Amid COVID-19 Pressures, Lucy’s Coffee & Tea Closes For Good
COVID-19 is hitting small businesses hard, including some that have been around for decades. Lucy’s Coffee & Tea has been a Birmingham staple on University Boulevard for more than 25 years. Earlier this week, owner Lucy Bonds announced she’s closing her coffee shop for good. Bonds said she had a gut feeling in mid-March that her cafe might not survive as the coronavirus began to spread.
Interview Highlights:
A tough decision:
“People were starting to talk about things changing and stuff, but we all agreed at the shop that we would go to work on Monday and just be there. But I’m telling you, that day I could just feel it. I mean, my business was just like nothing compared to a regular day. UAB was already talking about working from home. And the dental school, they weren’t going to be there. And, you know, nobody was going to go stay at the Hilton Hotel right there on the corner. So I could, I swear, I could feel it that day that it was just a big shift. So on that day, I told my employees that they were laid off right then, just to start that unemployment thing, and I decided just to ball up and just see if I could have enough money in my bank account to see how things would unfold. But they didn’t unfold very well, as we could see. I knew that it was gonna be a long time before it was ever normal down there. And I just decided I couldn’t do it. You know, financially, emotionally, physically. I just decided it was best to take my 27 years and pack them up and go do something else.”
She served an international customer base:
“I know that a lot of people felt like that was their home away from home. And people were from all kinds of different countries across the world. But they knew that when they came into the coffee shop, that they would be welcomed there. And everybody was welcomed there. You didn’t have any money, it was okay. A big scientists, you know, real important person at UAB, it was okay. I mean, everybody came together there. And really and truly, I mean, I could walk and I could hear people talking in the scientific language and I couldn’t understand what they were saying, or French or Italian or Korean. I mean, there were just people everywhere sharing that space in there together.”
Fond memories at the coffee shop:
“Well, one was my party, when Starbucks left next door and we had a big celebration about that. And then a friend of mine brought her projection system and we watched Obama’s inauguration. We set up chairs in there and it was full and exciting and bustling. And we just kind of quit working all day so we could enjoy that experience together. We’ve had all kinds of fun, little things. We would have special activities, art shows, some concerts there. This couple, I didn’t even know them, but they love coffee and they asked if they could get married in my coffee shop. I mean, seriously, they were not my customers. And she, the bride, was surprising the groom who was the coffee lover extraordinaire. And so she had all these people there in her bridal gown. And she got married one afternoon at the coffee shop.”
Romance with a neighbor:
“So where Starbucks eventually came, he had New York Bagels (restaurant) there. And I would buy bagels from him and he would deliver the bagels out of the back door. And we just started our romance there. And he’s been like a rock for me during all of this because he knows how much it means to me. And we met all of our dearest friends there.”
What’s next for you?
“Right now, I’m working with my old friend Will Shepherd. He owns a pet supply store in Avondale. And he actually used to work at the shop. And then I’ve been making and selling soup at the farm stand in Irondale. And, I might try to run with the soup thing a little bit. I’ve got to figure out a steady income, but I think I just need to relax for a couple of weeks and deal with the stuff in the shop before I really concentrate on what I want to do next.”
Alex Ovechkin scores goal #895 to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL scoring record
The Washington Capitals star made history with a power play goal from the left faceoff circle — as Gretzky, who last set the record more than 25 years ago, looked on.
Severe storms and floods batter South and Midwest, as death toll rises to at least 18
Severe storms continued to pound parts of the South and Midwest, as a punishing and slow-moving storm system unleashed life-threatening flash floods and powerful tornadoes from Mississippi to Kentucky.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 32, mostly women and children
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 32 people, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu headed to meet President Trump.
Second child dies from measles-related causes in West Texas, where cases near 500
A second school-aged child in West Texas has died from a measles-related illness, a hospital spokesman confirmed Sunday, as the outbreak continues to swell.
Yemen Houthi rebels say latest US strikes killed 2, day after Trump posted bomb video
Suspected U.S. airstrikes killed at least two people in a stronghold of Yemen's Houthi rebels, the group said Sunday.
1 killed in Russian attack on Kyiv as death toll from missile strike rises to 19
One person was killed Sunday as Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while the death toll from Friday's deadly attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih continued to rise.