Black Rock Coffee, a coffee kiosk located in Portland-area exurb of Tigard (15290 S.W. Pacific Hwy.), is getting waves of support from the community after a spree of robberies left this year-old business reeling. Oregonian reporter Sara Hottman visited the kiosk after the string of armed robberies, and witness what folks are calling a “cash mob”. It seems that Black Rock regulars organized this community action to buy coffee, pastry, and donate money:
Lucille Van Houten, a daily customer known by baristas for her 16-ounce rice-milk latte and wild stories, stood in the cold, coffee and $10 donation in hand.
“As a small business owner, I would want to have the same support,” she said. “It’s great that the community is coming together like this.”
After the store was robbed, the normally jovial workplace turned somber, Wiebold said.
“It was a good dose of reality,” she said, noting the baristas who work there are young. “Everybody really teamed up. They could’ve left, but no one did. The group pulled together.”
Read the whole thing at Oregon Live and get your tissues ready.
