Black-owned coffee shop in Louisville's Russell neighborhood continues to thrive

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Black-owned coffee house and café continues to do well, months after its grand opening in Louisville's Russell neighborhood in April.

Blak Koffee Cafe is one of the newest businesses located in Russell, in The Village @ West Jefferson, located at 1219 West Jefferson Street, in the Molo Village Hub. The business, owned by Ronyale Smith and her husband, Kevin, has quickly become a destination for the city's business professionals.

"Black Koffee is definitely a labor of love and it is a gift to the Russell community," Ronyale said. "We wanted to have a coffee shop west of Ninth Street, somewhere where the community could come in and just meet, and capacity build and community build and do all of the things it takes to have a community."

Ronyale said planning for the coffee shop happened during the pandemic, and several people helped the plan come together.

"We started talking and writing a business plan for Blak Koffee back during COVID, the shutdown, and as -- I'm not going to say as luck would have it, but as God would have it -- he just put us in front of the right people at the right time."

The shop is located west of Ninth Street, where Kevin once patrolled when he worked for the Louisville Metro Police Department. He had to retire after being injured in the line of duty, but now wants to give back to the community he once served as an officer.

"That's exactly what I am doing," Kevin said. "When I was reaching out as a police officer, giving back to the community, now I'm giving back to those who come into the shop any way we can."

Not surprisingly, both of the Smiths do drink their coffee with no cream or sugar.

"We like our coffee black," Ronyale said. "Black coffee is an acquired taste. And I first started drinking coffee black because they say if you drink it black, it speeds up your metabolism. Well in doing that I started to notice the different notes in coffee."

Ronyale said the shop has its own special blend of Ethiopian coffee. "We only sell Ethiopian coffee."

The Blak Koffee Cafe is open Monday through Saturday.

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