By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Erwin and Darnesha Weary, owners of Black Coffee Northwest in Shoreline, will soon open a new location in Seattle’s Central area. This new location, housed in the old Starbucks located on the corner of 23rd and Jackson, is scheduled to open in late August, early September.
According to Weary, the idea for a second location came in August of 2022. While driving through Seattle’s Central District, Weary observed that the Jackson Street Starbucks had closed, and determined that it was time for her to expand her business into Seattle.
Black Coffee Northwest is a community-based coffee shop that serves as a meeting place rooted in culture that exists to inspire and energize the community. The Shoreline location is a place where people meet, cultivate relationships, develop ideas, and step back from the daily hustle and enjoy an exceptional beverage. And Weary expects the new location to be just as impactful in building community as their Shoreline location.
“We are excited about it,” says Weary. “Being raised in that neighborhood, I drove by the Jackson Street Starbucks all the time. When we saw that the Starbucks had left, we said we have to get that space, we want that space, we want to be a Black business in that space.”
“We want to be a Black business that’s just not saying that we are about the community, but actually showing up and making sure that we are being responsible for it in every single way,” continued Weary.
With support from the community, the Weary family connected with the Vulcan Real Estate team, sending an unsolicited email to Geralyn Vannoy, Director of Commercial Marketing and Leasing for Vulcan Real Estate, and from that point on the partnership between Black Coffee Northwest and Vulcan began to grow.
“We are excited to welcome Black Coffee to the neighborhood,” said Vannoy. “They are exactly the kind of tenant we hoped to find, not just a great coffee shop but also a safe and welcoming space for the community to gather.”
Lori Mason Curran, Real Estate Investment Strategy Director for Vulcan, also believes that Black Coffee Northwest is a great addition to the already expanding business investments made by Vulcan and the community.
“We are thrilled that they are coming to the area,” says Mason Curran. “You can see that we have really worked hard in curating retail in the neighborhood and providing opportunities for women and minority owned businesses, especially Black owned businesses.”
Dedicated to proactive and innovative community building through youth leadership development, Black Coffee Northwest provides free after-school programming and leadership opportunities for underserved youth. This includes free mental health therapy, a podcasting studio program, tutoring, a music program, job training, and more. With the new location next to a bus stop, Black Coffee Northwest is planning to provide more than good food and beverages—it’s also focused on creating a safe space for youth to come after school and get homework done or connect with friends.
“We obviously just didn’t want to do coffee, just solely coffee, we always knew that we wanted to do service and that’s just what we did,” says Weary. “We have job internship program for youth. When we first started, we were looking for Black baristas everywhere, and there were a few, but we really wanted to provide opportunities for young people to have their first job at a Black business and to explore the world of coffee as coffee comes from Black countries.”
“We are grounded in excellence, and we live that every day and in everything that we do,” continued Weary. “Coffee is just our vehicle to spread love, joy and community.”
