Tsunami Coffeehouse

This youth-run coffeehouse survives on donations, yet it's Tsunami's energy which keeps the place rolling. Four years ago, owner Michael McKinley envisioned a milieu that would empower the neighborhood kids, and today the dive has become a community landmark.

Proceeds from their beverages, snacks, apparel and knick-knacks (incense, candles, jewelry, pottery) go toward paying for supplies, the youths' salary and a youth program called the Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance. Youth, between the ages of 13-23, "from all walks of life" flock there after school. Some seek a tutor's help, while others -- budding musicians, poets and comedians-- perform on Open Mike Nite, which goes down every Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Tsunami purveys an intriguing multi-cultural flair - they sell clothes made in India; Guatemalan fabrics sheath many of their throw pillows and Japanese murals adorn the back of the location. In contrast, memorabilia of 'The Supremes' -- including the original posters from 1965 -- flank the walls to remind the kids how "three black girls from the ghetto persevered," says McKinley. -- Maryam Henein