SOLOMON

cAFE AVOLE OWNER (bRIGHTON, wa). gRADUATE FROM eASTERN wASHINGTON uNIVERSITY. fIRST GENERATION eTHIOPIAN-aMERICAN RAISED IN sEATTLE.

"I grew up in Seattle. When I was a kid, I lived in Rainier Vista. Then we moved to North Seattle. I lived in Beacon Hill. And now I live in Tukwila where my mom was able to buy a house. I don’t know if I’ll be able to live here with the income that I make, but I feel like I still live in Seattle. I have family and close friends that lived here. I went to church here. People who have been here 10 years plus are moving out because they are getting priced out. People here are settling anywhere where transportation is accessible. I really like this place. I really like this neighborhood. I want to be here as long as possible…

I’ve always been passionate about starting a coffee shop. It started when I was in college. I ran the mini-mart for about three years, but I really wanted to sell coffee, so I had a coffee cart and I taught myself how to use the espresso machine. We set up a jebena coffee pot and people loved it. It officially became a coffee shop last March and business is way better. The median income of the neighborhood has risen, so that improves the business. But it’s unfortunate that I can’t serve the people that were here when I first opened the shop. They were one of the reasons why I’m here. I don’t care about Starbucks opening down the street. I offer something different than Starbucks. I’m involved in the community and I host events. I host an art show every month. We also do a block party. We need this kind of place to preserve the local Seattle culture."

Home is in Tukwila.

We are #SeattleNeighbors. Seattle needs more homes, of all shapes and sizes, for all our neighbors.