COFFEE POLITICS
A symbol of L.A.'s African-American culture since the 1992 riots now faces eviction
By Greg Yano
Since opening in 1999, the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse has been a popular community hangout in Crenshaw's Leimert Park arts district on Degnan Boulevard, and an important symbol of hope for the rejuvenation of South Los Angeles. But that might not be true for much longer. On Tuesday, July 13, the owners of the shop, twin brothers Richard and Ron Harris, were served an eviction notice by their landlord for failing to maintain insurance and pay rent.
It's not that they couldn't sell enough coffee, the brothers said. The eviction is over a long-drawn legal dispute with the landlord, a nonprofit community development corporation called Community Build, Inc. The Harrises could've paid their rent, but withheld the money because the property owner never fixed the faulty facilities, the brothers claim, citing plumbing problems and a leaky roof. Nevertheless, a judge ruled in favor of Community Build for a settlement of $28,000 following a lawsuit filed against the Harrises last month. A last-minute attempt by the Harrises to settle the dispute was rebuffed on the 13th, and eviction proceedings began.
The brothers - who also run the Christoria Le Florence Restaurant and Village Theater next to the coffee shop - must pay up, or get out. But they don't plan on budging anytime soon, even though all three of these operations face eviction. "We've gone through this [legal dispute] for so long, we're numbed by it," said Ron Harris, insisting that it wasn't about the money. "On Sunday we just did normal day business," said his brother Richard. "We closed up and came back this morning. We're doing a normal day's business right now."
Lucy Florence is a homey place with cool purple walls, scented candles, and stacks of old magazines and books lying about. It feels like a living room, despite the industrial design of exposed ventilation pipes overhead.
Customers feel that the shop has been a valuable asset to the community. "People come here to stay, talk, enjoy the coffee," said Paris Davis, a patron who regularly drives to the shop from his apartment in downtown L.A. "It would really be terrible if they were gone."
The shop is also one of the area's hottest forums for community politics, especially for the African-American community. At a recent Saturday morning forum, one of many this spring and summer, Ron Harris jumped up before a meeting with District City Councilman Bernard Parks to bark, "If this coffeeshop and this park aren't the heart of the black community in L.A., what is?" A dozen people there for the meeting nodded their heads in agreement. The following week's forum was with state senator and majority whip Richard Alarcón (D-San Fernando Valley), and the week after that was with State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-L.A.).
"It's just about the best coffee shop in L.A.," said one effusive customer, David Crittendon, 61, who visits the shop almost every day. "It's such an important place where people can express themselves culturally. And it brings a varied clientele. It brings people to Crenshaw who might not otherwise come here."
Other local businesses, however, say the Lucy Florence got help from Community Build to move to Leimert Park, but hasn't given back in terms of stability and good faith. "Good riddance," said one store owner, a man who calls himself Sica. "We've been here since '92," he said, referring to the merchants who established themselves in the area after the L.A. riots. "We built this area into a cultural mecca. [The Harris brothers] didn't have anything to do with that.
"This part of the community doesn't even support them," Sica said. "They're exclusive. It's like they cater to a selective group of people. If we're not working together and you want to be different, then you should go somewhere different."
Merchants such as Ruth Nuckolls, owner of Leimert Park Eyewear, would not be alarmed if the coffee shop closed. "I suppose someone else will come along after they leave," said Nuckolls, who has been in business in Leimert Park for 19 years. "I think somebody else will open one."
It may be, however, that the Leimert Park community just isn't as bustling as it was. "You can look at the street and can see there's nobody out there," said Nuckolls. "No foot traffic. This is a cultural and commerce area, but we don't really have the kinds of shops that people purchase from. People would rather spend their money at the mall on Crenshaw."
Others were unsympathetic to the pending eviction. "The bottom line is," as one merchant put it, "you got to pay your rent."
Published: 07/22/2004
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT
