By Mckenna Morin
Editor-in-Chief
When looking at the outside of the building, you would never guess what the little cafe is hiding inside. Light jazz music blooms from small speakers, an array of musical instruments sit throughout the space, rows and rows of bookshelves lines a wall, board games rest on tables, and a large menu of snacks and drinks fill the inside of Notes Coffee Company.
After multiple occurrences of racism and prejudices in the cafe, owner John Gore posted to Facebook about his most recent racial incidents. His post said he has shut down before because of the issues and was thinking of doing so again.
This place usually captures that small town café vibe with warm lighting, lots of windows, and cozy seating, making it feel homey. However, for Gore, the past 11 months in the café have hardly felt like home at all.
“It’s unfortunate because I think everyone should just be able to live how they want to without worry of someone taking offense to them just being a person,” Gore said.
It’s been a month since his post went viral. He’s been interviewed on Seattle’s Q13 news, was in the Tacoma News Tribune and had an article written about the events on PLU’s website. However, according to Gore, it’s not a super popular place for students.
“I’ve have professors and students come in…but I haven’t seen any activity groups or anything like that, which would be nice because we have a good space for it. That’s what I’m trying to build, a space for expression,” Gore said.
However, Gore has struggled to build that space with the problems and racism he and his staff have encountered at Notes.
“It pretty much was from the get-go. To be honest with you I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it until I came out here to this part of Pierce County,” Gore said.
Between Notes and his other business, an ice cream truck company, Gore said he has received threatening phone calls, had a gun pulled on him, and has been called the N-word multiple times.
The morning of this interview Gore said he was driving into work and was by Frugals when another driver swerved into him and yelled racial slurs at him.
“He tried to get in front of me and used his car to stop my car…so I pulled over and got out of my car and said ‘you asked me to pull over so what’s happening?’ He stayed in his car and continued his verbal assault. I was like this is just crazy,” Gore said.
For Gore, these kinds of attacks are not out of the ordinary. In his post, he said the café had been broken into, has had customers call him racial slurs and had a customer tell his barista to “smile while standing in the dark” so she could be seen. Gore said it all left him thinking one thing: “I wish I had left my business in Seattle.”
As Gore explained what it has been like for him in Parkland, he paused to wipe away tears. He said he never experienced anything this bad when he lived up north. It’s hard, he said, because he enjoys being so close to PLU.
In a recent PLU Marketing and Communication story, Gore explained more of what he’s been going through. However, having the PLU coverage has seemed to open the bridge between PLU and Notes.
“I think it opened the doors to the PLU staff members. Some of them were unaware that we were here. They were like ‘you’re open finally; we didn’t even know you were open.’ I think that’s what the students are unsure about,” Gore said.
Going from Northern Pacific Coffee Company in 2016 to Q’s Coffee in 2017 and now to Notes, which opened in the spring of 2018, PLU students know this place to be more of a revolving door than an open one. It seems like every year there was a new name or owner of the space.
“To own a business on this block is tough,” Gore said. “People are just scrambling trying to make it.”
Even though owning a small business in a small part of town can be hard and having multiple racist and prejudice incidents, Gore said he’s not going anywhere.
“I’ve got too much invested in this place. I mean I love it, with all this said I love this space. It gives me an opportunity to interact with people and students,” Gore said.
Gore plans to bring in some new additions to help encourage students and other community members come in. Within the next couple of months Gore hopes to add rolled ice cream, beer, wine, and spirits to the menu. He said he also wants to add photography workshops, chess tournaments, and live music events to the space to help bring more positivity to the area.
“People need more cultural growth. People need more cultural experience. You need to get out and go places and see things. I think that would really help people,” Gore said. “I’m here in this space because I just want to provide a place that’s safe and where everyone, PLU people and the general community, is loved.”
