Agia Sophia Bend

“Everyone has a deep-seated need, at the core of our humanity, to gather together with people in our neighborhoods and communities, and contemplate the things that are meaningful to us.” – Fr. Damian Kuolt.

Agia Sophia Coffeehouse and Bookstore is now out of the planning phase and being introduced to the people of Bend and Central Oregon by operating The Open Book, at 155 NE Greenwood Ave., that has been serving Bend since the 1980s.  We remain open for business while we renovate and rebrand as Agia Sophia Coffeehouse and Bookstore to combine our vision for a classic coffeehouse with this historic bookstore.

Fresh Coffee & Ancient Wisdom

Think coffee with meals, pastries, and desserts to satisfy the
customers’ physical hunger,
. . . while our selection of books and events nourishes the spiritual and intellectual appetite.  This vision of Agia Sophia is ideally suited for the region, where people have settled to re-establish connections to friends, neighbors, a town, in a beautiful setting … connections that are distinctly ‘offline’.

Agia Sophia is established to pierce through the mindset of our seductive, fast-paced culture by providing a real social networking experience: sharing life with friends over a hot cup of coffee, tea, or delicious treats!

Grab a cup and enjoy . . . a modest selection of the best books on traditional religion, philosophy, history, culture, and literature.  Our focus will be the ‘classics’, ‘orthodoxy’, and works of human inquiry that have stood the test of time. We are also happy to maintain a curated collection of the titles that customers of The Open Book have historically enjoyed.

And, all of this is added to a ‘curated collection’ of The OPEN BOOKS’ historic used & recycled Fiction, Oregon History & Outdoor Living, Children’s Books and much more.

Agia Sophia is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and relies on goodwill donations from those who share a common desire to see such a place warm the hearts and minds of the people of Central Oregon.  Help us achieve our goals with your donation if you can – every contribution is a big help.

Follow this link to Coffee News, where you can find and follow our frequent updates as we renovate The Open Book and launch Agia Sophia Coffeehouse and Bookstore

Our Mission

Sponsored by St. Jacob Orthodox Parish here in Bend, we envision a warm, inviting atmosphere built around coffee and books, with an “Eastern Christian Ethos”.  Agia Sophia provides a place where people can:

• enjoy the best coffee, tea, warm and cold drinks with ‘eats and treats’
• just hang out and enjoy an atmosphere that has that ‘subtle something’ that warms the heart 
• engage in casual conversations and contemplation, enjoy our curated collection of new and used books
• discover timeless wisdom through our collection of the Classics of Literature, Religion, Philosophy, History, the Arts, and local favorites.  

We look forward to offering small events, classes and study groups; turning hearts and minds to the contemplation of the more profound things in life. 

Fr. Anthony in Colorado Springs answered this same need more than ten years ago when he established the first Agia Sophia Coffee and Books concept, which became known as “the Best of the Springs” for seven years in a row. We will continue the tradition of Agia Sophia in Central Oregon.

With a successful model as our guide, and the opportunity to keep a curated selection of the historic The Open Book offering, we launched the Agia Sophia initiative in early 2019, with a target to opening in the fall of 2019.  To keep up with the unfolding story, follow us here on our Coffee News Blog, or through social media. 

There is more than one way to support Agia Sophia. 

Top of the list is our Capital Campaign. $57,000 is the total ‘capital needed to launch’, and as of April 15, 2019, we have passed $40,000 in funding towards this goal.  Your charitable gift will help keep us on track to have the balance in place by June 1st and be ready to open by July 1st.  Whether your contribution is $10 or $1,000 every bit helps. 

• You can donate through PayPal by clicking the button. 
  
• If you prefer to send a check or use another method contact frdamiank@outlook.com.

How do we do it on so little funding?  First, we received most of the equipment, service & supplies, and furniture from Agia Sophia Colorado. But just as important has been volunteer efforts with almost everything: our architect, the HVAC and plumbing crew, several teams of carpenters and most important – people like you who volunteer their labor and services to be part of this exciting project.

What about going forward?  Agia Sophia’s business plan will have it quickly running ‘in the black’, so ongoing support to keep the doors open should never be necessary.  However, to expand inventory (books, gifts, art, etc.) we will look for ongoing contributions, in-kind donations, as well as select items and books on consignment.

For more information how you can support Agia Sophia, please email me at frdamiank@outlook.com 

Remember, Agia Sophia is a 501(c)3 charitable organization so your capital contribution, in-kind donations, and volunteer services are fully tax deductible.

Fr. Damian Kuolt

Cell | 602.418.2982
Email | frdamiank@outlook.com

Mailing Address:
1900 NE Division St. #109
Bend, OR 97701

And, all of this is added to a ‘curated collection’ of The OPEN BOOKS’ historic used & recycled Fiction, Oregon History & Outdoor Living, Children’s Books and much more.