(Image: Black Coffee Northwest)
Starbucks said the corner was too dangerous. Black-owned Black Coffee Northwest is happy to call it home.
The 23rd and Jackson cafe left emptied last summer after the labor-embattled coffee giant slammed the door on a handful of Seattle locations citing safety and crime concerns will jump back to life this fall as a new expansion of the Shoreline-born coffee joint.
The announcement by owners Darnesha and Erwin Weary will bring an end to the year of papered up windows of the 23rd and Jackson cafe as the second location of the 2020-born Black Coffee Northwest is readied. The Wearys had been eyeing the location from the moments Starbucks decided to leave this key corner of the Central District.
“We are grounded in excellence, and we live that every day and in everything that we do,” Darnesha Weary said in the announcement from Black Coffee Northwest and property owner Vulcan Real Estate. “Coffee is just our vehicle to spread love, joy and community.”
Weary talked more about the opportunity in the Central District late last year. The opportunity now comes with the remaining Starbucks lease wiped off the books. Meanwhile, the Starbucks cafe the company abandoned on E Olive Way remains shuttered and covered in plywood behind a barbed-wire fence.
(Image: King County)
Adding Black Coffee Northwest to the corner continues a ripple of new opportunities for Black business owners around Vulcan’s ownership of the Promenade 23 shopping center on the north side of Jackson and the redevelopment of the Red Apple grocery property into the Jackson Apartments and its main commercial tenant, an Amazon Fresh grocery store on the other side of the street.
CHS reported here in February on the Simply Soulful cafe’s move to the development that also boasts tenants including the Black-owned 23rd Ave Brewery taproom. The intersection’s growth has also included space for a new home for Jackson’s Catfish Corner.
The decision for Starbucks to bail on the corner amid the new growth was inauspicious, bringing to a close a location that was at one time one of the company’s proudest achievements and its first ever stand alone cafe. The 23rd and Jackson cafe was integral in a heralded early expansion path for Starbucks as it teamed with investors like NBA great Magic Johnson on a string of “inner-city stores” following the successful opening of the Starbucks cafe at the busy Central District intersection.
It had also been the host for the company’s past dabbling in City of Seattle issues. In 2015, CEO Howard Schultz and then SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole hosted a forum on racism and policing at the Central District cafe.
The area has faced continued gun violence and safety issues. In 2022, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed blaming Vulcan and its major tenants including Starbucks and Walgreens for the unsolved June 2021 shooting death of a 21-year-old man in the shopping center parking lot. Those issues continued last summer when a woman suffered minor injuries in a July shooting at the intersection.
As 23rd and Jackson’s businesses grow and the neighborhood works to make the area a safer place, Starbucks won’t be around to be part of the changes. But, by fall, Black Coffee Northwest will be.
Black Coffee Northwest is expected to open later this year at 2300 S. Jackson. Learn more at blackcoffeenw.com.
UPDATE: Court records show Black Coffee Northwest is currently facing a dispute over $22,800 in unpaid rent at its original Shoreline location. The Wearys told the Seattle Times they are sorting out whether they want to remain at the Bethany Community Church-owned location or move on after what the coffee shop says have been ongoing rent hikes and a mismatch of values with the landlords.
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Wonderful wonderful wonderful. Best wishes for success!
Best wishes! Hope they are able to unionize and provide benefits to their employees. If they’re replacing a Starbucks they better have a free restroom for all to use.
Don’t be surprised if they don’t, at least if they don’t after the first 6 months. That restroom was a nightmare for the employees to deal with. I know one of their old managers and he was constantly dealing with shit on the walls, overdoses and general disrespect in there. Even had a guy OD and die in there once.
for all paying customers you meant, i assume?
You should volunteer to manage that!! That would be awesome.
Love to see this. I remember when Starbucks opened that 23rd & Jackson store – took a bit of business from independent black-owned Jerry’s Central Grind (later Seattle Central Grind) down on Cherry.
Awesome!
Spectacular
This is great news! Excited to have a coffee shop at this location again, especially with how long the lines are down the street at temple pastries.
I thought Vulcan was imminently redeveloping this whole lot though. Is that no longer happening? I remember hearing that once they were done with the old red apple lot they would redevelop the Walgreens/AutoZone/Starbucks area. Any updates on this, jseattle? Hopefully Vulcan is giving a meaningful lease to BCN and not planning to make them leave after just a year or so, even if they have a spot in the new development.
Seems like a good fit that’s generating some good buzz, but I am surprised Vulcan is bringing in a new business that has an ongoing battle with its current landlord over unpaid rent. Hope it works out though!
“Too dangerous for Starbucks” is a disingenuous title. I doubt the danger will decrease just because the coffeeshop is black owned. Guess we’ll see….