Café and Collective Committed to Investing in Communities of Color Heads to University Ave

The coffee company and collective filed a permit application for a new brick-and-mortar.
Café and Collective Committed to Investing in Communities of Color Heads to University Ave
Photo: Official

The San Diego coffee company and collective that takes its name from Malcolm X recently filed a permit application for 5296 University Ave in San Diego. Café X: By any Beans Necessary is co-owned by mother-and-daughter team Cynthia Ajani and Khea Pollard.

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While the company sells coffee, that makes up only a small part of Café X’s mission. Last September, the company shared Pollard’s vision for Café X across its social media channels, “Cafe X to me was the self-determination of Malcolm X. That’s why our slogan is ‘By Any Beans Necessary.’ The idea that, Us, as the Black community in San Diego, owning something, the means of production, our labor, being fairly compensated for our work, and being able to pass that wealth down for generations is the dream – my goal and objective with this project.”

Café X is a Black woman-owned collective with the goal of building generational wealth in the Black community and other marginalized communities. This happens through a few different channels, from cross-sector partnerships and creative and artistic projects to developing the next generation of leaders.

Now it appears the project is expanding to a brick-and-mortar on University Ave. Café X recently filed a permit application for 5296 University Ave in San Diego. We were unable to reach the owners at the time of publication, so you’ll want to follow Café X’s social media for updates on the nature of this expansion.

Eve Payne

Eve Payne

Eve Payne is a freelance writer with an MFA in poetry from Syracuse University. In 2019, she received the Leonard Brown Prize for her poetry, which has appeared or is forthcoming in Colorado Review, The Adroit Journal, Nashville Review, and RHINO.
Eve Payne

Eve Payne

Eve Payne is a freelance writer with an MFA in poetry from Syracuse University. In 2019, she received the Leonard Brown Prize for her poetry, which has appeared or is forthcoming in Colorado Review, The Adroit Journal, Nashville Review, and RHINO.

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