Ever wonder what really happens to the Black Business Equity Fund (BBEF) money that Tabor 100 acquires? Black Coffee Northwest Cafe owner Erwin Weary is happy to tell you. “I am in business
now because of Tabor 100. I just bought a new oven so we can make hot sandwiches. Now I can paint and pay for rewiring,” said Weary. “I am open only from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., so I lose business. I will hire more staff and have longer hours. This money helps our business tremendously!”
Erwin and Damesha Weary planned to open their Shoreline coffee shop on October 1, 2020. But that day, their shop was hit by a molotov cocktail. Despite Nazi symbols, racial slurs and broken windows, they opened two weeks later. “I wasn’t going to let anyone drive us out.” Right after the opening, Black Coffee Northwest started registering voters. They were able to get a pop up vaccination station in their parking lot. “We are very community minded. We are a Black owned business helping our community. We stand up for justice and our own people. We’re honest about that.”
The Wearys don’t just sell coffee. They host movie nights, barbecue cook offs, game nights, car shows, carnivals, and even ‘relationship panels’ for couples and singles to talk. “Coffee is just a small thing that we do. We are a destination spot.” Weary jokes. And he says there’s a vibe about the place. “When you come here, you feel it, you see the art, you feel it in how we treat each other and our customers. You know you belong when you’re here. I don’t know what the recipe is on that.”
Edwin and Damesha Weary also have a non-profit called ‘Grounded’ (pun intended). It caters to people fifteen to twenty-five years old. “We’re a Black business and people expect to see Black baristas. We could not find any.” So they started an internship program to teach the skill. They also teach soft skills necessary in the world of work, such as being on time and greeting customers. The social justice side of Grounded helps the interns see the world as it is and realize they can make it better.
The Wearys have something to prove. They want to show people that they can do amazing things. Their business is not a charity case. “You know how people say, ‘Oh. You’re a Black- owned business, I bet you don’t make coffee that well, but we’ll support you.’ We actually have really good coffee and we are very competitive about our product.”
Edwin Weary grew up in Yakima and graduated from Eastern Washington University. He says he’s a ‘techie’ and spent some time at Microsoft. He’s also owned a vending machine company and just before opening the coffee shop he worked for a solar power company. But the coffee shop has always been a dream. “Twenty-four years ago, I met my wife over coffee. We both love coffee and a year later, we got married. Over the years we talked about opening a coffee shop. We even had a written business plan. I look around and that plan had everything we are doing now. It was a dream and I guess we spoke it into existence.”
Visit www.blackcoffeenw.com for Events calendar, merchandise, youth programs and access to their podcast.
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