Kathy “Life” Kirkpatrick
Kathy Kirkpatrick is the co-founder and owner of the landmark East Village eatery, Life Café which has been in operation since 1981. It’s featured in the Broadway musical and movie RENT. It’s a full-service restaurant/bar open seven days a week serving American comfort food with vegetarian and vegan options.
In 2002 Kathy pioneered another artist neighborhood in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a 42-seat café/bar called Life Cafe 983, anchoring another community of artists and musicians.
Kathleen and her former husband, David Life, started Life Café in 1981 by accident in the front section of the storefront they rented to live in and work out of. The Café quickly became an anchor in the neighborhood, hosting poetry readings, performances and visual art shows in the midst of the culturally explosive 1980s East Village rock ‘n roll art scene. She took over sole ownership in 1985 and persevered through the ups and downs of the neighborhood’s social throes and the City’s economic woes, making Life Café what it is today while maintaining the unique quintessential East Village homespun style. The distinctive atmosphere, friendly staff and social intermingling among staff and visitors alike reminiscent of the original days sets her eateries apart from all others.
Kathy secured the registered trademark for Life Café and currently manages both locations with her husband, the artist, writer and designer John Sunderland. In 1987 Kathy became a founding president of BEVA (Businesses in the East Village Association) until 1991. In 2001 Kathy joined the New York Chapter IV of the WPO (Women Presidents’ Organization), an international peer support group for professional business woman.
Kathy and Life Café have appeared in magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and internationally since the 1980s including New York Magazine, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, and Life Magazine. She’s done radio interviews (WBAI and Tokyo Radio FM in 2006) and presents talks at Life Café to groups of 6 to over 75. The Café is on the itinerary for On Location Bus Tours in Manhattan starting in 2010. She’s been featured on bushwickBK.com which has been picked up by villagevoice.com and nbcnewyork.com as well as on ICNN.com. Kathy wrote a short version of the history of Life Café on the website www.lifecafe.com and does the writing for the website and for its blog.
Kathy has completed a memoir called How Life Began: the Search for Love and Huevos Rancheros at Life Café, New York City. The book, a combination of history, recipes and images from the 1980s East Village art scene, answers the question most asked by captivated newcomers to Life Cafe; “How’d this place get started anyway?”
Kathleen believes in providing an oasis in communities where her restaurants serve up not only good affordable food and drink but offer guests a relaxed and easy connection to others. She views her restaurants as catalysts in effecting positive change for individuals while assisting neighborhoods to rebound and thrive. Her mottos are “Everyone welcome” and “Good company guaranteed”.
