April 13, 2025 • 30 mins
There’s something about a good coffee shop — the cozy vibes, the smell of fresh espresso, and the way it just feels like home. But what if coffee shops could be more than just a place to grab a latte? What if they became hubs for connection, creativity, and community — especially for Black women? In this episode, we are joined by Lienna Feleke-Eshete, founder of Black Girls Love Coffee Shops, to talk about the magic that happens when Black women gather in spaces intentionally made for us. We get into:
If you’ve ever craved a space where you can just be, laugh loudly, dream big, and connect with other Black women over a good cup of coffee — this episode is for you. So grab your favorite drink, find a cozy spot, and tune in. Because we deserve spaces made just for us — and we're building them.
Meet Our Guest:
Lienna Feleke-Eshete
Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlslovecoffeeshops
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/HMEfq8GXdY
Stay Connected:
Be blessed!
- The importance of creating safe, welcoming spaces for Black women to connect
- Why coffee shop culture often overlooks Black communities and how that’s starting to change
- The power of slow mornings, intentional rest, and simply being in community with one another
- How Lienna is using coffee (and community) as a form of resistance and joy
If you’ve ever craved a space where you can just be, laugh loudly, dream big, and connect with other Black women over a good cup of coffee — this episode is for you. So grab your favorite drink, find a cozy spot, and tune in. Because we deserve spaces made just for us — and we're building them.
Meet Our Guest:
Lienna Feleke-Eshete
Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlslovecoffeeshops
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/HMEfq8GXdY
Stay Connected:
- Email your thoughts and feedback to us at allisonscornerpod@gmail.com
- Follow us on Instagram for updates: https://instagram.com/allisonscornerpod
- Check out our YouTube for more insight: https://www.youtube.com/@AllisonsCornerPod
- Join the conversation with our book club: https://www.instagram.com/allisonandfriendsbookclub/
- Subscribe to my newsletter on Substack for more reflections and resources: https://allisonscornerpod.substack.com/
Be blessed!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey, and welcome to Alison's Corner. This is my little
corner of the Internet where we dive into wellness, personal growth, relationships,
and just other topics best suited for you. I'm your host, Alison,
bringing you fresh perspectives, inspiring conversations, and a little something.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
To spark your day.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Be sure to follow along with Alison's Corner on Instagram,
subscribe to our newsletter, and watch us on YouTube at
Allison's Corner Pod.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Here you'll find more insights in community updates of what
we have going on on Allison's Corner. Now, without further ado,
here is today's episode. Hello everyone, and welcome or welcome
by to another episode of Allison's Corner. I am your host, Allison,
(01:05):
but with me today I have a very special guest. Guest,
go ahead and introduce yourself to the people.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Please sure, Hi, I'm happy to be here. My name
is Leana I you she her pronouns. I'm a social
justice advocate an entrepreneur. I'm based in the DMV area
and I'm also the founder of Black Girl Slub Coffee Shops,
which is a global social club that we started last
year focused on building community for black women and supporting black,
(01:35):
Indigenous people of color owned coffee shops.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh I love that. I love that. I am a
coffee girly, a coffee shop girly. So if I'm not
at home, I'm at a coffee shop, sipping away or
typing on a computer. So when I saw you, know,
your your nonprofit, one thing that I just loved was like,
oh my goodness.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
This, I would be there if I was in the DMV.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
So I want to thank you, Thank you so much
for your work in bringing recognition to underrepresented people. They
definitely appreciate it as I do as well. So for
Leanna and for our listeners, we are going to talk
a little bit about Black Girls Love Coffee and we're
just gonna go more in depth about community building, especially
(02:24):
as it relates to black women. So Leana, are you ready? Yeah,
let's go all right girl, Okay, So our first question
is what inspired you to create this nonprofit and how
does it specifically empower black women.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
So I was inspired to create Black Girls Love Coffee
Shops because I'm a Black girl who loves coffee shops
and I work remotely most of the time, so when
I'm in coffee shops oftentimes I'll see not many, but
a few black women sprinkled in the coffee shop, and
I'll be like, Oh, I wonder what they're working on,
Like I wish we could be friends. Is it awkward
for me to approach? So then I had the idea
(03:03):
of why don't I create you know, events and a
club where everyone in the coffee shop is a black woman,
and like it's open for us to interact and engage
and meet one another. Also, I grew up around a
lot of coffee. I'm Ethiopian American and coffee was actually
founded in Ethiopia, which is a fun fact that most
people don't know. So it's been a large part of
(03:26):
my life. And culturally, within our culture, we do a
lot of communal practices and traditions around coffee. So it
just felt natural to start black wrestlf coffee shops.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah. I love that because it was just something that's
already ingrained in your everyday life. And to bring something
that's already a part of your daily ritual into another
aspect or into another space and make it more communal
with other people. I find that very interesting. I love that,
I really do. So you spoke a little bit about
(03:59):
your culture. Sure, in how coffee is infused with your
culture and your background. How do you think with doing
Black Girls Love Coffee, how that community aspect serves as
a central theme in building community.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, so all of our events are about building community,
and we have a variety of different types of events
so we know that black women are not a monolith.
We have a variety of different interests, so we don't
just stick to one thing. We have book related events,
we have music related events, we have just this week,
we had a coworking event so people could just bring
(04:39):
their laptops and work together in the same space. We
have an event coming up around different hobbies that black
women have and really trying to honor all of the
different interests that we have and also maybe expand people's
ideas of what they might want to engage in or
be interested in as well. So we're all about building
(04:59):
community a lot of people. I'm from the DMV area,
so I do have a lot of friends and family
because I've been here my whole life. But a lot
of people who recently moved to the area have told
me it's really hard to make friends. And I know
also that it's hard to make friends as an adult
as well. So creating a space where everyone is open
to meeting one another and it's not cliquie or caddy
(05:22):
like is very important to me. So that's what Black
Girls Love Coffee Shops is.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah. Yeah, What are some challenges that you faced in
creating this space for black women?
Speaker 3 (05:34):
So I think one of the challenges was when I
started this, I thought it was going to be maybe
like one hundred two hundred people, But we have over
thirty five hundred followers on Instagram now in less than
a year, so I think it's a good challenge. But
that was definitely a challenge to scale up our first event.
We had like one hundred and fifty people RSVP. And
(05:55):
there's not that many black owned coffee shops in DC.
A lot of them have been pushed out, and there
aren't that many that are big enough to hold an
audience of somewhere between like seventy five and one hundred
and fifty people, so finding a space can be challenging.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Also a lot of.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
These coffee shops when we were first reaching out, wanting
to charge us for the space. But I do this
in a volunteer capacity, and I wasn't able to put
up the money to be able to rent the space.
Now I don't think we have that issue as much
because we have a bit more recognition in the city,
but those were some of the challenges that we faced initially.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah, yeah, I definitely can understand that, especially when you're
just starting out and you're trying to really build a
community based, you know, organization. Trust me, I have been there,
so I feel your struggle for sure, for sure, and
it's so great to hear how you've been able to
scale so quickly. A lot of times it's the opposite
(06:54):
where people are trying to get people attracted to what
it is that they're doing. So kudos to you being
able to do that. I think that's so cool. So
how does Black Girls Love Coffee address intersectionality within black
women's experiences?
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Yeah, a good question.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Like I mentioned, we know that black women are not
a monolith. That means that we have a variety of
different interests, We have a variety of different experiences, we
have a variety of different needs. So one of the
things that I feel very strongly about is asking people
what they want to see from us. When we first started,
we did an Instagram poll of what type of events
people were interested in. At the end of last year,
(07:36):
we did an Instagram pole again to kind of check
in to see how people were feeling about events we
were hosting, and then of course wanting to make sure
that it's a space for us, like buy us for us.
So when we partner with the coffee shops, we're very
intentional about the type of space that we are trying
to create a space free of you know, like misogyny
(07:58):
and massage are no homophobia, no transphobia, no ableism like
that is not something that we.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
Tolerate in our space.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
And we want to make sure that the coffee shops
we align with or that we host our events with,
are aligned in terms of those values.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Before hosting, yeah, I wanted to kind of go in
a different direction now with the questions. I wanted to
talk a little bit about your impact and the programs
that you do host. So, what initiatives or programs have
been the most impactful in fostering connection with black women.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yeah, it's a good question.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
It's hard for me to say because we've had so
many different types of events. I think interestingly, to me
it was interesting is that people love the coworking events
a lot of people just want to be in space
with other black women at a coffee shop, even if
they have their headphones on and they're like plugging away,
they just want to be in space together. Another thing
(09:02):
that was really popular was our music themed events, so
we had a vinyl record swap that people loved. We
also partnered with Listening as Fundamental, which is a music
sample bingo game in New York City, So we did
an event at our New York chapter with Listening as Fundamental,
and then brought Listening as Fundamental also to DC, which
(09:23):
was really popular. Yeah, people like a variety of the
different events In terms of impact. What I am most
proud of across all of the events is that they've
all been hosted at black or people of color led
coffee shops, and we've been able to bring over thousands
of dollars in revenue to the coffee shops. We also
(09:43):
highlight different coffee shops on our Instagram page and so
that also raises awareness so that people are a bit
more intentional about where they spend their money. It's easy
to just like get up and think I want to
match it, I want a coffee, and then think, oh,
I'll go to Starbucks, I'll go to Duncan, I'll go
to Compass, right, Yeah, but if you know what the
local black owned coffee shops are, you're more likely to
(10:06):
be like, you know what, let me just walk a
little extra ten minutes and give my money and keep
my money in the community. And that's something that I'm
really proud of in terms of our impact.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, and I heard you mentioned you had a New
York chapter, so I really wanted to, you know, talk
about that a little bit. So tell us are there
multiple chapters across the US? Do you only have a
DMV one and a New York one?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Let us know.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier. We have a
DMV chapter, which is the home chapter that I lead.
We also have a New York chapter. We also have
a Los Angeles chapter, which is one of our more
active chapters, and a Mexico City chapter. So we started
four chapters in a year. This year, I think we're
focusing a bit more on going deeper within those chapters
(10:54):
and less so on expanding. But when we can get
our infrastructure set up so that I'm not overseeing all
the chapters that I think will expand even more.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Then well, I can't believe y'all are in Mexico City.
Mexico City, Mexico.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
That is wow.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I love that. Are there any specific stories of transformation
or success you'd like to share from the women that
have been impacted by your work.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
I hear a lot, like I said earlier, from women
who recently moved to the DMV area, that they don't
have friends, they're struggling to make friends, especially if they're
a little introverted, and our crowd does sometimes tend to
be a little more introverted, unsurprisingly, and I hear from
them that they've been able to make friends, they've networked,
(11:43):
they meet up with each other outside of our events
just to catch up at coffee shops, or they'll end
up like going out on a night out together, for example.
In terms of the impact that I've seen for me,
I have met so many amazing black women that I
would have otherwise probably never met in the city just
living in my own little bubble, and have been able
(12:06):
to meet a lot of really amazing business owners in
the city as well, who are committed to the same
values that we have of community building and of keeping
money in our community.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
So that's been beautiful.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, yeah, I love that, And I wanted to talk
about the black culture a little bit. How do our culture,
black culture, those elements really help in your approach to
community building.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
I think black culture and whether you talk about you know,
like the diasporic culture, we are a very community centered culture.
It's not in our nature to be very individualistic, which
is unfortunately the standard.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Here in America. So I think that.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Creating black girls of coffee shops felt in line with
kind of like how I grew up and how I
experienced black culture when I was growing up and even now,
Like I said, our events are for us, by us.
So when people ask me like how do you incorporate
the culture into the events, I'm like.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
I don't know how not to. Like, we are we're black.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
We're black, Like I can't turn it off, you know
what I mean, not that I want to, but yeah,
So we tend to highlight We had an event that
we partnered with a trivia a black trivia group here
in DC, and we did Black Women's History Trivia, which
was great. When we do our music events, we highlight
(13:39):
black women artists. And I'm trying to think of whate else. Yeah,
just everything is black over here. I don't know what
else to say, Like that's how we incorporate the culture
is for us.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, and I want to hone in with the organization
being based out of DC, you know, the nickname of
DC foreople who don't know its Chocolate City. And I
can kind of understand why that community space because you
you spoke a lot about how some of the black
coffee shops are unfortunately being you know, forced out. I'm
(14:14):
from Atlanta and I currently still live in Atlanta. This
is where I grew up, and of course Atlanta, you know,
is known as the Black Mecca. And as someone who
loves coffee wants to support you know, small run coffee shops,
I also see that same thing happening where I want
to go to someone who's a person of color or
who is black, and unfortunately, nine times out of ten,
(14:37):
that's not possible, you know. And so I think also
from that aspect of being from a city that is
historically black and being able to come to just have
that community space is even more important, especially with the
rise of gentrification. So exactly, yeah said when we want
(14:59):
to I want to switch it a little bit to
coffee in the culture of coffee or of the community
space that you're building. How do you see coffee shops
in particular being a tool for connection amongst people.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah, so coffee shops are a very unique space, I
think because they're not like restaurants where you have to
like sit, you order, you pay a certain amount of
money to be able to stay in the restaurant space,
and then after two hours, your reservation's.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Up and you got to go.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
A coffee shop is like a space with less barrier
to entry. There are some coffee shops where you can
just come and sit and do your work and you
don't even have to purchase anything. And there are some
coffee shops where you come in and you maybe spend
like four dollars on a latte and you can stay
there all day. So coffee shops are what people call
third spaces, which are spaces outside of home and work
(15:57):
where people historically used to gather and build community. Now
third spaces are oftentimes online spaces, which has its pros
and cons, but in recent years, more people, young people
especially are interested in person third spaces and meetups. So
coffee shops are the perfect space for that. I think
(16:17):
also I'm very intentional about not having alcohol or having
our events be you know, incorporating a lot of like
alcohol or substances, because I want to make sure that
it's an open space for everyone, including people who don't
drink or don't smoke or whatever. So, yeah, coffee shops
are just like a cozy place.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
It's supposed to be a place for people to get.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Together over some warm drinks and just have conversation. And traditionally,
you know, Anythopian culture, but also a lot of other cultures,
the gathering spots are actually coffee shops. Like it's coffee
shops or it's coffee at someone's house. That is the
mechanism for building community.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
And I really like that you mentioned it being a
third space or a third place. I wanted to ask you,
do you feel like the impact of trying to build
community through these coffee shops has come through post COVID
with everybody wanting and needing connection.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
For sure, I think there has been an uptick and
interest in person interactions post COVID. I think also with
the Internet age, like people were so quick to be like, wow,
you can connect with anyone in the world online anytime,
and then now as things develop, we're seeing some of
the negative impacts of the Internet, as particularly of social media,
(17:45):
where you may be connected and on Instagram all day,
but when you put your phone down, you don't actually
feel like you're connected to somebody versus a five minute
conversation with somebody on a coffee shop and you actually
feel that warmth in your spirit and your heart, you know. So, yeah,
I think post COVID people are like, please get me
out of the house. But I don't want to spend
a million dollars by going to a restaurant. I maybe
(18:08):
don't want to be out till three am drinking. So
what are the other options? And coffee shops are the
other option?
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah? Yeah, no for sure. And how has coffee shops
helped in shaping your organization's vision overall?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yeah, I think I've gotten a lot of feedback from
coffee shops, which has been helpful. I've also learned a lot.
My eventual goal is that I would love to create
a coffee shop and an open a coffee shop or
a franchise of coffee shop.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Me and you are on the same page.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Yeah, I would love that. So, and I don't really
know even what goes into it. So it's been interesting
to learn from the owners about like how challenging it
actually is to run a coffee shop.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
It is not easy by any means.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
And they're you know, opening at seven am for people
to get their pre work coffee. That means I got
to get to the shop at like five am. So
I've learned a lot from the coffee shops. And I
also think it's been heartening for me to see that
there are still spaces and there are still business owners
who are committed to building community and committed to for example,
(19:19):
like if we have an event and it's ticketed, they'll say,
let's donate one hundred percent of the proceeds to this
cause in DC. So knowing that not all business owners
are just out to make money like a lot of them,
or some of them are actually aligned with what we
want and here for the culture.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Yeah, that's really good. I like that. So how do
you work to address or try to dismantle any barriers
that black women encounter when you're dealing with a community
focused group.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Yeah, so we have a.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
I tried to focus our events mostly on creating connection,
community and joy, but obviously we have to talk about,
you know, the discrimination and the challenges that we face
as black women too. We had an event that was
wellness focused last year, So we had the host of
(20:14):
Black Girl Burnout podcast and a yoga therapist here in
d C talk to people about ways to kind of
like somatically like calm their nervous systems and more like
physical practices for wellness because oftentimes we hear so much
about like therapy and other like more you know, cerebral
(20:35):
or like mental practices, and so I think that's one way.
Another way is we had the trivia event. The proceeds
from that went to End Street Village, which is an
organization here in DC that supports women experiencing homelessness. We're
going to have another event upcoming next month where the
proceeds are going to go towards a organization that supports
(20:58):
black women in an under resource part of DC. So
I try to incorporate philanthropy into the work that we're doing,
but it definitely is a balance. I think that my
focus is wanting to almost like create an escape where
once you come into our events, you kind of if
you can leave your burdens at the door, and it's
(21:20):
just like joy and love and community to give you
the resilience and the spirit to go back out into
the world, which is, as.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
We know, not kind to us.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
No, I understand, and I'm sorry about my phone ringing.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
That was my dad.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
If you can hear any background noise over here, there's
a lot and my.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Dogs walked in my room. My brother is downstairs talking
loud girl.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
But worries let's see.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
So my next question, as far as that is concerned,
what are some of your long term goals that you
see for what you're doing now?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Already mentioned one, which is opening a coffee shop or
a franchise.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
That would be great. If there's any investors listening, hit.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Me out, let them know, let them know.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
Because we need the investment.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Besides that, I would love to expand and have more chapters.
So people in Atlanta have been like, hey, when are
you starting a chapter here?
Speaker 4 (22:22):
And people have been willing to lead it.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
I just need to figure out, you know, sort of
what the infrastructure looks like to get there.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
I also would love to have international chapters and then
maybe trips where like black Girls love coffee shops Brazil.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Maybe would like exchange or have hosts.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Black Girls Love Coffee Shops TC, we can go to
coffee shops, go to local coffee farms, but then also
maybe just like hang out and explore the city together
and it can be like a cultural exchange.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
That's my hope.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Probably something that I'm going to try to implement in
the next five years. And also I want us to
get March.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, listen, speak it all into existence. It's going to happen.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Future. You already know it, already know. How do you
think leading your organization? How has that personally impacted you?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
It has been so humbling and beautiful. Like I said,
I thought we were going to have like one hundred
people and maybe fifty of those would be people that
like I knew, And we have over thirty five hundred
people and growing all the time. People are constantly finding
out about Black Girls Love Coffee Shops and being like
(23:37):
I needed this, Like I didn't know what I needed this.
It just makes me so happy to know that there
are other people who needed a space, and now that
space exists and we're able to make friendships, we're able
to support one another through hard times.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
Especially in DC.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
This past two months has been really challenging living here
and just being able to walk into the coffee shop
on Monday during our cowork and see black women sitting
at communal tables and just like laughing and sharing you know,
stories and helping each other find jobs after some people
were laid off from the federal government. Like it just
(24:18):
it just makes me so happy. It brings me so
much joy and purpose.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah, that's that's a beautiful thing to witness and to experience.
So yeah, I wanted to know, you know, what advice
would you give to someone wanting to create a positive
change for Black women in their community.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I would say, just start whatever it is that you're thinking.
Like I always say, if there's an idea in your brain,
it's because that thing is already yours.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
You just need to act on it.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
And so I think sometimes we get stuck in the
pre launch phase where we're like, oh, well, I need
to create and I have to create all this stuff,
which all of that is really important. But I started
Black Girl's Love Coffee Shops with a TikTok that I
made and I'm not a marketing person at all, and
I had a friend who made our logo, and like
(25:13):
here we are now so I would say, don't let
perfection be the enemy of the good.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
It doesn't have to be this huge orchestrated thing. It
could just.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Be Hey, guys, I love knitting, and I'm starting a
club for knitting in my community. Like, if y'all love
knitting or want to learn how to knit, come through
at this time in this place.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
And that's so impactful.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah, in my one of my last questions is my
second to last one. What legacy do you hope that
your organization will leave for black women and the coffee
shop community that you're building.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
For black women. I hope that.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
The legacy is one of taking back the coffee shop space.
I think that, like I said, coffee is a part
of Black history. Coffee was founded, was found in Africa,
and then over time it's like everything else been whitewashed,
and now it kind of feels like there are even
(26:17):
coffee shop spaces.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Where we are not welcome.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
And I want us to take our legacy and take
our history back because coffee is a part of our
history and our story.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Another thing that I would love to see is through
Black girls of coffee shops.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
I think that we demonstrated the power of black women's money,
like our funds and where we direct our funds, and
shown that there is such a market for coffee shops
tailored specifically towards Black women and our interests. So what
I would love to see in the long term within
the coffee shop community is I want to see more
(26:56):
Black owned coffee shops, and I want them to be unique,
and I want them to be created specifically for like
our culture, not just like your standard Starbucks where it's
like very cold and you know, yeah, personality, And that's
what I want to see here in DC and everywhere.
I want investors to actually believe in people like me,
(27:18):
like you who have a vision and want to create
a coffee.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Shop, and be like, Okay, let me help you make
that happen.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Yeah, yeah, I love that definitely and it will all
come to pass. I truly believe that. Before you go,
my last question for you, I know you're from the
DMV area, and I know a couple of our listeners
are as well. If you can list your favorite at
least your top three, maybe top five, which ones would
(27:46):
you recommend for somebody who is visiting the DMV and
they're like, hey, I want a coffee today, which coffee
shop should I go to? No pressure, you.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Know, this is a political question. People are like, what's
your top five?
Speaker 3 (28:01):
I'm like, I do have favorites, though, so I will
say Grounded is one of my favorites. It is a
black woman owned coffee shop that opened at the end
of last year.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
They're over in.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Anacostia in Southeast DC, which is like an area that
is underserved food desert. The fact that they created this
is amazing. It's also a plant shop and they also
have wellness classes, so I'm gonna be taking pilates there
in a couple hours. I love their space. It's so
welcoming and beautiful. I also love The Village, which is
(28:33):
another coffee shop that's.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
Black owned in Northeast.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Sidamo is another favorite, an Ethiopian owned coffee shop that
is on H Street and is one of the oldest
black owned coffee shops in the city and they're still
standing trying to think of who else. Buna Coffee House
is another one that I really love.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
In Northwest.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
I think I'm gonna say those four for now. I'm
forgetting some, but we're going to actually be creating a
little graphic that has a list of black owned coffee
shops in DC, so folks can check that out in
the next couple months.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Awesome, and before you leave us, tell the people where
they can find you tell us.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Yeah, so you can find us on Instagram at Black
Girls Love Coffee Shops. If you go to our Instagram,
please sign up for our email list so that you
know when we're creating new chapters and keep up to
date with our events. Additionally, we also have a discord channel,
so you can follow the link in our bio to
get added to our discord channel and that'll allow people
(29:36):
to connect with one another outside of just the events
that we have.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Personally, you can.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Follow me on TikTok at Leanne Flick of Shit and
I'll I'm sure.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
The link will be in the Bioah. But yeah, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
No problem, Thank you, Thank you so much. And for
everyone else listening, God bless have an amazing day and
thank you for listening to Alison's Corner. Thanks for tuning
in to Alison's Corner. If you enjoy today's episode, don't
forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with
(30:15):
a friend who'd love to join the conversation. For more context,
and updates. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Allison's
Corner Pod. Until next time, be blessed.
Hey, and welcome to Alison's Corner. This is my little
corner of the Internet where we dive into wellness, personal growth, relationships,
and just other topics best suited for you. I'm your host, Alison,
bringing you fresh perspectives, inspiring conversations, and a little something.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
To spark your day.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Be sure to follow along with Alison's Corner on Instagram,
subscribe to our newsletter, and watch us on YouTube at
Allison's Corner Pod.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Here you'll find more insights in community updates of what
we have going on on Allison's Corner. Now, without further ado,
here is today's episode. Hello everyone, and welcome or welcome
by to another episode of Allison's Corner. I am your host, Allison,
(01:05):
but with me today I have a very special guest. Guest,
go ahead and introduce yourself to the people.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Please sure, Hi, I'm happy to be here. My name
is Leana I you she her pronouns. I'm a social
justice advocate an entrepreneur. I'm based in the DMV area
and I'm also the founder of Black Girl Slub Coffee Shops,
which is a global social club that we started last
year focused on building community for black women and supporting black,
(01:35):
Indigenous people of color owned coffee shops.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh I love that. I love that. I am a
coffee girly, a coffee shop girly. So if I'm not
at home, I'm at a coffee shop, sipping away or
typing on a computer. So when I saw you, know,
your your nonprofit, one thing that I just loved was like,
oh my goodness.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
This, I would be there if I was in the DMV.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
So I want to thank you, Thank you so much
for your work in bringing recognition to underrepresented people. They
definitely appreciate it as I do as well. So for
Leanna and for our listeners, we are going to talk
a little bit about Black Girls Love Coffee and we're
just gonna go more in depth about community building, especially
(02:24):
as it relates to black women. So Leana, are you ready? Yeah,
let's go all right girl, Okay, So our first question
is what inspired you to create this nonprofit and how
does it specifically empower black women.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
So I was inspired to create Black Girls Love Coffee
Shops because I'm a Black girl who loves coffee shops
and I work remotely most of the time, so when
I'm in coffee shops oftentimes I'll see not many, but
a few black women sprinkled in the coffee shop, and
I'll be like, Oh, I wonder what they're working on,
Like I wish we could be friends. Is it awkward
for me to approach? So then I had the idea
(03:03):
of why don't I create you know, events and a
club where everyone in the coffee shop is a black woman,
and like it's open for us to interact and engage
and meet one another. Also, I grew up around a
lot of coffee. I'm Ethiopian American and coffee was actually
founded in Ethiopia, which is a fun fact that most
people don't know. So it's been a large part of
(03:26):
my life. And culturally, within our culture, we do a
lot of communal practices and traditions around coffee. So it
just felt natural to start black wrestlf coffee shops.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah. I love that because it was just something that's
already ingrained in your everyday life. And to bring something
that's already a part of your daily ritual into another
aspect or into another space and make it more communal
with other people. I find that very interesting. I love that,
I really do. So you spoke a little bit about
(03:59):
your culture. Sure, in how coffee is infused with your
culture and your background. How do you think with doing
Black Girls Love Coffee, how that community aspect serves as
a central theme in building community.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, so all of our events are about building community,
and we have a variety of different types of events
so we know that black women are not a monolith.
We have a variety of different interests, so we don't
just stick to one thing. We have book related events,
we have music related events, we have just this week,
we had a coworking event so people could just bring
(04:39):
their laptops and work together in the same space. We
have an event coming up around different hobbies that black
women have and really trying to honor all of the
different interests that we have and also maybe expand people's
ideas of what they might want to engage in or
be interested in as well. So we're all about building
(04:59):
community a lot of people. I'm from the DMV area,
so I do have a lot of friends and family
because I've been here my whole life. But a lot
of people who recently moved to the area have told
me it's really hard to make friends. And I know
also that it's hard to make friends as an adult
as well. So creating a space where everyone is open
to meeting one another and it's not cliquie or caddy
(05:22):
like is very important to me. So that's what Black
Girls Love Coffee Shops is.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah. Yeah, What are some challenges that you faced in
creating this space for black women?
Speaker 3 (05:34):
So I think one of the challenges was when I
started this, I thought it was going to be maybe
like one hundred two hundred people, But we have over
thirty five hundred followers on Instagram now in less than
a year, so I think it's a good challenge. But
that was definitely a challenge to scale up our first event.
We had like one hundred and fifty people RSVP. And
(05:55):
there's not that many black owned coffee shops in DC.
A lot of them have been pushed out, and there
aren't that many that are big enough to hold an
audience of somewhere between like seventy five and one hundred
and fifty people, so finding a space can be challenging.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Also a lot of.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
These coffee shops when we were first reaching out, wanting
to charge us for the space. But I do this
in a volunteer capacity, and I wasn't able to put
up the money to be able to rent the space.
Now I don't think we have that issue as much
because we have a bit more recognition in the city,
but those were some of the challenges that we faced initially.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah, yeah, I definitely can understand that, especially when you're
just starting out and you're trying to really build a
community based, you know, organization. Trust me, I have been there,
so I feel your struggle for sure, for sure, and
it's so great to hear how you've been able to
scale so quickly. A lot of times it's the opposite
(06:54):
where people are trying to get people attracted to what
it is that they're doing. So kudos to you being
able to do that. I think that's so cool. So
how does Black Girls Love Coffee address intersectionality within black
women's experiences?
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Yeah, a good question.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Like I mentioned, we know that black women are not
a monolith. That means that we have a variety of
different interests, We have a variety of different experiences, we
have a variety of different needs. So one of the
things that I feel very strongly about is asking people
what they want to see from us. When we first started,
we did an Instagram poll of what type of events
people were interested in. At the end of last year,
(07:36):
we did an Instagram pole again to kind of check
in to see how people were feeling about events we
were hosting, and then of course wanting to make sure
that it's a space for us, like buy us for us.
So when we partner with the coffee shops, we're very
intentional about the type of space that we are trying
to create a space free of you know, like misogyny
(07:58):
and massage are no homophobia, no transphobia, no ableism like
that is not something that we.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
Tolerate in our space.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
And we want to make sure that the coffee shops
we align with or that we host our events with,
are aligned in terms of those values.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Before hosting, yeah, I wanted to kind of go in
a different direction now with the questions. I wanted to
talk a little bit about your impact and the programs
that you do host. So, what initiatives or programs have
been the most impactful in fostering connection with black women.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Yeah, it's a good question.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
It's hard for me to say because we've had so
many different types of events. I think interestingly, to me
it was interesting is that people love the coworking events
a lot of people just want to be in space
with other black women at a coffee shop, even if
they have their headphones on and they're like plugging away,
they just want to be in space together. Another thing
(09:02):
that was really popular was our music themed events, so
we had a vinyl record swap that people loved. We
also partnered with Listening as Fundamental, which is a music
sample bingo game in New York City, So we did
an event at our New York chapter with Listening as Fundamental,
and then brought Listening as Fundamental also to DC, which
(09:23):
was really popular. Yeah, people like a variety of the
different events In terms of impact. What I am most
proud of across all of the events is that they've
all been hosted at black or people of color led
coffee shops, and we've been able to bring over thousands
of dollars in revenue to the coffee shops. We also
(09:43):
highlight different coffee shops on our Instagram page and so
that also raises awareness so that people are a bit
more intentional about where they spend their money. It's easy
to just like get up and think I want to
match it, I want a coffee, and then think, oh,
I'll go to Starbucks, I'll go to Duncan, I'll go
to Compass, right, Yeah, but if you know what the
local black owned coffee shops are, you're more likely to
(10:06):
be like, you know what, let me just walk a
little extra ten minutes and give my money and keep
my money in the community. And that's something that I'm
really proud of in terms of our impact.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, and I heard you mentioned you had a New
York chapter, so I really wanted to, you know, talk
about that a little bit. So tell us are there
multiple chapters across the US? Do you only have a
DMV one and a New York one?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Let us know.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier. We have a
DMV chapter, which is the home chapter that I lead.
We also have a New York chapter. We also have
a Los Angeles chapter, which is one of our more
active chapters, and a Mexico City chapter. So we started
four chapters in a year. This year, I think we're
focusing a bit more on going deeper within those chapters
(10:54):
and less so on expanding. But when we can get
our infrastructure set up so that I'm not overseeing all
the chapters that I think will expand even more.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Then well, I can't believe y'all are in Mexico City.
Mexico City, Mexico.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
That is wow.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I love that. Are there any specific stories of transformation
or success you'd like to share from the women that
have been impacted by your work.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
I hear a lot, like I said earlier, from women
who recently moved to the DMV area, that they don't
have friends, they're struggling to make friends, especially if they're
a little introverted, and our crowd does sometimes tend to
be a little more introverted, unsurprisingly, and I hear from
them that they've been able to make friends, they've networked,
(11:43):
they meet up with each other outside of our events
just to catch up at coffee shops, or they'll end
up like going out on a night out together, for example.
In terms of the impact that I've seen for me,
I have met so many amazing black women that I
would have otherwise probably never met in the city just
living in my own little bubble, and have been able
(12:06):
to meet a lot of really amazing business owners in
the city as well, who are committed to the same
values that we have of community building and of keeping
money in our community.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
So that's been beautiful.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, yeah, I love that, And I wanted to talk
about the black culture a little bit. How do our culture,
black culture, those elements really help in your approach to
community building.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
I think black culture and whether you talk about you know,
like the diasporic culture, we are a very community centered culture.
It's not in our nature to be very individualistic, which
is unfortunately the standard.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Here in America. So I think that.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Creating black girls of coffee shops felt in line with
kind of like how I grew up and how I
experienced black culture when I was growing up and even now,
Like I said, our events are for us, by us.
So when people ask me like how do you incorporate
the culture into the events, I'm like.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
I don't know how not to. Like, we are we're black.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
We're black, Like I can't turn it off, you know
what I mean, not that I want to, but yeah,
So we tend to highlight We had an event that
we partnered with a trivia a black trivia group here
in DC, and we did Black Women's History Trivia, which
was great. When we do our music events, we highlight
(13:39):
black women artists. And I'm trying to think of whate else. Yeah,
just everything is black over here. I don't know what
else to say, Like that's how we incorporate the culture
is for us.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, and I want to hone in with the organization
being based out of DC, you know, the nickname of
DC foreople who don't know its Chocolate City. And I
can kind of understand why that community space because you
you spoke a lot about how some of the black
coffee shops are unfortunately being you know, forced out. I'm
(14:14):
from Atlanta and I currently still live in Atlanta. This
is where I grew up, and of course Atlanta, you know,
is known as the Black Mecca. And as someone who
loves coffee wants to support you know, small run coffee shops,
I also see that same thing happening where I want
to go to someone who's a person of color or
who is black, and unfortunately, nine times out of ten,
(14:37):
that's not possible, you know. And so I think also
from that aspect of being from a city that is
historically black and being able to come to just have
that community space is even more important, especially with the
rise of gentrification. So exactly, yeah said when we want
(14:59):
to I want to switch it a little bit to
coffee in the culture of coffee or of the community
space that you're building. How do you see coffee shops
in particular being a tool for connection amongst people.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah, so coffee shops are a very unique space, I
think because they're not like restaurants where you have to
like sit, you order, you pay a certain amount of
money to be able to stay in the restaurant space,
and then after two hours, your reservation's.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Up and you got to go.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
A coffee shop is like a space with less barrier
to entry. There are some coffee shops where you can
just come and sit and do your work and you
don't even have to purchase anything. And there are some
coffee shops where you come in and you maybe spend
like four dollars on a latte and you can stay
there all day. So coffee shops are what people call
third spaces, which are spaces outside of home and work
(15:57):
where people historically used to gather and build community. Now
third spaces are oftentimes online spaces, which has its pros
and cons, but in recent years, more people, young people
especially are interested in person third spaces and meetups. So
coffee shops are the perfect space for that. I think
(16:17):
also I'm very intentional about not having alcohol or having
our events be you know, incorporating a lot of like
alcohol or substances, because I want to make sure that
it's an open space for everyone, including people who don't
drink or don't smoke or whatever. So, yeah, coffee shops
are just like a cozy place.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
It's supposed to be a place for people to get.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Together over some warm drinks and just have conversation. And traditionally,
you know, Anythopian culture, but also a lot of other cultures,
the gathering spots are actually coffee shops. Like it's coffee
shops or it's coffee at someone's house. That is the
mechanism for building community.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
And I really like that you mentioned it being a
third space or a third place. I wanted to ask you,
do you feel like the impact of trying to build
community through these coffee shops has come through post COVID
with everybody wanting and needing connection.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
For sure, I think there has been an uptick and
interest in person interactions post COVID. I think also with
the Internet age, like people were so quick to be like, wow,
you can connect with anyone in the world online anytime,
and then now as things develop, we're seeing some of
the negative impacts of the Internet, as particularly of social media,
(17:45):
where you may be connected and on Instagram all day,
but when you put your phone down, you don't actually
feel like you're connected to somebody versus a five minute
conversation with somebody on a coffee shop and you actually
feel that warmth in your spirit and your heart, you know. So, yeah,
I think post COVID people are like, please get me
out of the house. But I don't want to spend
a million dollars by going to a restaurant. I maybe
(18:08):
don't want to be out till three am drinking. So
what are the other options? And coffee shops are the
other option?
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah? Yeah, no for sure. And how has coffee shops
helped in shaping your organization's vision overall?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yeah, I think I've gotten a lot of feedback from
coffee shops, which has been helpful. I've also learned a lot.
My eventual goal is that I would love to create
a coffee shop and an open a coffee shop or
a franchise of coffee shop.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Me and you are on the same page.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Yeah, I would love that. So, and I don't really
know even what goes into it. So it's been interesting
to learn from the owners about like how challenging it
actually is to run a coffee shop.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
It is not easy by any means.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
And they're you know, opening at seven am for people
to get their pre work coffee. That means I got
to get to the shop at like five am. So
I've learned a lot from the coffee shops. And I
also think it's been heartening for me to see that
there are still spaces and there are still business owners
who are committed to building community and committed to for example,
(19:19):
like if we have an event and it's ticketed, they'll say,
let's donate one hundred percent of the proceeds to this
cause in DC. So knowing that not all business owners
are just out to make money like a lot of them,
or some of them are actually aligned with what we
want and here for the culture.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Yeah, that's really good. I like that. So how do
you work to address or try to dismantle any barriers
that black women encounter when you're dealing with a community
focused group.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Yeah, so we have a.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
I tried to focus our events mostly on creating connection,
community and joy, but obviously we have to talk about,
you know, the discrimination and the challenges that we face
as black women too. We had an event that was
wellness focused last year, So we had the host of
(20:14):
Black Girl Burnout podcast and a yoga therapist here in
d C talk to people about ways to kind of
like somatically like calm their nervous systems and more like
physical practices for wellness because oftentimes we hear so much
about like therapy and other like more you know, cerebral
(20:35):
or like mental practices, and so I think that's one way.
Another way is we had the trivia event. The proceeds
from that went to End Street Village, which is an
organization here in DC that supports women experiencing homelessness. We're
going to have another event upcoming next month where the
proceeds are going to go towards a organization that supports
(20:58):
black women in an under resource part of DC. So
I try to incorporate philanthropy into the work that we're doing,
but it definitely is a balance. I think that my
focus is wanting to almost like create an escape where
once you come into our events, you kind of if
you can leave your burdens at the door, and it's
(21:20):
just like joy and love and community to give you
the resilience and the spirit to go back out into
the world, which is, as.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
We know, not kind to us.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
No, I understand, and I'm sorry about my phone ringing.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
That was my dad.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
If you can hear any background noise over here, there's
a lot and my.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Dogs walked in my room. My brother is downstairs talking
loud girl.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
But worries let's see.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
So my next question, as far as that is concerned,
what are some of your long term goals that you
see for what you're doing now?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Already mentioned one, which is opening a coffee shop or
a franchise.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
That would be great. If there's any investors listening, hit.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Me out, let them know, let them know.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
Because we need the investment.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Besides that, I would love to expand and have more chapters.
So people in Atlanta have been like, hey, when are
you starting a chapter here?
Speaker 4 (22:22):
And people have been willing to lead it.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
I just need to figure out, you know, sort of
what the infrastructure looks like to get there.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
I also would love to have international chapters and then
maybe trips where like black Girls love coffee shops Brazil.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Maybe would like exchange or have hosts.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Black Girls Love Coffee Shops TC, we can go to
coffee shops, go to local coffee farms, but then also
maybe just like hang out and explore the city together
and it can be like a cultural exchange.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
That's my hope.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Probably something that I'm going to try to implement in
the next five years. And also I want us to
get March.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, listen, speak it all into existence. It's going to happen.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Future. You already know it, already know. How do you
think leading your organization? How has that personally impacted you?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
It has been so humbling and beautiful. Like I said,
I thought we were going to have like one hundred
people and maybe fifty of those would be people that
like I knew, And we have over thirty five hundred
people and growing all the time. People are constantly finding
out about Black Girls Love Coffee Shops and being like
(23:37):
I needed this, Like I didn't know what I needed this.
It just makes me so happy to know that there
are other people who needed a space, and now that
space exists and we're able to make friendships, we're able
to support one another through hard times.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
Especially in DC.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
This past two months has been really challenging living here
and just being able to walk into the coffee shop
on Monday during our cowork and see black women sitting
at communal tables and just like laughing and sharing you know,
stories and helping each other find jobs after some people
were laid off from the federal government. Like it just
(24:18):
it just makes me so happy. It brings me so
much joy and purpose.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah, that's that's a beautiful thing to witness and to experience.
So yeah, I wanted to know, you know, what advice
would you give to someone wanting to create a positive
change for Black women in their community.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I would say, just start whatever it is that you're thinking.
Like I always say, if there's an idea in your brain,
it's because that thing is already yours.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
You just need to act on it.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
And so I think sometimes we get stuck in the
pre launch phase where we're like, oh, well, I need
to create and I have to create all this stuff,
which all of that is really important. But I started
Black Girl's Love Coffee Shops with a TikTok that I
made and I'm not a marketing person at all, and
I had a friend who made our logo, and like
(25:13):
here we are now so I would say, don't let
perfection be the enemy of the good.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
It doesn't have to be this huge orchestrated thing. It
could just.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Be Hey, guys, I love knitting, and I'm starting a
club for knitting in my community. Like, if y'all love
knitting or want to learn how to knit, come through
at this time in this place.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
And that's so impactful.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah, in my one of my last questions is my
second to last one. What legacy do you hope that
your organization will leave for black women and the coffee
shop community that you're building.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
For black women. I hope that.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
The legacy is one of taking back the coffee shop space.
I think that, like I said, coffee is a part
of Black history. Coffee was founded, was found in Africa,
and then over time it's like everything else been whitewashed,
and now it kind of feels like there are even
(26:17):
coffee shop spaces.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Where we are not welcome.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
And I want us to take our legacy and take
our history back because coffee is a part of our
history and our story.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Another thing that I would love to see is through
Black girls of coffee shops.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
I think that we demonstrated the power of black women's money,
like our funds and where we direct our funds, and
shown that there is such a market for coffee shops
tailored specifically towards Black women and our interests. So what
I would love to see in the long term within
the coffee shop community is I want to see more
(26:56):
Black owned coffee shops, and I want them to be unique,
and I want them to be created specifically for like
our culture, not just like your standard Starbucks where it's
like very cold and you know, yeah, personality, And that's
what I want to see here in DC and everywhere.
I want investors to actually believe in people like me,
(27:18):
like you who have a vision and want to create
a coffee.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Shop, and be like, Okay, let me help you make
that happen.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Yeah, yeah, I love that definitely and it will all
come to pass. I truly believe that. Before you go,
my last question for you, I know you're from the
DMV area, and I know a couple of our listeners
are as well. If you can list your favorite at
least your top three, maybe top five, which ones would
(27:46):
you recommend for somebody who is visiting the DMV and
they're like, hey, I want a coffee today, which coffee
shop should I go to? No pressure, you.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Know, this is a political question. People are like, what's
your top five?
Speaker 3 (28:01):
I'm like, I do have favorites, though, so I will
say Grounded is one of my favorites. It is a
black woman owned coffee shop that opened at the end
of last year.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
They're over in.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Anacostia in Southeast DC, which is like an area that
is underserved food desert. The fact that they created this
is amazing. It's also a plant shop and they also
have wellness classes, so I'm gonna be taking pilates there
in a couple hours. I love their space. It's so
welcoming and beautiful. I also love The Village, which is
(28:33):
another coffee shop that's.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
Black owned in Northeast.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Sidamo is another favorite, an Ethiopian owned coffee shop that
is on H Street and is one of the oldest
black owned coffee shops in the city and they're still
standing trying to think of who else. Buna Coffee House
is another one that I really love.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
In Northwest.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
I think I'm gonna say those four for now. I'm
forgetting some, but we're going to actually be creating a
little graphic that has a list of black owned coffee
shops in DC, so folks can check that out in
the next couple months.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Awesome, and before you leave us, tell the people where
they can find you tell us.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Yeah, so you can find us on Instagram at Black
Girls Love Coffee Shops. If you go to our Instagram,
please sign up for our email list so that you
know when we're creating new chapters and keep up to
date with our events. Additionally, we also have a discord channel,
so you can follow the link in our bio to
get added to our discord channel and that'll allow people
(29:36):
to connect with one another outside of just the events
that we have.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Personally, you can.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Follow me on TikTok at Leanne Flick of Shit and
I'll I'm sure.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
The link will be in the Bioah. But yeah, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
No problem, Thank you, Thank you so much. And for
everyone else listening, God bless have an amazing day and
thank you for listening to Alison's Corner. Thanks for tuning
in to Alison's Corner. If you enjoy today's episode, don't
forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with
(30:15):
a friend who'd love to join the conversation. For more context,
and updates. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Allison's
Corner Pod. Until next time, be blessed.
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