Richmond Coffee Shop Gives Free Drinks to Black Customers — and the Internet Exploded
Guests stand in line awaiting during Abis Books and Brews during their “A Cup Toward Repair.: (TRS)
Critics call it performative — supporters call it progress. The owner calls it necessary.
by TRS Staff
The Richmond Seen was on scene today at Abi’s Books and Brews. The coffee shop and bookstore, located near the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, hosted “A Cup Toward Repair,” where they offered one free coffee to any guest of African American descent.
The gesture was met with both cheers and jeers on social media. One commenter asked, “How can you tell if someone is of African descent? Are y’all operating off of the one-drop rule?” while another wrote, “A free cup of coffee isn’t reparations…that’s charity.”
Brooke, who works in marketing, said she was visiting for the first time and heard about Abi’s because of the free coffee.
“I couldn’t believe it was for real,” she said. “I had to come in.”
We had the opportunity to speak with the owner, Keith Duffin, this morning, who explained that the gesture was inspired by the store’s twice-monthly book club and their current read, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. Keith shared that it was the book club members who helped steer him toward this morning’s love offering.
“We have people in the book club that are African American, and so we talked about it. I was running it by them because I didn’t want to be insensitive. And they said, ‘Well, you are going to get some anger.’ And I said, that’s okay. I get angry. I’m not looking for adoration; that’s not the point. It’s awareness.”
Abi’s Books and Brews is a distributing parter of The Richmond Seen. Located here.
Keith spoke candidly with us about his family, friendships with other business owners in the city, his love for collecting books, and why conversations like this are important in today’s climate.
It’s this awareness, and experiences in his own personal life, that have given Keith deeper introspection. He shared an example of how he and a friend were each stopped by a police officer within the same week, but both had very different experiences with law enforcement.
Brooke, a marketing manager, enjoys a free coffee during “A Cup of Towards Repair.”
My experience was totally different. I had mine on my hip, and the officer comes up to the window and says, ‘Sir, do you have your weapon in the car?’ I said, ‘It’s on my right hip.’ And he said, ‘Oh, just keep your hands on the steering wheel and away from that.’ I got a warning. I was treated so much differently. You have prejudice that you don’t even realize you have because you live in an environment that promotes it. You have privilege that you don’t even know you have because you don’t have to think about it.”
During our time there, Keith spoke positively about his interactions with local business owners and the importance of voting in the upcoming election. He engaged warmly with patrons and even pulled a few dad jokes out of his sleeve. But overall, he wants people to know one thing:
“I just want to treat everyone well. That’s what it’s all about.”
Visit Abi’s Books and Brews, located at 1212 ½ W. Cary Street, and check out their socials for hours of operation and information about their book club.
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