Check out this pop-up coffee shop with iced coffee drinks derived from cocktails.
Growing up in Charlotte, LaChrista McArthur was fascinated by coffee. She wasn’t allowed to drink it, of course – she was a kid – but that only added to the intrigue for “this mysterious drink that was for adults only.”
In high school, McArthur’s senior project involved learning how to run a coffee shop, so she got to learn from Summit Coffee’s Davidson location. “In those handful of moments, I was sold,” she told CharlotteFive.
Her journey continued from there. She has studied with Press Coffeehouse + Creperie in Graham and James and Miracle Yoder of Not Just Coffee. Even a random conversation in a Waffle House with the team from Hex Coffee (about coffee, of course) felt significant. She built a coffee program at The Roguery + The Brew Bar in Cambridge, England, which she described as barber-shop-meets-coffee-shop. (Sadly, the coffee portion of the shop closed during COVID-19.)
Now, McArthur is the owner of Hello Love, a pop-up coffee shop made with beans roasted at Hex Coffee. You can meet Hello Love yourself at Covet Atelier on Sunday, May 2, from noon-4 p.m. (or until the coffee runs out).
Here’s what you can expect at this and future pop-ups:
MAY 2: Signature iced coffee beverages derived from the flavor profiles of cocktails. Example: “Orange ya glad it’s Spring” (the coffee version of an old-fashioned).
FUTURE POP-UPS: Expect to see the addition of AeroPress and manual-brewed coffee.
COST: For Hello Love’s first few pop-ups, pay will be on a sliding scale. “Starting at $5 up to whatever your wallet is telling you to pay,” McArthur said.
PAYMENT: Exact change, credit card or Venmo.
After Sunday’s pop-up, beginning May 8, Hello Love will be at Covet Atelier on Saturdays.
More than coffee
McArthur said the greatest part about owning Hello Love is that it’s her turn to be in the driver’s seat — and while making delicious coffee drinks is a given, it’s not all she wants to do. In addition to Hello Love, McArthur is the founder of The Barista Coalition, which is a group focused on the individuals that make up our coffee community.
She sees her role as this: “Doing my part to make the coffee world an actual place of intersectionality and a space for everyone with access for everyone,” she said. “Being a Black woman in this white-male-dominated industry, I saw and experienced a need for more representation and access to the means to starting a coffee shop — or even the means to succeed beyond a standard barista position.”
Supporting McArthur’s shop may mean more than supporting a Black-owned business — it just may be supporting a movement. “I went through these 7 years working hard, staying quiet at times, speaking up when it was needed, having to deal with actions based on my Blackness, and I get to do everything in my power to make sure no one else goes through the hardships and doesn’t have to just be ‘lucky’ to succeed in this industry,” she told CharlotteFive.
“The goal is to break down the stigma of elitist specialty coffee culture and be a means of community for everyone, especially people of color, to feel 100% themselves and enjoy a dang good cup of coffee.”
We’ll give an Old-Fashioned coffee cheers to that.
Hello Love
Pop-up coffee shop
Instagram: @hello_love_coffee
noon-4 p.m. (or until coffee runs out) May 2 at Covet Atelier
909 Central Ave.
Photos by Easterday Creative.
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
