Us Lifting Us, a 400-plus-member “economic development” cooperative, is launching Cafe Ulu in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood of Atlanta.
Cafe Ulu, short for “Us Lifting Us,” will be one of the several cafe-style businesses owned and operated by the cooperative, Chinyere Norman, one of the cafe’s co-owners, this week told What Now Atlanta in a telephone interview.
Nearly 80 of the cooperative’s members will have an ownership stake in the new cafe, at 2036 Sylvan Road SW, in the Sylvan Plaza shopping center.
“We band together to pull funds to open businesses together,” Norman said.
“The goal of the collective is to put ownership into the hands of black and brown people.”
Cafe Ulu will serve up eats like veggie wraps and other “foods that are on the healthy side,” as well as coffees from different countries around the world.
There will also be a dedicated space for poetry, spoken word, conversation, and networking.
Cafe Ulu will be run democratically by a seven-person Board of Directors. Norman sits on the board as Treasurer.
The coffee house is the cooperative’s first restaurant and is expected to open before the end of the year.
2 Responses
Awesome. Salute!
I was just there yesterday. Had a serious cup of Caramel Machiatto. Left with a fresh bag of ULU some of which I brewed this morning. This is some serious coffee! Looking forward to stopping by for lunch today.