Milk + Honey at Tower City Tower City Anisa Rrapaj opened Milk + Honey downtown in 2021. She also operates the Hive by Milk + Honey in the Limelight Building in Ohio City. This month, she opened a new Milk + Honey cafe at Tower City, in the space formerly occupied by Starbucks. On the menu are coffee and espresso drinks, chai drinks, specialty coffee drinks and fruit smoothies. To eat, there are breakfast bagel sandwiches, avocado toast and vegan chia pudding. At lunch, there are sandwiches starring chicken salad, turkey and even steak. Credit: Courtesy Milk + Honey

Anisa Rrapaj opened Milk + Honey downtown in 2021, snagging a spot in the Oswald Centre (1100 Superior Ave.).  She also operates the Hive by Milk + Honey in the Limelight Building, the co-working complex in Ohio City.

This week, she opened a new Milk + Honey cafe at Tower City, in the space formerly occupied by Starbucks, just steps from Public Square. Rrapaj says that she was initially concerned about the proximity of two downtown shops, but has been pleasantly surprised.

“I decided to go through with it,” she says. “There is a lot of foot traffic at Tower City and very different customers as well. It’s been insanely busy.”

Rrapaj, who also is a partner in Inca Tea cafe with Ryan Florio, says that customers can expect a similar but recently expanded menu of offerings. On the menu are coffee and espresso drinks, chai drinks, specialty coffee drinks and fruit smoothies. To eat, there are breakfast bagel sandwiches, avocado toast and vegan chia pudding. At lunch, there are sandwiches starring chicken salad, turkey and even steak.

Milk + Honey Tower City opened on March 8.

If Rrapaj has her way, this is just the beginning for her brand.

“I would love to have 20, 25 of these,” she says.

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This article appears in Mar 8-21, 2023.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.