Two 30-something entrepreneurs who met at the festival in the desert open a café and performance space in O-town.

Two Burning Man veterans who believe in unbridled creativity, the power of community and, well, excellent coffee are launching a café and performance space in the heart of downtown Oakland, set to open soon.

Although owners Cortt Dunlap, 32, and Kari Christensen, 31, wince at clichés like “If you build it, they will come,” that’s the sentiment behind their Awaken Café.

“It’s not going to be as random as Burning Man,” says Christensen, “but we want to hold space for randomness to occur.”

On the former site of a dive bar and Korean barbecue with no front windows and matte black decor, Awaken is still under construction and will open in phases, beginning with the killer “specialty” coffee bar. With hefty funding from the city of Oakland, the owners tore down the low ceilings to reveal the building’s art deco ceiling panels. (The old rafters are piled in the corner to be reused in the “green” renovation.) Energy-efficient lighting and enormous front windows promise to brighten up the space. The original terrazzo floor will be polished to “look like City Hall.”

What’s unique about Awaken is that the owners are consciously summoning the Burning Man experience back to Oakland.

Dunlap, a Bay Area native whose tattooed wrists peek from under his tailored sports coat, and Christensen, a yoga teacher and coffeehouse manager from Seattle, met at Burning Man through mutual friends who had set up camp on the playa next to each other (in a so-called “village”) for years. Dunlap says he’d long been interested in creating a performance space but didn’t have a partner nor the wherewithal to go it alone. When he met Christensen nearly three years ago, he found his business match. She said, “OK, lets meet to talk about it on Monday.”

Christensen brings her Northwest coffee experience to the mix. A seasoned barista herself, she utters the outrageous in the land of Peet’s and coffee shops on every corner: The East Bay doesn’t have the quality of coffee. that she’s accustomed to in Seattle. She means “specialty” coffee roasters like Zoka, Ritual and Blue Bottle who also employ top-notch baristas. There’s a Ritual Coffee shop in San Francisco’s Mission District that has lines out the door every day.

“The espresso machine is designed to extract the essence. There’s a sweet spot and when you hit it, it’s like nectar. It’s rich,” gushes Dunlap, as if he’s describing something more intimate than coffee.

OK, great coffee makes sense. But what exactly does it mean to have a Burning Man business plan and spread the experience to the masses? Riding naked on bicycles? Wearing boas and boots? Iconoclasm and sexual freedom?

Before launching Awaken, the owners held a community meeting to ask Oaklanders what they’d like to see in a new café and performance space. Residents said they want a place where they can feel comfortable and be themselves, whether or not they sport tattoos. Dunlap explains that in downtown Burning Man—yes, it’s like a city unto itself—is “center camp” where people go to check in with friends and touch base. (The café at center camp sells only two essentials: ice and coffee.)

Dunlap and Christensen see Awaken—on 14th and Broadway in Oakland—as a sort of center camp where people will go to exchange ideas and make connections; where people will hopefully come to know each other’s names, professions and passions.

Dunlap also notes that Burning Man cultivates a community that’s not based on money—where people bring unique gifts for the sustenance or pleasure of the group.

“At Burning Man it becomes the ultimate ‘Can I borrow some sugar,’ but instead it’s ‘Can I borrow your fuzzy earrings to go with my pink jacket?’” says Dunlap.

Don’t get him wrong, Awaken will involve the exchange of regular currency. It’s the intellectual exchange at the café that works on a “gift economy.”

Insiders say Burning Man has spawned hundreds of businesses in part because it takes some skill to plan and craft a camp. Burners need to collect money for food, water, props, costumes and other amenities; design ways to publicize their camp; make plans and bring tools for rapid construction. “We’re putting a lot of work into something for a week in the desert,” says Dunlap, who for years has strung hammocks in his camp for anyone to enjoy.

But perhaps the most important way Awaken will draw upon the Burning Man experience is the least esoteric: networking. The owners expect many of the investors and first customers to be Burning Man folks.

And one of the first groups tapped to perform in the space when it’s done is Gamelan X, a world music ensemble that has a big following. Awaken also expects to make space for circus acts, Vaudeville, bellydancing and more. The owners hope to offer beer and wine, and interesting food that’s mostly organic and local.

Dunlap and Christensen say they chose to open in Oakland because they believe in revitalizing the city—especially the downtown. To that end and in an effort to publicize the café without littering the city with unwanted fliers, the owners made bumper stickers that say “I Love Oakland” in large print and “Awaken Oakland Pride. Awaken Café” in small print.

Dunlap stands up in Frank Ogawa Plaza to demonstrate the public’s receptivity: “Can I give you an ‘I love Oakland’ sticker?” he says to a woman passing quickly. “No, thank you,” she says, eyes on the street. Dunlap tries again. The sirens blaring through the downtown streets drown out his offer. He tries again. Nobody is taking the sticker.

Keenly aware of his novice public relations move, Dunlap smiles and shakes his head. Finally a group of young Christians hand him a flier for a religious peace vigil and he’s able to give out a sticker.

In spite of this rejection, Dunlap’s good energy does seem to be contagious.

“One thing that bodes well is they send me thank you notes!” says Brian Kendall, project manager for Oakland’s redevelopment agency about the café owners. “I’ve worked here for years and never gotten thank you notes. I think it does speak to a different type of energy. They have a passion about the products for the area’s residents. That’s why I love working with them.” Oakland has provided Awaken with approximately $57,000 in funding.

Kendall says Awaken promises to contribute to the “edgy arts feel” that is burgeoning in downtown Oakland with Luka’s Tap Room, Oakland Arts Murmur and the soon-to-open Doña Tomás restaurant on 19th and Broadway.

Fully aware that they are “young white kids” in a very diverse city, Dunlap and Christensen plan to showcase art and performances from local artists from all backgrounds. And, they say, they’ll adapt to feedback from the neighborhood as their project moves forward. “We have styles and tastes, but the café is a blank canvas for the community,” says Dunlap.

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Andrea Lampros is The Monthly’s co-editor and a freelance writer.