Creating Café Barcomi's in Berlin

Just one month after graduating from Columbia University in 1985, Cynthia Barcomi decided on a whim to move to Berlin to become a professional dancer. It was a difficult transition for the Seattle native, who had earned a degree in theater/dance studies and philosophy but could barely speak German. Determined, Barcomi learned the language, eventually joined a dance company (where she was a principal dancer for eight years), and got married. After giving birth to her second child, Barcomi decided it was time to change course again. This time she wanted to start her own business. She came up with the decidedly un-German idea of opening a café serving American-style baked goods and roasting her own coffee beans.