Stepping off the bustling sidewalk of MLK Avenue into Grounded, the plant-lined walls, artful mood lighting, and concrete benches evoke a serene, landscaped garden. Even before venturing further to explore the café, plant shop, and wellness studio, or to try one of the color and taste explosions that make up Grounded’s unique takes on lattes and matcha, the ubiquitous plants are already speaking. Let go, it’s time to slow down.

Mignon Hemsley and Danuelle Doswell, the founders of Grounded, trace their partnership to 2019, when a funny exchange about millennials’ obsessively IGing their houseplants led to the discovery that a whole new market for plant ownership was taking root in the country. This realization, along with their shared love of plants and family gardening traditions, quickly blossomed into a business idea: a shop focused on helping people reconnect with nature. They launched online on Earth Day 2020 as a community-driven brand rooted in learning about how different plants can provide emotional and spiritual support at home, and how best to care for them. They soon moved onto B2B plant installations, employee wellness programming, and “biophilic” or “plant-centric” design for the National Gallery of Art, the Kennedy Center, and other spaces around town.

Then in 2023, Hemsley and Doswell opened Grounded, a brick-and-mortar space in Anacostia, intentionally choosing a neighborhood with fewer green and wellness-centered gathering places. The café is a go-to for drinks like the standout sweet and spicy turmeric golden latte and the visually stunning butterfly pea flower Grounded matcha, while local bakers provide the specialty pistachio kouign-amann and savory lamb and lentil patties. The wellness studio hosts a daily roster of yoga and meditation classes, and off-site events like bird walks and picnics, while the café is often packed for poetry slams, chess night, and live music. Staying true to their roots, many of the plants emanating tranquility throughout are for sale, and Hemsley and Doswell can advise which plants would work best for you and how to care for them. Grounded is an evolving ecosystem uniquely designed to build a joyful, healthy sense of both self and community.