Issa Rae can’t be stopped, and her latest venture is helping fuel people to do the same…with the assistance of some delicious coffee, that is.
In an Instagram post the philanthropist, entrepreneur and award-winning actress celebrated news of the opening of her coffeeshop, Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen in Downtown Los Angeles. The pop-up is the fourth location with other California spots including Slauson, Inglewood and Eagle Rock.
The chain was originally started by Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan in 2018 with a mission to “foster community, creativity and connection over high quality food and drink.” Rae became involved in 2019 and helped launch the first location in Inglewood. Shortly after, they opened the Eagle Rock location. Now, DTLA is getting its shine.
“Downtown LA has such a rich history of creativity and resilience,” Rae said in an interview with Forbes. “We are excited to share the Hilltop experience with the dreamers and doers of the local community.”
This is one of the many notable entrepreneurial moves in Rae’s business portfolio which includes her production company HOORAE and Sienna Naturals, a sustainable vegan hair care brand. She also balances a slew of notable partnerships, namely her work with American Express and their ByBlack initiative.
As ESSENCE previously reported, with the support of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), the national certification program is exclusively for Black-ownership designation.
“Supporting Black-owned businesses has always been a passion of mine so this initiative really made sense for me,” Rae said. The ByBlack platform was first created as a directory of Black-owned businesses, a tool Issa Rae fully supported as it aligned with her mission to advance underrepresented founders. Looks like she’s furthering that mission with her latest endeavor and we can’t wait to what’s next.