Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Jolly.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Anthony. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My love for coffee started more than 20 years ago when I worked at Starbucks in Washington DC where I’m from. In 2004, I met my now wife in DC and we moved to Boulder, Colorado so she could attend law school. There, my love for coffee grew and I went from being a barista to working with NinetyPlus, a premier coffee importer and supplier. They sent me to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, where I worked with farmers on growing practices and learned everything I could about growing, harvesting, and roasting coffee. I lived there on and off for several years. A few years later, I branched out on my own and began importing coffee from specialty farms in Ethiopia with whom I had close relationships, with a focus on fair pay and women-owned farms. I taught myself to roast coffee in our backyard shed in the Winter in Denver (there was snow, lots of snow). I began selling the roasted coffee.
My wife, Tina, and I eventually moved back to California where she is from with our then one year old. It had been my dream for a long time to start a coffee shop and reckon back to the days when coffeehouses were places for intellectuals, politicians, artists, and innovators to come together to innovate, discuss, debate, and create – specifically for people of color, and more specifically African Americans. And a place to bring the crop-to-cup experience to life. We didn’t know where it would be but one day I was renting a car at a coffee conference in Seattle and I met a guy who told me that his friend wanted to open a coffee shop in LA. I called him and he was like, Leimert Park is the place. And it could not have been a more perfect place. We opened Hot and Cool Cafe in 2018 and despite it being my dream, we had no idea it would become the community coffee shop and gathering place it has today.
What we didn’t know was that Leimert was a food desert and its people needed healthy food. There was demand for vegan-ish menu so we created one (we like to think we’ve mastered vegan bar food). Also needed was just this place for people to gather, and as it turns out, a safe space in a radically gentrifying area. We began holding open mics, political gatherings, community events, and anything you can think of for all ages. It’s very important to use that we remain true to our community. We feed the homeless that live in our back parking lot and they use our bathrooms daily. Currently, during this COVID_19 crisis we have pivoted to serve senior meals to our community, which we do several times a week. We also will likely soon expand that beyond seniors to people in need in South LA. Stagnant water will kill you and giving back right now is the only way for us as a community and a people to make it through this.
My wife and I run the shop with my brother, Isaiah and a friend, Shana. It’s definitely a family run place and we have learned along the way how to do this thing (sort of – we’re still learning and failing constantly). Tina and I have three kids (Taj is 7, Nia is 4, and Zara is 1), so our plates are very full.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
NO, though I’m not sure a smooth road and me are actually compatible. To be honest, we really had no idea what we were getting into as far as starting and managing, and the day to day operations of a business. I didn’t take a day off for a year and went back to work the day after our third child was born! We are constantly learning and growing and pivoting the business to match the market and community needs and we pretty much work constantly (not necessarily a good thing, but it’s the reality of running your own business). There is some beauty in the struggle and our amazing community is worth it, but there certainly were many days along the way when we wondered if we could still do this.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Hot and Cool Cafe – what should we know?
We are a cafe that is much more a community space than a cafe. It’s actually ironic that we opened this space because of my love for coffee, but coffee isn’t what made Hot and Cool. We actually roast our own coffee beans and are launching a roasted coffee company very soon. We specialize in vegan eats (best soul bowl, vegan sliders, and buffalo cauliflower tacos) in LA and delicious drinks including my wife’s chai recipe (she is East Indian), golden milk, teas brewed to order. We are a safe space and a community space, and we are very real about who we are and what we stand for (unapologetically so). What sets us apart? The realness. The community. We are who we are because of our community. It’s really their coffee shop and we just run it. South LA needed a venue where the nonconformists could be themselves. You can do it at Hot and Cool.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
So many that I couldn’t even name them all. Local government, Community Build, the Leimert Park community. Kokayi Ampah (King of Chili), Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Ben Caldwell, We Love Leimert, James Burks and Eric Moore.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4331 Degnan Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90008 - Website: www.hotandcoolcafe.com
- Phone: 3239036449
- Email: [email protected]
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