of families, neighbors, and friends to come together.
Michelle and Victoria Dean are the founders of Bonhomie; Michelle, whose Haitian heritage has shaped the vision for Bonhomie, never imagined it would lead to what she and her wife, Victoria, are building today.
Michelle began her coffee journey in college, where she worked as a barista. Her love for wine and its sensory nuances drew her into the parallel worlds of terroir and tasting. One morning, during a shift, she had the opportunity to serve Alton Brown, the renowned host of the Food Network. To her surprise, he ordered a simple drip coffee.
“It shifted something in me,” Michelle recalls. “Here was Food Network’s finest, someone with access to every flavor imaginable choosing a simple drip coffee. It reminded me there’s grandeur in simplicity.”
That ethos of quiet excellence continues to guide Bonhomie’s approach. But inspiration rarely arrives all at once. For Michelle and Victoria, it deepened over time, especially in moments of celebration and memory.
While hosting a Haitian Flag Day celebration at home, surrounded by friends, food, and laughter, Victoria made kremas, a traditional Haitian drink often served during holidays. It’s rich, sweet, and usually spiked. Michelle, ever the dreamer, wondered aloud: What would this taste like in coffee? That question sparked a creative journey layering Haitian spices and hand-crafted syrups to rediscover the flavors of home.
Though Victoria isn’t much of a coffee drinker herself, her role at Bonhomie is intensely hands-on. She brings a fresh perspective behind the bar, leaning into the details of her love for matcha while exploring the nuances of cuppings and, more recently, roasting. “I used to say coffee wasn’t my thing,” Victoria laughs. “Now I’m the first to taste every new recipe.” Together, they craft something that feels both rooted and ever-evolving. While they build side by side, their encouragement of one another expands the craft and vision of Bonhomie.
“The Seattle coffee scene is overflowing with great coffee shops,” Victoria says. “There are so many people doing amazing things. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room for you. Just be clear about your why and what sets you apart.”
Michelle’s Haitian roots became the foundation for a space to share history, flavor, and memory with the community. Each drink name, written in Haitian creole, becomes a quiet yet firm assertion that language is power. “Language carries memory,” Michelle and Victoria explain. “Every order is a reminder, a chance to connect with something deeper.” Bonhomie operates with an entirely plant-based menu. And like everything they do, the drinks carry intention.
The Kafe ak Limonad, a personal favorite, is a cold brew with house vanilla syrup, brightened with lemonade, and grounded in the richness of Haitian beans sourced by Haiti Coffee. Think Arnold Palmer, but reimagined. Meanwhile the Bannan Dous Latte is a double shot of espresso blended with caramelized sweet plantain syrup, a warming spice blend, non-alcoholic rum, and oat milk. This unique creation pays homage to one of Haiti’s most essential ingredients, offering a comforting sip that carries the warmth of home, whether hot or iced.
Every ingredient tells a deeper story, one that reaches back to the early 1700s, when French colonizers first introduced coffee to the land then known as Saint-Domingue. By the late 18th century, Haiti had emerged as one of the world’s leading coffee exporters. Cultivated in rich volcanic soil and grown at high altitudes, Haitian coffee earned a reputation for its distinctive profile: medium-bodied, gently acidic, and layered with notes of cocoa, spice, and history.
Bonhomie brings those flavors to life in every offering, not only through its beans but also through house-made syrups crafted to complement, elevate, and reflect the complexity of Haitian flavor.
Each cup holds intention. But it’s the community that brings it to life.
For Michelle and Victoria, community isn’t just a concept, it’s the foundation of everything they do. Michelle’s early experiences in the church taught her that showing up for others, especially in the hard moments, is what makes community real. For Victoria, it’s about creating intentional spaces where connection can thrive where people aren’t just welcomed, but truly seen. Together, they’ve built Bonhomie as an extension of that belief: a place rooted in care, where culture is celebrated, stories are shared, and every interaction is an invitation to belong.
That same spirit carries into every aspect of the experience, including their approach to generosity. In Haiti, tipping isn’t customary. They have boldly reimagined the practice by inviting guests to donate to P4H Global, a nonprofit dedicated to ending poverty in Haiti through education and community development. It’s generosity by design, a reframe that shifts value from transaction to transformation.
That continued commitment to culture, connection, and care is what keeps pushing the boundaries of what Bonhomie means to the Seattle community, a place they’ve called home for many years. Their impact speaks for itself not because it’s different for the sake of being different, but because it’s deeply aligned in purpose.
This is what makes Bonhomie Coffee special: the stories, the culture, the community.
Lisa Hicklen is a freelance journalist based in Seattle. Read more Lisa Hicklen for Sprudge.
All photos by David Jaewon Oh unless otherwise noted.
