Over 7 million people have seen a viral video of Buddies Coffee owner Rachel Nieves sharing her heartwrenching plea to her small business in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as she faces a potentially troubling financial dilemma.
Despite having a loyal customer base, branding and bagging her own beans, and even getting a profile in the New York Times, Nieves finds herself getting priced out of Williamsburg. As a native New Yorker and Puerto Rican woman operating in a historically Puerto Rican part of Brooklyn, she finds it particularly heartbreaking. “This is gentrification,” she told viewers on TikTok, explaining that her storefront may close in 6–7 months due to rent increases and competition from larger businesses.
She and her partner (in business and in life), Taylor Nawrocki, started their coffee business during the pandemic and are determined to keep it going despite financial setbacks in an economy that is increasingly difficult for small businesses to survive in. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I’m just here trying to show what hard, honest work looks like, and you can be successful and not step on people. I still truly believe that with my heart. To be successful, you don’t have to step on people.”
In the incredibly raw 6-minute TikTok, she explained that competition from another coffee seller opening nearby with more capital backing will put extra pressure on her business: “So many big corporations or big businesses that come here. It’s like predatory behavior to seek out a small business and plop the fuck right next to them… I’m going to continue to work hard, I am going to continue to show up…” Her impassioned refusal to give up captured the attention of millions. Words of encouragement poured out from thousands of commenters.
Singer-songwriter Joe Jonas responded to Rachel’s video with his own TikTok, calling on his 6.5 million followers to act. He said he saw an “amazing…heartbreaking video” and was in Williamsburg and on his way to get some coffee from Rachel. He called for others to “be a buddy” and support Buddies Coffee.
Joe Jonas visited on February 26th:
Since the video went viral, there’s been a consistent line at Buddies Coffee. Rachel and her partner, Taylor, are doing their best to keep up with the high demand for coffee beans and their specialty drink: the coquito latte. The latte is Rachel’s non-alcoholic, non-dairy version of the classic Puerto Rican drink often drank around Christmastime.
To hear more about their response to the sudden rise in demand and try one of their famous lattes myself, I decided to head over to 150 Grand Street.
Watching Rachel interact with customers was a lesson in hospitality and gratitude. When I first spotted Rachel outside the Williamsburg coffee shop, she was greeting eager customers with graciousness, smiles, and hugs. I watched as she spoke with two locals who wanted her advice on how to start a coffee business. They sat, sipping on coquito lattes (pictured below) and soaking in her guidance to start small and build from there.
With the sudden internet fame she’s garnered, a persistent line out the door of her shop, and an overwhelming number of online roastery orders to fulfill, she stayed outside with customers and friends, prioritizing the people in her store and her community. She knew many customers by name and introduced herself to those she didn’t.
While I was there, Rachel’s friend from high school, Angelica, owner of Little Rico in Hudson, New York, surprised her with smiles and homemade juice to replenish her. “If anything’s come about from this,” Rachel told me between friendly interactions with passersbys, “it’s that the community has rallied together.” She mentioned the importance of community in her original video, but no one could have predicted just how much of her community would show up for her.
Rachel told me that both old friends and friendly neighboring businesses are showing up for their small team since she posted asking for support. “Ceremonia Bakery just brought us over cookies and food to make sure we are fed…” she said. “Our neighbors over the weekend brought us burritos and bagels because they know a lot of times since it is just Taylor and me when we have a rush, we don’t have time to eat.”
I noticed many customers were young women, and several had traveled far to support Rachel. Kiara, who had come down from The Bronx, and Arri from Coney Island, were two of these young women. The friends had each traveled for hours to try the Coquito latte and seemed elated to meet Rachel. “It’s definitely worth it,” Kiara said about traveling from another borough to try Rachel and Taylor’s coffee.
While talking, a man went into the coffee shop with grocery bags full of ice. Rachel told me about Steven, a delivery driver she had seen around the neighborhood and introduced herself to. After their initial meeting, Rachel shared that “he would just come by and be like, ‘How are you? What do you need?'” With no ice machine of their own, they need more ice pretty much all the time. Since then, Steven has come by often to say hi and give them ice, asking for nothing in return.
When I asked her how she felt about the sudden attention and major changes she’s experienced in the business’s day-to-day, Rachel shared that “being present with people is grounding [her]… but it’s a lot.” After a tumultuous week, Rachel is “grateful” and hopeful about the future of Buddies Coffee — even if that includes saying goodbye to her storefront at 150 Grand Street.
In a follow-up post to her viral TikTok, she shared that her “low point” has “turned into something so beautiful. What I learned is that no matter where I go, the community has my back.”
Buddies Coffee is proof that running a small business is never a solo endeavor; it thrives on community. So be like Steven showing up with ice: Support your neighbors, show up for local businesses, and if you’re in Brooklyn, stop by Buddies.
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