Coffee For Good – 1951 Coffee Company
As an Oakland resident and a graduate school student, I love the San Francisco Bay Area’s abundance of hipster, high-end coffee shops. Good coffee (translation: caffeine) and good community are important to fueling my life. I am particularly excited about another Berkeley cafe opening this summer; however, this one has a unique focus. 1951 Coffee Company is a non-profit organization seeking to promote the well-being of refugees and asylum-seekers in the Bay Area. Each year Oakland and the surrounding communities welcome hundreds of re-settling families, many of which are forced to take minimum wage jobs to make ends meet, despite their education and previous experience in their home country. Co-founders, Rachel Taber and Doug Hewitt will employ refugees at a competitive wage and provide job skills through a two-week barista training program.
I first heard of the mission and vision of 1951 Coffee Company at my church, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, who will be renting out their existing college lounge to the 1951 Coffee Shop. I jumped at the opportunity to connect Doug and Rachel to the talent at WHA. Not only is their mission compelling, it’s also a relatable one since a number of WHA employees were born outside of the United States. WHA is providing pro-bono architectural renovations to the existing space where the 1951 Coffee Shop will launch. The plans include building a cafe kitchen, commercial coffee bar, customer restrooms, and plenty of seating. On March 10th, the City of Berkeley approved the Use Permit, allowing the project to move forward toward building permits. When complete, the cafe will open its doors just a few blocks south of UC Berkeley and a block west of well-known Telegraph Avenue, within walking distance for thousands of students.
The 1951 Coffee Shop will provide a space to display art and share stories of hope, so central to the refugee experience, all over a cup of delicious, fairly traded coffee. We look forward to an artisan cup of coffee in Berkeley in the near future!
Interested in hearing more about 1951 Coffee Company?
Check out recent news articles featuring 1951:
http://dailycoffeenews.com/2016/02/23/1951-coffee-plans-to-employ-and-empower-refugees/
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/03/02/berkeley-coffee-shop-to-give-refugees-barista-training/
Leave a Reply