Culture Coffee Too will be closing its doors at 300 Riggs Road NE at the end of March after five years of providing a space for culture, coffee, and conversation in Riggs Park. Owner Veronica (Ms. V) Cooper opened the Riggs Park location after moving from a location on Kennedy Street NW. She stated in her closing note that she has enjoyed building community in Riggs Park over the last five years and now it is time to move on. Build community she did.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a letter in support of the coffee shop for an award. The words are fitting now as I think about how much I will miss Ms. V. I wrote then:
As the owner of Culture Coffee Too, a coffee shop and arts space in the Riggs Park neighborhood in Northeast Washington, DC, since 2017, Veronica Cooper has made it her business to make her business the cultural and community hub of the neighborhood.
Culture Coffee Too is the quintessential neighborhood small business sitting in the heart of the Riggs Park neighborhood’s commercial corridor. In the three years that Culture Coffee Too has been open, I have seen and been part of the overwhelmingly positive impact it has had on the community. When I served as president of the neighborhood civic association, I had the pleasure of speaking at the ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate Culture Coffee Too’s opening in 2017. In 2018, Ms. V spearheaded the Riggs Park Art Crawl, bringing art and patrons to neighborhood businesses in Riggs Park. Another successful art crawl followed in 2019, making the neighborhood a little brighter with placemaking murals at neighborhood businesses.
At the end of 2018, I helped start the neighborhood Main Street. The Parks Main Street supports the commercial corridors of the Riggs Park and Manor Park neighborhoods in Washington, DC. It was only fitting that we launched the Main Street at Culture Coffee Too, inviting neighborhood residents, business owners, and all those interested in seeing the commercial corridor of these neighborhoods thrive to join together to make it happen. With Culture Coffee Too, Ms. V. serves as a connector—connecting small business owners, connecting artists, connecting residents. Any time someone steps inside the shop for a cup of tea, a breakfast sandwich, or maybe a smoothie, taking in the artwork on the walls of that month’s featured artist, it is likely that person will leave having met someone new.
I have been told that the coffee shop may be replaced by a Wingstop, a fast food chicken restaurant. (More about this on-brand decision by JBG later.)
Culture Coffee Too will hold a closing party on March 18 at 7:00 pm. Until then, feel free to stop in to give Ms. V her flowers.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
Culture Coffee to Wing Stop, that serious downgrade. Maybe La Coop might want to move from Kennedy St to that spot.
I really hope it’s not another fast food spot.
Very sad to see Culture Coffee Too go!
The closing of Culture Coffee Too is a bittersweet moment for us all. It is like savoring the last drops of a Caramel Macchiato knowing that it will end. Culture Coffee Too became an icon during its operation. When Ms. Veronica Cooper, Ms. V, started her business the Walmart was 2-years-old, Riggs Park Place was a grassy knoll, and Kentucky Fried Chicken ruled the roost. My, how things have changed in a few short years!
However, like a rose growing through cracked pavement, Ms. V built her business into a vibrant and welcoming stop for all. She incorporated neighborhood innovators such as Jay Hudson, muralist, and Rain Young, artist, into an eclectic menagerie of local talent.
Culture Coffee Too became a stage for everyone from tween dancers and a young harpist to a venue for displaying sculpture, paintings, and more. But most importantly, it became the community’s destination for coffee and conversation.
Arts All Night became a signature event in this community due to the efforts of Ms. V. And she has delivered for the past five years, with each event eclipsing that of the prior year.
So, it is with heavy heart that we now say goodbye to Culture Coffee Too whose founder is an entrepreneur, community leader, and friend to all. This is not the end, but a new chapter.
So, I will take my last sip of Caramel Macchiato and watch this rose of a person continue to defy all expectations.